1.It was 200 years ago that a French doctor when examining a female patient rolled up sheets
of paper and placed them to her heart instead of putting his ear to her chest. This single act
gave birth to that universal marker of medical practice, the stethoscope. Over two centuries,
this device has travelled wide, and is now seen in S&M shops, toy stores, and medical exam
rooms. Unfortunately on its 200th birthday, instead of celebration there’s talk of dispatching
the stethoscope to the morgue. Last week, Jagat Narula, a cardiologist, provocatively claimed:
“The stethoscope is dead”.
2. In 2014, India-born 15-year old Suman Mulumudi invented the steth 10 in Seattle. He is one
among several who have come up with alternative to the regular stethoscope. His invention
essentially records heart and lung sounds and converts them into a spectrogram which can be
annotated in an iPhone that amplifies and stores for future reference. The device is in the
market. Besides this, there are other choices in the market. Others have cited a portable
ultrasound machine as a possible successor. An FDA approved digital stethoscope that records
the sounds of a patient’s heart and transmits them into an app is also around. The chip stored
in the cloud can be transferred for a second opinion anywhere in the world. Some stethoscope
apps play doctor and deliver snap diagnosis by applying algorithms to match the patient’s
recordings with a reprogrammed index of common sounds detected for listening to internal
sounds of the body.
3. The gains, experts say are greater diagnostic accuracy, real-time results and streamlined
treatment that save the patient time and money by eliminating superfluous tests and
medication. But not all Indian doctors are convinced about it. Dr. Vineeta Arora maintains that
technology is what you tell technology. Good history taking and listening to a patient can
never be substituted. If the machine misses even one sign, the diagnosis could be incorrect.
According to Dr. C.T. Deshmukh, 90% of doctors can’t do without a stetho, but some others
point out stethos stand-ins will not penetrate the Indian market until new digital devices are
introduced to student’s right at medical school. According to Dr. Nilesh Bhandari, when you
go to techno conferences you realize that stethoscopes are going out because apps and mobile
phones are more accurate and tell you more. For manufacturers of steel stethoscopes, their
devices are a bargain at Rs.500 to Rs.2000.Even though electronic stethoscopes have been
available for several years you will seldom come across them in use.
4. The economics of operating the next gen stethoscope may prove a hurdle in India.
Logistically, the steep imbalance between doctor-patient ratio - 6 doctors to every 10,000
people could suppose that quicker, more efficient tools with tele-medicine capabilities would
have sped up diagnosis but then again 80% of the population is treated in rural India where
steady electricity is a luxury. 5. This is why other doctors feel that it is not yet time for the stethoscope to exit although they
believe that will undoubtedly come. For the present convention is suggestive of the doctor’s
authority because when a patient sees an individual with a stethoscope they feel reassured that
they are incapable hands and feel on the way to recovery. Moreover, if you take away the
symbol you take away the placebo effect of the doctor.
6. Finally it is worthwhile to remember that a conventional stetho may not relay messages but
it has always had a processor - between the ear tips.
a. The French doctor examining a woman patient_______.
(i) Rolled up his sleeve (ii) Rolled up sheets of paper
(iii)Placed a paper to his ear (iv) Invented the stethoscope
b. The stethoscope can now be seen in_______
(i) Medical operating rooms and toy shops (ii) Toy shops and sports goods
(iii) Medical examination rooms and toy shops (iv) Book stores and hospitals
c. The stethoscope has been in use for_________
(i) A century (ii) 200 years (iii) Since 2014 (iv) Before the computer age
d. The digital stethoscope records the patient’s heartbeat and_____
(i) Stores it in its memory (ii) Transmits it to the iPhone
(iii) Warns the doctor (iv) Stores it in an app
e. In rural India, steady electricity is still considered to be a_____ .
(i) Need (ii) Luxury (iii) History (iv) Demand
f. In 2014, Suman Mundi invented the stetho 10 in Seattle. True/False
g. At medical conferences, stethoscopes are becoming outdated because apps and mobile
devices are more________.
h. The sentence “The stethoscope is dead” was given by______.
i. The type of stethoscope that records the sounds of a patient’s heart and translates it into an
app is______.
OR
A patient feels_______ when he sees a doctor with a stethoscope.
j. Find words from the passage which mean the opposite of the following:
(i) External (Para 2) OR (ii) Inefficient (Para 3
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a. The French doctor examining a woman patient (ii) rolled up sheets of paper.
b. The stethoscope can now be seen in (iii) medical examination rooms and toy shops.
c. The stethoscope has been in use for (ii) 200 years.
d. The digital stethoscope records the patient’s heartbeat and (iv) stores it in an app.
e. In rural India, steady electricity is still considered to be a (ii) luxury.
f. In 2014, Suman Mundi invented the stetho 10 in Seattle. - False
g. At medical conferences, stethoscopes are becoming outdated because apps and mobile devices are more accurate.
h. The sentence “The stethoscope is dead” was given by Jagat Narula.
i. The type of stethoscope that records the sounds of a patient’s heart and translates it into an app is digital.
OR
A patient feels reassured when he sees a doctor with a stethoscope.
j. Find words from the passage which mean the opposite of the following:
(i) External - internal (Para 2) OR (ii) Inefficient - expert (Para 3)
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