Thank you for a comprehensive and informed review. As a nurse with hearing loss ( congenital and worsening) I am looking to purchase my first electronic scope and this has been a big help.
Thank you! I am a severely hearing impaired Respiratory Therapist. My Electromax Stethoscope died and am looking at different options (they don't make this scope anymore). I was between the Littman and the Thinklabs. The amplification of 100X normal scope power is amazing and to hear that the quality of sound is pretty good really helps. No one has either of these scopes to test out. Thank you again!!!
Great comprehensive review. Personally, I have used the 3100 for nearly 8 years now, it has never failed me once. I recently went with the ONE, I have had it about 2 months now. The sound clarity is far superior to the 3100. The ear bud cords do seem to get tangled more than I would like, and lastly (for me) after average use the ONE battery was zero just before a shift, it took about 6 hours (connected to a computer USB) to charge. One last note, to add wireless connectivity to the ONE (with decent bass earbuds) is another $200 on top of the cost of the ONE.
Hi Don, thank you for your helpful comments. What do you mean "to add wireless connectivity to the ONE" ? Thinklab has a Bluetooth transmitter for audio wireless connectivity for $50. What do you mean by $200 more?
Hello, could you please give us an updated review of the Thinklabs One stethoscope. Just to know how it has been since your first review. Thank you in advance
prime example of how opinions differ.. LOVE my 3200 especially on the ambulance as a MICN!! 3200 blows it out of the water.. best thing is I can record it and send it to a Dr. I am reporting to in a VERY VERY rapid time, even when I am still in the back of the ambulance on my many many NICU CCT, ive even had doctors recieve the "tones" before I even get the patient to the inbound NICU we are transporting to.
so if youre getting a digital signal, couldnt you run it through software to detect anomolies? For instance if the signal has higher frequencies associated with wheezing, it could give an alert.
its sad isnt it, we are constantly seeing new devices in consumer market. But for 20 million doctors and probably another 20 million more medical personnel that can utilize digital stethoscope, not really a breakthrough.
Try it with the Sennheiser CX175 earbuds... they are pretty loud (120db), low noise and have a great frequency response (17-23000Hz)... they are not very expensive either, and offer outstanding audio quality :) I use them for listening to HQ audio recordings all of the time! anyways.. thank You for the video, i was looking for a good review of both of these stethoscopes :)
Great objective review! For me as a person who loses lots of pens on wards the small size is actually a disadvantage as it can get misplaced easily. It is much more difficult to lose your bulky oldschool stethoscope. This aside I think that thinklab one is awesome and I'd buy one have I known I'm not gonna lose it soon :/
bookeaterintube Yeah, I sometimes get paranoid about losing it too. I almost always carry it in the provided case, which makes it substantially bulkier.
I enjoyed your stethoscope review. I have had several digital stethoscope and agree with you on the littmann. I bought the Thinklabs one and love it. Your review was spot one.
Interesting that you have had such a bad experience with the 3200. I have owned mine since 2014 and it has been used hard. I find the noise cancellation to be one of the biggest advantages, especially when working on the side of highways, in aircraft, or in the ED. I have not tried the thinklabs, but I have used several other digital stethoscopes, and too many classic models to count from the cheap isolation stethoscopes to my old master cardiology. For a noisy environment, the 3200 is what I prefer. While I agree there is no need for the 'traditional' shape, it is convenient to throw around your neck while you continue to assess and treat, listen, intubate, then confirm lung sounds again. Not the same with a puck. Much easier to misplace during a chaotic rescue with hydraulic rams and cutters removing car doors while you are in the back seat auscultating lung sounds. Different tools for different environments. Like I said, I have absolutely abused my 3200 and it is still going strong. It works great whether I am working as a nurse, or as a paramedic, and I hear the murmurs I miss with non augmented stethoscopes due to slight hearing loss from years of rescue work. I would like to see improved bluetooth... and the software stinks, but my 3200 is battle proven.
I'm glad you've had more luck with the 3200 than me, and thanks for sharing so viewers appreciate the spectrum of user experience with it! I agree that it would be much easier to lose the Thinklabs One in environments like the field or trauma bays. Luckily 99% of my patient encounters are in relatively calm hospital rooms, so haven't misplaced it (yet).
Thank you for the good review. As a paramedic I will wait with investment on this until there is a better alternative. To have to connect a unit to a recording device is just to much hassle on scene.
There is also a device you can attach to existing stethescope called Eko Core. Its worth looking at, most people are very dependent on Littman, so the good news is it can attach to your comfortable Littman. You can then upload the data for further analysis, it captures sound in real time so you can see it on your device. Really a great tool. Does anyone have actual in practice experience with the product that is reviewed here?
