MUSEinc, a two-year old Bangalore-based startup, has created a digital stethoscope called Taal (rhythm) which has a processor that automates calculation of the heart rate. The device also records sounds from other parts of the body such as the lungs, and it has modes to switch between heart sounds and other internal sounds.
On simply placing it on the chest, Taal creates a graphical representation of heart waves on a mobile phone which users can forward to doctors. A patient does not need training to understand what he/she is hearing from the earplugs of the stethoscope.
Priced at $50, Taal is 3D printed. Its innovators use and produce open-source technologies to improve effective diagnostics at an affordable cost, says the Economic Times.