Out with the old: On its 200th birthday, the stethoscope is considered obsolete by many

The stethoscope may be on its last legs—and this could mean trouble for patients.

On the 200th anniversary of the device’s invention, many doctors are calling it obsolete and focusing instead on high-tech, palm-sized ultrasound devices that allow doctors to instantly visualize the heart’s structure and function.

Studies support the use of hand-held ultrasound machines, with one finding that first-year medical students with only 18 hours of ultrasound training were able to correctly flag more cardiac abnormalities than trained cardiologists performing a traditional, stethoscope-assisted physical exam.

However, while there is great value in being able to see the heart beat in real-time, some physicians say that relying too heavily on technology is weakening the diagnostic skills of a future generation of doctors.

“Some of the protocols tend to be a bit on the casual side—taking students around to listen to a couple of patients in a clinic and maybe listening to a couple of recordings,” said Dalhousie University pediatric cardiologist John Finley, MDCM, who has spent much of his career helping teach students and practitioners advanced stethoscope skills.

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