I like the One enough that I'm not sure I could bring myself to do a remotely robust head to head comparison in the hospital of conventional stethoscopes. However, the Littmann cardiology III is the best conventional stethoscope I've previously used, and seems to be the most common among other attending physicians at my institution (not to imply that most popular necessarily equates with being the best).
I have a 3200 Littman and it works great. No interference with anything. I've had it for 3 years and take care of it. I don't let it get banged and I carry it in my medicine bag. Maybe you got a "lemon".
Great video! I wanted to know the comparison between the Littmann digital stethoscope and the Thinklabs One. I bought the model 3100 one and it was disappointing because it wasnt the right stethoscope for me. I got moderated hearing loss and been struggling for one that connects to my hearing aids. I've been told that Thinklabs One is really, really good. The sound quality is really great they say. It just that i really have to take care of it.
Carlos Wazar I've had other viewers ask me about whether the Thinklabs One can be directly connected to a hearing aid. I honestly don't know, but I've found the company to be very responsive to questions sent via email, and would recommend you ask them about it directly. DEpending on the nature of your hearing loss, you may find that you don't even need to use your hearing aid when using the Thinklabs One - it's maximum volume setting is very loud, much louder than a person with normal hearing could ever tolerate.
+Eric's Medical Lectures +Carlos Wazar I have older model Siemens Pure wireless binaural hearing aids and it looks like they would connect using an additional accessory sold by Siemens with a 35mm input that transmits their proprietary wireless signal to the hearing aids. Newer models do this using a smartphone app as a bridge but something needs to "translate" the wireless signal. The other brands I've seen are similar but things are always changing! I think a part of what everyone is concerned about is the inconvenience of continually removing and reinserting their hearing aids (and potentially losing them!) every time they need to use their stethoscope. Thanks for the review, BTW. I need to start taking a BP manually but the cheap stethoscopes just aren't loud enough for me. Unfortunately both of these are out of my price range. I'm hoping either the new Littmann Classic III or a used Cardiology III will be an acceptable compromise.
Hi, good review. I decided to buy the Thinklabs after watching your review. I find the earpiece hard to use as it tends to fall out of your ears. I guess I need to by some new earphones. As far as the Litmann, I am on my second which I bought after sending the first one back and then having it break again. Since it was a new model, I was less upset but it gets expensive to keep sending it back and paying for repairs. The new one just stopped working. The display intermittently goes off. I found if I opened the battery compartment and they twisted it back on, the power would restore. I don't know if this is the same problem with yours but it could be. Try taking a Q tip and cleaning the contacts inside the stethoscope where the battery fits in. This so far has corrected the problem. I actually did the cleaning with a pencil eraser that I anserted and spun a few times against the contact but when I get the Q tips, I will clean it further.
Thanks for the great review and hope this product just continues to get better. If they can make bluetooth built into it, it would be more worth the price. I am hard of hearing and wear hearing aids and could love to stream the sounds to them but I cannot afford this nor the bluetooth adapter so I am going to go with the Cardio III like you suggested in your video. See how it goes if I still cannot hear will have to find a way to get this.
Thanks for the recommendation. Sensicardiac looks interesting, but (and maybe I'm too old school) I'm not personally a fan of subscription-based software.
The problem with the background noise isn't that the One lacks built in noise reduction, it's that it uses a 3.5mm jack. Any real microphone uses XLR or USB connectors, but these would be impossible for this device. Audacity's noise reduction abilities would likely be better than anything they could put into the One. I'm afraid this device is about as good as you're gonna get.
+Daniel Oakey Thanks for your input. When desperate, I've used a cheap lav mic plugged into my H4N via its 3.5mm jack; it doesn't sound great, but has significantly less noise than the One. So I'm not sure that the problem is just the jack. Though you may be right that real-time, digital noise cancellation solutions may not be minaturizable enough to fit inside a stethoscope head (at least not in 2016).
Thanks for your review! I decided to go and purchase one. I'm tired of my preceptors looking at me smugly and asking me whether or not I heard the murmur--then telling them honestly that I had not. Also, thank you for your EKG review videos. It's nice to see good, free resources available for learning.
@@StrongMed , the hearing aids despite being smaller, have noise reduction systems, even in 2016. On the other hand it is so sophisticated technology, so maybe the ThinLab company doesn't have enough technological background to manage it.
Do you know if the Thinklabs One would pick up the fetal heartbeat well? I imagine this potentially being a great ultrasound free alternative to using a fetal doppler.
Hi! I would like to know if you have ever used a spectrum analyzer app to record the sounds and displaying. In your review, where you used audacity, one can see a phonocardiogram, but it would be interesting to know if seeing the frequencies vs dB on the phone could improve diagnostic accuracy.
Enjoyed the review. I wonder if this could be adapted for use in my aircraft through the headset? As of now I have no way of monitoring lung sounds or heart tones while in flight.
+Matthew Whitt Sorry, I can't answer that. But the 3.5mm headphone jack certainly makes it more adaptable than any other commercial product that I know of.
