Vidyo and Thinklabs, unrivaled leaders in telemedicine, have been working together for more than five years to create the best-in-class integrated video and audio experience.
By simply clicking the stethoscope icon in VidyoConnect, the provider can listen to the stethoscope on their patient in a remote location. While listening, the provider can instruct the patient and remote nurse. Then simply click again to return to regular videoconference audio. The simple and easy interface inside VidyoConnect means there’s no interruption to the regular workflow of the physical exam.
Thinklabs was founded in 1991 by Clive Smith, an Electrical Engineering graduate of Caltech. The name implies the company’s goal – think deeply about problems that matter and develop imaginative solutions. Smith has always had a passion for medical electronics, sound, music and signal processing.
In the mid 90’s, Smith read a paper in Circulation indicating that stethoscope acoustics had essentially not improved since Laennec built the first stethoscope in 1816. Physicians confirmed that even top-of-the-line conventional stethoscopes did a poor job of amplifying heart and lung sounds. Thus began Smith’s obsession to re-invent the stethoscope.
The concept of an electronic stethoscope was not new. For a century, the road to perfect auscultation was littered with the carcasses of failed efforts. Smith started experimenting. Technologies were tested, rejected, modified and retested. The key breakthrough came with a question: How can one create an electrical analog to the acoustic pressure changes in a conventional stethoscope?
All the benefits of advanced electronic technology would then accrue and the authentic sound of the stethoscope would be preserved. Physicians would not require any ear retraining. A completely new transducer was needed.
Smith found that he could detect the vibration of a stethoscope diaphragm using a high intensity electric field – almost 1 million Volts per meter! The result – The Electromagnetic Diaphragm that is key to the audio quality of every Thinklabs stethoscope. Smith spent another 7 years perfecting the product. The ds32 was released in late 2003, becoming the choice of a loyal community of users.
The Thinklabs One marks another paradigm shift in stethoscope design – a bold move to eliminate the hollow tube styling that pre-dates The American Civil War. It represents a belief that the time has come for the familiar icon of medicine to be retired to the museum.
Visionflex’s cutting-edge telehealth technology delivers quality healthcare to patients – wherever they are. The Visionflex ProEX Telehealth Hub uses Vidyo’s high-speed video conferencing capabilities to connect patients with physicians in a real-time consultation.
TytoCare is transforming virtual care delivery by bringing clinical exam data to a virtual care visit. Their solutions are designed to enable a comprehensive medical exam from any location using a hand-held, all-in-one tool for heart, lungs, skin, ears, throat, abdomen, and body temperature.
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