This tiny device can give you a heart exam

Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is the next evolution of the stethoscope.

A California-based startup is giving the 200-year-old stethoscope a much-needed update, said Brianna Abbott at The Wall Street Journal. The $349 Duo, by Eko, "looks like a small television remote," and lets a doctor listen to a patient's chest as well as take an electrocardiogram without sticking electrodes on the patient's chest and limbs. When Eko's digital stethoscope is placed on the chest, "it records heart sounds and electrical signals, and then it sends the data to a mobile app that displays the recordings in real-time."

Doctors can save, replay, and share the data, making the Duo a useful tool "for medical training and for treating patients remotely." The company is now working on supplementing the Duo with artificial intelligence that could diagnose heart conditions such as a rhythm disorder or murmur, "hearing" abnormalities as effectively as an experienced doctor.

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