+Matthew Whitt I was thinking the same thing. We have the ability to use a doppler plugged into the aircraft that sends to our headsets, I would imagine an adapter to 1/4" plug and it might work.
Hi, thanks for your overview, I learned a lot from it. Im a mechanical engineering student from Israel (last year) and my final project in to explore\build a new digital stethoscope. Can I contuct with you to get more information? Thanks !
very nice review! I agree re the Littman software but found the thinklab too expensive to just try out. Actually I thought the Littman was reasonable to auscultate with but found the BT and software useless. How did you get those nice phono displays? Made me remember the phonocardiograph I dragged around during my fellowship.
Vic, thanks for the message. To get the phonocardiogram, I recorded the sounds with the Thinklabs attached to a digital recorder, which saves the audio as a wav file. Then I opened up the wav in an audio-editing program called Audacity, and just took a screen shot. Just takes a minute, but unfortunately, can't do it at the bedside (or anywhere at the VA since they won't let us install outside software!). Let me know if you'd like to borrow the Thinklabs One for a little while - happy to stop by and lend it out for a trial.
Very good review! I always wanted to buy a digital stethoscope, I love gadgets/technology. By the other hand, as a med student, I've concluded that it's not a good investment, once I am not going to Cardiology or any Clinical specialization and I can see in your video that the digital ones doesn't offer that much more compered to a regular stethoscope, and costs a bit more! Thanks for the review video!
Hi. A very nice and detailed review? Only a small doubt. Can speakers be used in place of headphones if v want the patients and his relatives listen to lung sounds in case of a asthmatic patient. This makes the treatment plan a little easy.
+piyush arora I've used an iPad at the bedside for discussing heart murmurs. The sound quality on the external speakers of the iPad are not good enough for diagnostic purposes, but I think they helped the patient/family accept that there was something abnormal. As I think I mentioned in the video (and if I didn't, I meant to), neither the Thinklabs One nor Littmann 3200 do a great job with reproducing lung sounds. I have no idea why the fidelity seems to be less than heart sounds, unless it's a function of how we unconsciously use the rise and fall of a person's chest to help time lung sounds when listening in real-time, which we aren't able to do on a recording. Having said that, the wheezing of an asthmatic is the least ambiguous of lung abnormalities heard with a stethoscope, so that probably won't be an issue.
My 3200 has been excellent for pre-hospital and critical care. I bought it for the noise cancelling, and I like that you can wear it around your neck while assessing and treating. No one is wearing a white coat in the field... and I am not putting my hands in my pockets after they have God only knows what fluids on them. Easy to wipe down the 3200, and easy to put a glove over the diaphragm. :) I am curious about a Chinese version of the Thinklabs... www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Minttihealth-Smartho-Digital-Stethoscope_60738135324.html?spm=a2700.details.deiletai6.10.47ac66e2sl12gq
I am a pediatrician, and have long wished for a remote stethoscope for toddlers, as they cry as soon as they see the stethoscope attached to my ears. I could then have the parent hold the device, and with blue tooth headset, listen to the child when they don't know I am listening, and are not crying. Would this device work for this use?
Nancy, I'm afraid I've never seen nor tried the Bluetooth version, but have considered getting it - the tangled earphone wires are annoying. If you happen to try it, please let us know how it is!
If you attach it to a pocket digital recorder (e.g. I used the H4N zoom), there is no limit to recording length. I suspect the same is true if you use a phone or tablet to record.
Your 3200 is probably not working because of dirty contact in the battery compartment, I bought a new one because the first stopped working after I had already paid to fix it once. The new one stopped working recently. I took out the battery and cleaned the contact with a pencil eraser. Both are now working fine. I since cleaned the contact with alcolol on a Q tip. Try it.
Louis Grenzer Thanks for the suggestion, but the battery compartment is clean. Also, the light on the display turns on, but there are no letters/numbers displayed. Unfortunately, I don't think it's the power supply.
Eric's Medical Lectures Too bad, when my first one turned out to have the same problem, I thought it might also be the problem with yours. They really should make these more durable, you should not have to lay out another $400.
I have a question, I have a hearing problem and I'm currently enrolled as a nurse assistant and need to order specialist stethoscope.I need a stethoscope to check B.P and respirations I'm using a traditional stethoscope but having trouble with it.Would you recommend the ThinkLab or stick with the littman 3200?
Marcos Lugo There are different types of hearing loss which might impact which stethoscope is best. I would recommend trying to find someone who owns each, and test driving them on a few patients (though that may be hard for the Thinklabs since it isn't widely used - at least not yet!). Having said that, if what you are looking for is whichever stethoscope amplifies the sound the most, the Thinklabs One can get much much louder than the Littmann 3200. It's not even close. At it's loudest volume setting, the Littmann doesn't seem all that much louder than the conventional (non-digital) Littmann cardiology III. However, with the Thinklabs, on a 1-10 scale, once the volume gets above about 7-8, it is physically painful to use for a person with normal hearing.
