New ultrasound devices may soon make good old stethoscope history

Stethoscope could soon be replaced by new ultrasound technology, researchers have predicted.

According to an article published in a science journal, a new generation of hand-held ultrasound devices, modelled on smartphones, are able to diagnose heart, lung and other conditions quicker and with more accuracy than the 200-year-old medical device, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The article suggested that many experts have argued that ultrasound, which works by emitting high-frequency sound waves to monitor the structure of soft tissue and blood flow, has become the stethoscope of the 21st century.

Professor Jagat Narula from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, claimed ultrasound can diagnose conditions and monitor the lungs, heart, intestines and blood flow with much more accuracy.

The report was published in the journal Global Heart.