3D printed medical stethoscope has the same quality as high-end products

When Dr. Tarek Loubani came to Gaza to work as an ER doctor, he discovered that the stethoscope is now missing something. This motivated him and a team of scientists from Western University of Canada to design a plastic stethoscope that could be easily used anywhere using a 3D printer.

Known as the Glia model, this new stethoscope only includes a few parts printed in ABS, along with a low-cost rubber tube, which is widely used in Coca Cola products. They can be printed in three hours, and the cost is only $ 3 - of course, this process is done on a 3D printer.

When clinically tested, it was found that Loubani's stethoscope had the same sound quality as premium brand stethoscope.

The team uses free open source software to design it, hoping doctors from low-income areas and wars around the world will be able to easily access it.

Loubani said: "In London [Ontario], if someone is shot, I can use an ultrasound to listen inside and see if the air bag has pneumothorax. In Gaza, ultrasound not in the emergency room, or the dilapidated area, so the stethoscope becomes an inexpensive tool that allows us to make decisions about the victim's survival. "