Hello A family member has many times ears infection by using "normal" sthetoscopes, I think the Thinklabs model solves this problem if she uses a "external¨ headphone, right? She is in her second year or internal medicine, what else do I need besides the sthetoscope itsef?, the Bluetooth options are for cardiologist only?, there is any model with noise cancelling? Many Thanks RC
+Roberto Calles I haven't encountered anyone before who had problems with recurrent ear infections from stethoscope use (not to say that it can't happen!) Are you sure it's infection and not physical irritation that he/she is experiencing? Or maybe even a contact dermatitis from the material used for the earpieces? The standard Thinklabs One package comes with everything you need, except software and hardware for recording and/or visualizing sounds (if one wants to do this; it's helpful for teaching, but not needed for patient care). To record, you will either need a smartphone or ipad with a compatible recording app. Alternatively, you could use a portable digital recorder (e.g. Zoom H4N), which is what I use, but this is more cumbersome and expensive. Regarding noise cancellation, excessive ambient noise was still a problem for the model I bought and reviewed. I don't know if the company has addressed this better in the 1.5 years since. If not, the best strategy to reduce ambient room noise is good fitting earpieces.
I don't know anything about fixing 3200s - if I did, I would have fixed my own a long time ago! And yes, I definitely recommend the Thinklabs One for hearing impaired clinicians. The amplification is unreal.
WORSE customer service ever. the battery not working and it stoped after less than 4 to 5 times use. sent it for repair and they didnt tell me what was the problem and why should a 780$ CAN stethoscope stop working for no reason. they even didnt give me an extra battery cuz I can sent it back to state each time it gets pb which apparently gonna happen a lot. they hanged up phone on me while I was asking question to clarifying the problem to prevent it from happening again. so disappointing
I'm sorry you had that experience, and I have no reason to doubt it. My own customer service experience with the company was great, but the company founder had already reached out to me after seeing this review, so I obviously wouldn't expect my experience to be typical. Not sure what you mean by "give me an extra battery" - the device isn't designed to allow battery exchange by the consumer.
How are you going to post a video review about a sethoscope that is OBVIOUSLY meant for deaf people/hearing impaired people and not have closed captioning up there?? That is so inconsiderate.
Oh no! I am so sorry. I have autocaption set as default for all my videos, and didn't realize that CC was not turned on for this one (ironic, I know!). Bizarrely, when I attempted to turn on autocaption, RUclips doesn't even show it as an option at all for the video. (A quick search reveals a handful of other RUclipsrs have experienced this problem for isolated videos, without explanation.) So I just now put them in manually. Thank you for not just being annoyed at this oversight, but for pointing it out to me! And please point out any other videos lacking CC. (I did a quick scan, and didn't immediately see any others.)
Hi! I would like to know if you have ever used a spectrum analyzer app to record the sounds and displaying. In your review, where you used audacity, one can see a phonocardiogram, but it would be interesting to know if seeing the frequencies vs dB on the phone could improve diagnostic accuracy.
+robertonicolasz Thanks for the suggestion. I have not tried that before, and I am unaware of any research looking at it, but it certainly sounds interesting! If anyone reading has tried this, please let us know how well it works.
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Thank you for a comprehensive and informed review. As a nurse with hearing loss ( congenital and worsening) I am looking to purchase my first electronic scope and this has been a big help.
Thank you! I am a severely hearing impaired Respiratory Therapist. My Electromax Stethoscope died and am looking at different options (they don't make this scope anymore). I was between the Littman and the Thinklabs. The amplification of 100X normal scope power is amazing and to hear that the quality of sound is pretty good really helps. No one has either of these scopes to test out. Thank you again!!!
Great comprehensive review. Personally, I have used the 3100 for nearly 8 years now, it has never failed me once. I recently went with the ONE, I have had it about 2 months now. The sound clarity is far superior to the 3100. The ear bud cords do seem to get tangled more than I would like, and lastly (for me) after average use the ONE battery was zero just before a shift, it took about 6 hours (connected to a computer USB) to charge. One last note, to add wireless connectivity to the ONE (with decent bass earbuds) is another $200 on top of the cost of the ONE.
Hi Don, thank you for your helpful comments. What do you mean "to add wireless connectivity to the ONE" ? Thinklab has a Bluetooth transmitter for audio wireless connectivity for $50. What do you mean by $200 more?
I use littmann 3200 since 2 years and its better than any other electronic stethoscopes
Hello, could you please give us an updated review of the Thinklabs One stethoscope. Just to know how it has been since your first review.
