In the first paper the demise of the mercury sphygmomanometer is examined. After a little more than a century of use, the conventional Riva-Rocci/Korotkoff technique of measuring blood pressure with a mercury sphygmomanometer, and stethoscope is now being relegated to the museum shelves. Our reliance on what has been an inaccurate technique is questioned and we are urged to accept that the age ...

French medicine was of the utmost importance for the birth of modern medicine and neurology in the 19th century. Innovative approaches, such as examination at the bedside, the use of the stethoscope, techniques of auscultation, palpation, and close patient examination, besides emphasis on anatomical-clinical correlation and observation of the outcome of the disease, were put into practice. Fren...

We have developed an Internet-based tool for remote realtime auscultation. The device was based on a commercially available electronic stethoscope and a PC which digitized and transmitted the signals. A voice and video channel were also available. The remote auscultation tool was evaluated between two sites in Sweden separated by a distance of 500 km. A doctor at one of the sites performed card...

The technology sector of healthcare is entering a new evolutionary phase. The medical community has an obligation to the public to provide the safest, most effective healthcare possible. This is more achievable with the use of computer technology at the point of care, and small, portable devices could fulfil this role. A PriceWaterhouse Coopers 2001 survey on information technology in physician...

The purpose of this paper is to present an evidence of automated wheeze detection system by a survey that can be very beneficial for asthmatic patients. Generally, for detecting asthma in a patient, stethoscope is used for ascertaining wheezes present. This causes a major problem nowadays because a number of patients tend to delay the interpretation time, which can lead to misinterpretations an...

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the effect of stethoscope side and tube length on auscultatory blood pressure (BP) measurement. METHODS Thirty-two healthy participants were studied. For each participant, four measurements with different combinations of stethoscope characteristics (bell or diaphragm side, standard or short tube length) were each recorded at two repeat sessions, and eight Kor...

After the introduction of the stethoscope by René Laennec in 1819, the art of auscultation gained traction as a group of early adopters described the heart murmurs they were now able to hear. A race to discover and define ensued. Leading physicians published their new observations, and a robust crop of eponyms was born for use by future generations of physicians and medical trainees. This list ...

Born in 1842 in Frankfurt an der Oder, Heinrich Irenaenus Quincke (figure 1) was the youngest of four sons of a titled physician, Hermann Quincke. His mother’s predecessors were of the Huguenot faith and had fled to Germany following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. They were textile merchants. At his baptism, Heinrich received his name Irenaeus as witnessed by 13 honourary god-fa...

OBJECTIVE To determine and to analyze the theoretical and practical knowledge of Nursing professionals on indirect blood pressure measurement. METHODS This cross-sectional study included 31 professionals of a coronary care unit (86% of the Nursing staff in the unit). Of these, 38.7% of professionals were nurses and 61.3% nurse technicians. A validated questionnaire was used to theoretical eva...

After a little more than a century of use, the conventional Riva-Rocci/Korotkoff technique of measuring blood pressure with a mercury sphygmomanometer and stethoscope, is now being relegated to the museum shelves. Affectionately attached though we may be to this clinical measurement, we must acknowledge that the technique is fraught with inaccuracy and that the age of technology has brought mor...