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Thinklabs One stethoscope
Hearing aid users have five ways of using a Thinklabs One stethoscope
Thinklabs have very useful information about connecting to hearing aids on their website here.
Note of caution for hearing aid users
It is important to remember that although we can provide good
methods of connecting the One to hearing aids, the level of success
will be greatly affected by how the hearing aids have been
programmed and the type of hearing loss.
It is recommended to have a dedicated hearing aid programme set up especially to ensure that you can hear lung or heart sounds as well as possible. The main factor is whether your hearing aids are programmed to reproduce low frequencies adequately. Low frequency sounds, such as bass from heart sounds, can be difficult for hearing aids to reproduce.
We would advise hearing aid users to listen as directly as possible to a stethoscope; so whilst you can connect the Thinklabs One into a Phonak Roger radio aid system, because the sound goes from the One into the Roger transmitter which then has a wireless link to Roger receivers which then connect into the hearing aid, there is more chance of sound degradation than just listening via the more direct route of a direct input lead or streamer.
Although the Thinklabs is an amplified stethoscope, due to the sensitivity of the diaphragm it is recommended to listen at the lowest comfortable volume level. This will keep the 'noise' from hair/clothes/skin rubbing against the stethoscope to a minimum. The best sound quality will also come from selecting the most appropriate filter.
Thinklabs One stethoscope general information
The Thinklabs One medical stethoscope has a standard 3.5mm jack so you can connect high quality earphones instead of old tubing style binaural tubing. With earphones or headphones you get better sound, more comfort, a more compact stethoscope and the option to use the headphones of your choice.
Thinklabs studio quality In Ear Earphones, supplied as standard, have excellent bass for heart sounds and crystal-clear treble. Designed for high power output, the One has two dedicated headphone amplifiers. Voltage doubling charge pumps provide extra headroom for low distortion reproduction of S1 and S2 heartbeat peaks. The headphone amplifiers have sufficient power to drive low-impedance audio headphones, producing 45.2mWatts. Competitive stethoscopes operate on lower voltage, use a single amplifier and high impedance speaker, resulting in clipped heartbeats at significantly lower power output.
The One allows you to listen with multiple filter choices. You can also set two that you use most as "favourites" that are super quick to select. So you'll have both choice and speed. Ranging from very low frequency (low pitched sounds such as S3), to higher frequencies (lung sounds) and a few in between. View the full range here.
The One uses a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery so there's no need to replace batteries. The USB-style charger cable is included, along with compact world-wide AC charger (100-240V) with UK plug adaptor.
The battery capacity has been designed to require only one or perhaps two charge cycles per week.
Please note that the Thinklabs One does not have bluetooth connectivity.
Thinklink provides a connection between One and your mobile or laptop devices to capture and send sounds via iPhone, iPad, Android devices and Mac/PC. Easily switch between listening to patients or playback recordings. Thinklink is included with One. It works with all previous Thinklabs stethoscopes.
Package includes:
The dedicated Thinklabs Stethoscope App is available via:
There is more information on the Thinklabs website regarding
apps here:-
https://www.thinklabs.com/wave-c1vu3
Information on software can be read here
FAQs
Heart sounds on some patients are difficult to
hear.
Heart sounds naturally vary from patient to patient. Obese
patients have attenuated heart sounds, as do some older patients.
Chest hair and some clothing, such as knitted or thick garments,
can reduce the coupling between the diaphragm and the chest.
Finally, sounds are dependent on the location on the body.
There is a technique to using One well. Start by applying a light pressure on the diaphragm. As you increase pressure, One becomes more sensitive and volume increases. There is a "sweet spot" where diaphragm sensitivity is at a maximum. Then if you push even harder, the diaphragm will touch the sensing plate behind it and its vibration will decrease. This is similar to conventional stethoscopes, where pressure of the chest piece had an effect on sensitivity. We've kept that tactile feel on One, along with other abilities to control the sound. So vary the pressure of the diaphragm against the patient and learn to find that "sweet spot."
Another obvious solution is to adjust the volume level and filter setting. Try increasing the volume and setting the filter appropriately to capture low frequencies for heart sounds.
You must also ensure that you are using good quality headphones etc to listen.
I work in a noisy environment. How can I reduce ambient
sound?
Thinklabs stethoscopes are designed to attenuate
ambient noise. The EmD Diaphragm and acoustic design of the One
naturally reduce ambient noise. However, this works best when you
have good skin contact.
- First thing to do is get good skin contact rather than
listening through clothing.
- Consider your filter settings. We provide filter settings that cut out higher frequencies, especially for heart sounds. Play with the various filters and find the ones you like best for your work environment. See our Filter Recommendations for more advice on this.
- Keep the volume level as low as possible. Increased volume means amplifying the sounds, including ambient noise.
How do I use the filter settings on One?
One allows you to listen with multiple frequency filter
choices simply by pressing the "filter" button (top left with audio
jack facing right). You can even set two filters that you use most
as "favorites," making them super-easy to select. Filter
choices range from very low frequency sounds (low pitched sounds
such as S3), to higher frequencies (lung sounds).
The Hz scale on the stethoscope head indicates the filter range selected. LEDs on the left side of the scale indicate lower frequencies will be reproduced; LEDs on the right indicate higher frequencies will be reproduced. The more LEDs that are on, the wider the range of frequencies; the narrower the indication, the narrower the range of frequencies for the filter you have selected.
In addition to filter settings, you can change the frequency response by applying more or less pressure on the diaphragm. As you push on the diaphragm, the "gap" in the sensor changes, which modifies the sensor's response to lower frequencies.
To find out more about filter settings in One, please see the insert included with the stethoscope ("The Audio Filters in Your One") and check out the Filter Selection section of the manual. Click here to view the filter options
Click here to view pdf user guide
Click here to view the filter options
Information on software can be read here
Thinklabs have lots of interesting Troubleshooting FAQs on their website here
and about connecting to hearing aids here