Thank you in advance
prime example of how opinions differ.. LOVE my 3200 especially on the ambulance as a MICN!! 3200 blows it out of the water.. best thing is I can record it and send it to a Dr. I am reporting to in a VERY VERY rapid time, even when I am still in the back of the ambulance on my many many NICU CCT, ive even had doctors recieve the "tones" before I even get the patient to the inbound NICU we are transporting to.
What is your setup for sending audio samples remotely? I would have expected this to be prohibitively cumbersome during an emergency.
Littmann's software Steth-Assist allows for this. You can record heart sounds locally and if need be email the sounds on the fly.
Would love to hear a comparison vs an Eko Core (or even Eko Duo). Thinking of either one of these (Thinklabs One, Littman or Eko) and can’t decide!
Thanks for taking the time to do the review. I have Mild to Moderate hearing loss and do well with a Cardiology III. Think I'll stick with it for now.
Jack Hydrick hi
could you share if you need to remove your ha s when using your current stethoscope?
so if youre getting a digital signal, couldnt you run it through software to detect anomolies? For instance if the signal has higher frequencies associated with wheezing, it could give an alert.
What about now, in 2019? Did the Thinklab device get some upgrades? The con's of this device were improved? Is it worthy to get one now?
its sad isnt it, we are constantly seeing new devices in consumer market. But for 20 million doctors and probably another 20 million more medical personnel that can utilize digital stethoscope, not really a breakthrough.
Try it with the Sennheiser CX175 earbuds... they are pretty loud (120db), low noise and have a great frequency response (17-23000Hz)... they are not very expensive either, and offer outstanding audio quality :) I use them for listening to HQ audio recordings all of the time! anyways.. thank You for the video, i was looking for a good review of both of these stethoscopes :)
I hope you make an updated one of this!
Great objective review!
For me as a person who loses lots of pens on wards the small size is actually a disadvantage as it can get misplaced easily. It is much more difficult to lose your bulky oldschool stethoscope.
This aside I think that thinklab one is awesome and I'd buy one have I known I'm not gonna lose it soon :/
bookeaterintube Yeah, I sometimes get paranoid about losing it too. I almost always carry it in the provided case, which makes it substantially bulkier.
I enjoyed your stethoscope review. I have had several digital stethoscope and agree with you on the littmann. I bought the Thinklabs one and love it. Your review was spot one.
Interesting that you have had such a bad experience with the 3200. I have owned mine since 2014 and it has been used hard. I find the noise cancellation to be one of the biggest advantages, especially when working on the side of highways, in aircraft, or in the ED. I have not tried the thinklabs, but I have used several other digital stethoscopes, and too many classic models to count from the cheap isolation stethoscopes to my old master cardiology. For a noisy environment, the 3200 is what I prefer. While I agree there is no need for the 'traditional' shape, it is convenient to throw around your neck while you continue to assess and treat, listen, intubate, then confirm lung sounds again. Not the same with a puck. Much easier to misplace during a chaotic rescue with hydraulic rams and cutters removing car doors while you are in the back seat auscultating lung sounds. Different tools for different environments. Like I said, I have absolutely abused my 3200 and it is still going strong. It works great whether I am working as a nurse, or as a paramedic, and I hear the murmurs I miss with non augmented stethoscopes due to slight hearing loss from years of rescue work. I would like to see improved bluetooth... and the software stinks, but my 3200 is battle proven.
I'm glad you've had more luck with the 3200 than me, and thanks for sharing so viewers appreciate the spectrum of user experience with it! I agree that it would be much easier to lose the Thinklabs One in environments like the field or trauma bays. Luckily 99% of my patient encounters are in relatively calm hospital rooms, so haven't misplaced it (yet).
Thank you for the good review. As a paramedic I will wait with investment on this until there is a better alternative. To have to connect a unit to a recording device is just to much hassle on scene.
Cheers for a great review. Comment coming 7 years later from post :)
Thanks!
Great review. Clear and informative. Pretty excited to order the one myself.
There is also a device you can attach to existing stethescope called Eko Core. Its worth looking at, most people are very dependent on Littman, so the good news is it can attach to your comfortable Littman. You can then upload the data for further analysis, it captures sound in real time so you can see it on your device. Really a great tool.
Does anyone have actual in practice experience with the product that is reviewed here?
Great review with details and real recording, THX~!
I wish that every review would be like that, what an amazing review, thank you very much for that!
Great review!, i've always wondered what stethoscope you used. I hope you continue to such reviews, maybe even a comparison between convetional steths
I like the One enough that I'm not sure I could bring myself to do a remotely robust head to head comparison in the hospital of conventional stethoscopes. However, the Littmann cardiology III is the best conventional stethoscope I've previously used, and seems to be the most common among other attending physicians at my institution (not to imply that most popular necessarily equates with being the best).
I have a 3200 Littman and it works great. No interference with anything. I've had it for 3 years and take care of it. I don't let it get banged and I carry it in my medicine bag. Maybe you got a "lemon".
Could have been a lemon, but it's outside the warranty period now, and there's no way I'm spending another $400 to find out!
Great video! I wanted to know the comparison between the Littmann digital stethoscope and the Thinklabs One. I bought the model 3100 one and it was disappointing because it wasnt the right stethoscope for me. I got moderated hearing loss and been struggling for one that connects to my hearing aids. I've been told that Thinklabs One is really, really good. The sound quality is really great they say. It just that i really have to take care of it.
Carlos Wazar I've had other viewers ask me about whether the Thinklabs One can be directly connected to a hearing aid. I honestly don't know, but I've found the company to be very responsive to questions sent via email, and would recommend you ask them about it directly. DEpending on the nature of your hearing loss, you may find that you don't even need to use your hearing aid when using the Thinklabs One - it's maximum volume setting is very loud, much louder than a person with normal hearing could ever tolerate.
+Eric's Medical Lectures +Carlos Wazar I have older model Siemens Pure wireless binaural hearing aids and it looks like they would connect using an additional accessory sold by Siemens with a 35mm input that transmits their proprietary wireless signal to the hearing aids. Newer models do this using a smartphone app as a bridge but something needs to "translate" the wireless signal. The other brands I've seen are similar but things are always changing! I think a part of what everyone is concerned about is the inconvenience of continually removing and reinserting their hearing aids (and potentially losing them!) every time they need to use their stethoscope. Thanks for the review, BTW. I need to start taking a BP manually but the cheap stethoscopes just aren't loud enough for me. Unfortunately both of these are out of my price range. I'm hoping either the new Littmann Classic III or a used Cardiology III will be an acceptable compromise.
Hi, good review.
I decided to buy the Thinklabs after watching your review. I find the earpiece hard to use as it tends to fall out of your ears. I guess I need to by some new earphones.
As far as the Litmann, I am on my second which I bought after sending the first one back and then having it break again. Since it was a new model, I was less upset but it gets expensive to keep sending it back and paying for repairs. The new one just stopped working. The display intermittently goes off. I found if I opened the battery compartment and they twisted it back on, the power would restore. I don't know if this is the same problem with yours but it could be.
Try taking a Q tip and cleaning the contacts inside the stethoscope where the battery fits in. This so far has corrected the problem. I actually did the cleaning with a pencil eraser that I anserted and spun a few times against the contact but when I get the Q tips, I will clean it further.
Thanks for the great review and hope this product just continues to get better. If they can make bluetooth built into it, it would be more worth the price. I am hard of hearing and wear hearing aids and could love to stream the sounds to them but I cannot afford this nor the bluetooth adapter so I am going to go with the Cardio III like you suggested in your video. See how it goes if I still cannot hear will have to find a way to get this.
for software that would match either steth, check out the sensicardiac program. We use it daily in our clinic
Thanks for the recommendation. Sensicardiac looks interesting, but (and maybe I'm too old school) I'm not personally a fan of subscription-based software.
Thanks for your comment. When I purchased this system, it was subscription free. That may be a bargaining point for you.
Great job. Thanks for doing this video!!
The problem with the background noise isn't that the One lacks built in noise reduction, it's that it uses a 3.5mm jack. Any real microphone uses XLR or USB connectors, but these would be impossible for this device. Audacity's noise reduction abilities would likely be better than anything they could put into the One. I'm afraid this device is about as good as you're gonna get.
+Daniel Oakey Thanks for your input. When desperate, I've used a cheap lav mic plugged into my H4N via its 3.5mm jack; it doesn't sound great, but has significantly less noise than the One. So I'm not sure that the problem is just the jack. Though you may be right that real-time, digital noise cancellation solutions may not be minaturizable enough to fit inside a stethoscope head (at least not in 2016).
Thanks for your review! I decided to go and purchase one. I'm tired of my preceptors looking at me smugly and asking me whether or not I heard the murmur--then telling them honestly that I had not. Also, thank you for your EKG review videos. It's nice to see good, free resources available for learning.
@@StrongMed , the hearing aids despite being smaller, have noise reduction systems, even in 2016. On the other hand it is so sophisticated technology, so maybe the ThinLab company doesn't have enough technological background to manage it.
Do you know if the Thinklabs One would pick up the fetal heartbeat well? I imagine this potentially being a great ultrasound free alternative to using a fetal doppler.
Hi! I would like to know if you have ever used a spectrum analyzer app to record the sounds and displaying. In your review, where you used audacity, one can see a phonocardiogram, but it would be interesting to know if seeing the frequencies vs dB on the phone could improve diagnostic accuracy.
Enjoyed the review. I wonder if this could be adapted for use in my aircraft through the headset? As of now I have no way of monitoring lung sounds or heart tones while in flight.
+Matthew Whitt Sorry, I can't answer that. But the 3.5mm headphone jack certainly makes it more adaptable than any other commercial product that I know of.
+Matthew Whitt I was thinking the same thing. We have the ability to use a doppler plugged into the aircraft that sends to our headsets, I would imagine an adapter to 1/4" plug and it might work.
Hi, thanks for your overview, I learned a lot from it. Im a mechanical engineering student from Israel (last year) and my final project in to explore\build a new digital stethoscope. Can I contuct with you to get more information? Thanks !
Jane Davydov did you build a stethoscope?
Well done review and product comparison.
very nice review! I agree re the Littman software but found the thinklab too expensive to just try out. Actually I thought the Littman was reasonable to auscultate with but found the BT and software useless. How did you get those nice phono displays? Made me remember the phonocardiograph I dragged around during my fellowship.
Vic, thanks for the message. To get the phonocardiogram, I recorded the sounds with the Thinklabs attached to a digital recorder, which saves the audio as a wav file. Then I opened up the wav in an audio-editing program called Audacity, and just took a screen shot. Just takes a minute, but unfortunately, can't do it at the bedside (or anywhere at the VA since they won't let us install outside software!). Let me know if you'd like to borrow the Thinklabs One for a little while - happy to stop by and lend it out for a trial.
That is so true. It does not last.
Thank you for this dynamic approach~~
Very good review! I always wanted to buy a digital stethoscope, I love gadgets/technology. By the other hand, as a med student, I've concluded that it's not a good investment, once I am not going to Cardiology or any Clinical specialization and I can see in your video that the digital ones doesn't offer that much more compered to a regular stethoscope, and costs a bit more! Thanks for the review video!
thanks, I really enjoined your review.
Hi. A very nice and detailed review? Only a small doubt. Can speakers be used in place of headphones if v want the patients and his relatives listen to lung sounds in case of a asthmatic patient. This makes the treatment plan a little easy.
+piyush arora I've used an iPad at the bedside for discussing heart murmurs. The sound quality on the external speakers of the iPad are not good enough for diagnostic purposes, but I think they helped the patient/family accept that there was something abnormal.
As I think I mentioned in the video (and if I didn't, I meant to), neither the Thinklabs One nor Littmann 3200 do a great job with reproducing lung sounds. I have no idea why the fidelity seems to be less than heart sounds, unless it's a function of how we unconsciously use the rise and fall of a person's chest to help time lung sounds when listening in real-time, which we aren't able to do on a recording. Having said that, the wheezing of an asthmatic is the least ambiguous of lung abnormalities heard with a stethoscope, so that probably won't be an issue.
I wonder how this device would perform in high noise environments like the back of an ambulance
My 3200 has been excellent for pre-hospital and critical care. I bought it for the noise cancelling, and I like that you can wear it around your neck while assessing and treating. No one is wearing a white coat in the field... and I am not putting my hands in my pockets after they have God only knows what fluids on them. Easy to wipe down the 3200, and easy to put a glove over the diaphragm. :) I am curious about a Chinese version of the Thinklabs... www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Minttihealth-Smartho-Digital-Stethoscope_60738135324.html?spm=a2700.details.deiletai6.10.47ac66e2sl12gq
What explaines absence of S1 in the patient ?
Thank you
I am a pediatrician, and have long wished for a remote stethoscope for toddlers, as they cry as soon as they see the stethoscope attached to my ears. I could then have the parent hold the device, and with blue tooth headset, listen to the child when they don't know I am listening, and are not crying. Would this device work for this use?
Nancy, I'm afraid I've never seen nor tried the Bluetooth version, but have considered getting it - the tangled earphone wires are annoying. If you happen to try it, please let us know how it is!
So if the littmann quit working properly after 18 months, how long have you used the Thinklabs one steth?
About 10 months. Only problem has been the first set of earbuds falling apart, which the company was very quick to replace once they heard about it.
Great review! How long of a recording can one make? Other electronic steths only allow for recordings up to 15 seconds.
If you attach it to a pocket digital recorder (e.g. I used the H4N zoom), there is no limit to recording length. I suspect the same is true if you use a phone or tablet to record.
I have using IIC type hearing aid ...thinklabs one is supported to me or not...if u reply me ,thanks for valuable words.
Your 3200 is probably not working because of dirty contact in the battery compartment, I bought a new one because the first stopped working after I had already paid to fix it once.
The new one stopped working recently. I took out the battery and cleaned the contact with a pencil eraser. Both are now working fine. I since cleaned the contact with alcolol on a Q tip. Try it.
Louis Grenzer Thanks for the suggestion, but the battery compartment is clean. Also, the light on the display turns on, but there are no letters/numbers displayed. Unfortunately, I don't think it's the power supply.
Eric's Medical Lectures Too bad, when my first one turned out to have the same problem, I thought it might also be the problem with yours. They really should make these more durable, you should not have to lay out another $400.
I agree, but on the bright side, if the 3200 had been more durable, I would have been less motivated to seek out the Thinklabs One.
I have a question, I have a hearing problem and I'm currently enrolled as a nurse assistant and need to order specialist stethoscope.I need a stethoscope to check B.P and respirations I'm using a traditional stethoscope but having trouble with it.Would you recommend the ThinkLab or stick with the littman 3200?
Marcos Lugo There are different types of hearing loss which might impact which stethoscope is best. I would recommend trying to find someone who owns each, and test driving them on a few patients (though that may be hard for the Thinklabs since it isn't widely used - at least not yet!). Having said that, if what you are looking for is whichever stethoscope amplifies the sound the most, the Thinklabs One can get much much louder than the Littmann 3200. It's not even close. At it's loudest volume setting, the Littmann doesn't seem all that much louder than the conventional (non-digital) Littmann cardiology III. However, with the Thinklabs, on a 1-10 scale, once the volume gets above about 7-8, it is physically painful to use for a person with normal hearing.
What is the exact price?
Excellent review!
Thanks, this was really helpful! I'm hearing impaired and am really worried about wasting money on a digital stethoscope that won't actually work!
Hello
A family member has many times ears infection by using "normal" sthetoscopes, I think the Thinklabs model solves this problem if she uses a "external¨ headphone, right? She is in her second year or internal medicine, what else do I need besides the sthetoscope itsef?, the Bluetooth options are for cardiologist only?, there is any model with noise cancelling?
Many Thanks
RC
+Roberto Calles I haven't encountered anyone before who had problems with recurrent ear infections from stethoscope use (not to say that it can't happen!) Are you sure it's infection and not physical irritation that he/she is experiencing? Or maybe even a contact dermatitis from the material used for the earpieces?
The standard Thinklabs One package comes with everything you need, except software and hardware for recording and/or visualizing sounds (if one wants to do this; it's helpful for teaching, but not needed for patient care). To record, you will either need a smartphone or ipad with a compatible recording app. Alternatively, you could use a portable digital recorder (e.g. Zoom H4N), which is what I use, but this is more cumbersome and expensive.
Regarding noise cancellation, excessive ambient noise was still a problem for the model I bought and reviewed. I don't know if the company has addressed this better in the 1.5 years since. If not, the best strategy to reduce ambient room noise is good fitting earpieces.
great review thank you.
Hi what can we do if the littmann 3200 doesn't work again? I'm a hearing impaired doctor, do you really recommend the thinklabs? Thank you
I don't know anything about fixing 3200s - if I did, I would have fixed my own a long time ago! And yes, I definitely recommend the Thinklabs One for hearing impaired clinicians. The amplification is unreal.
Is it bluetooth supported device
Thinking about buying one. When connected to a bluetooth device, can the sound be heard "live" by both clinician and patient during the examination?
AI support??
For 500 dollars they should be able to make a better product. Disappointed that someone has yet to make a decent tubeless stethoscope
WORSE customer service ever. the battery not working and it stoped after less than 4 to 5 times use. sent it for repair and they didnt tell me what was the problem and why should a 780$ CAN stethoscope stop working for no reason. they even didnt give me an extra battery cuz I can sent it back to state each time it gets pb which apparently gonna happen a lot. they hanged up phone on me while I was asking question to clarifying the problem to prevent it from happening again.
so disappointing
I'm sorry you had that experience, and I have no reason to doubt it. My own customer service experience with the company was great, but the company founder had already reached out to me after seeing this review, so I obviously wouldn't expect my experience to be typical. Not sure what you mean by "give me an extra battery" - the device isn't designed to allow battery exchange by the consumer.
finding beneficial.
How are you going to post a video review about a sethoscope that is OBVIOUSLY meant for deaf people/hearing impaired people and not have closed captioning up there?? That is so inconsiderate.
Oh no! I am so sorry. I have autocaption set as default for all my videos, and didn't realize that CC was not turned on for this one (ironic, I know!). Bizarrely, when I attempted to turn on autocaption, RUclips doesn't even show it as an option at all for the video. (A quick search reveals a handful of other RUclipsrs have experienced this problem for isolated videos, without explanation.) So I just now put them in manually.
Thank you for not just being annoyed at this oversight, but for pointing it out to me! And please point out any other videos lacking CC. (I did a quick scan, and didn't immediately see any others.)
Se
Hi! I would like to know if you have ever used a spectrum analyzer app to record the sounds and displaying. In your review, where you used audacity, one can see a phonocardiogram, but it would be interesting to know if seeing the frequencies vs dB on the phone could improve diagnostic accuracy.
+robertonicolasz Thanks for the suggestion. I have not tried that before, and I am unaware of any research looking at it, but it certainly sounds interesting! If anyone reading has tried this, please let us know how well it works.