Most heart conditions can be reflected in or associated with the sounds that the heart produces. Heart auscultation, which is the listening of heart sounds, has been an essential age-old method for the diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction. However, auscultation entails considerable clinical experience and excellent listening skills. But, with the advent of the electronic stethoscope, the disadvantages of a traditional stethoscope is overcome and electronic stethoscope has paved the way for a new field of computer-aided auscultation. Electronic stethoscopes utilize advanced technology and circuitry to overcome the shallow sound levels that are heard in traditional stethoscopes by electronically amplifying body sounds. The sound can also be digitized, encoded, decoded, and recorded to have the ambient noise reduced or eliminated, and sent through speakers.
Market Dynamics
The global Electronic Stethoscope market is primarily driven by the growing incidences of cardiac and pulmonary disorders, rising healthcare expenditure and technological advancements in the device.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number 1 cause of death globally, and an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2016, representing 31% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% are due to heart attack and stroke.
Additionally, the increasing geriatric population who are highly susceptible to chronic conditions are expected to boost market growth.
However, the high cost of the digital stethoscope compared to a regular stethoscope may hinder the growth of the global market.
Market Segmentation Analysis
By Product Type
• Amplifying Stethoscopes
• Digitizing Stethoscopes
By Technology
• Integrated Chest-Piece System
• Wireless Transmission System
By End-User
• Hospital
• Clinics & Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Geographical Share
Geographically, the global Electronic Stethoscope market is divided into North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa.
North America is expected to hold the most substantial market share in the global digital stethoscope market due to the availability of innovative products in the region. The US stethoscopes market dominates the regional electronic stethoscope market due to the country’s high healthcare expenditure and rising incidence rate of cardiopulmonary diseases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 610,000 people die of heart disease in the US every year–that is 1 in every four deaths. Annually approximately 735,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 525,000 are a first heart attack and 210,000 happen in people who have previously had a heart attack. Moreover, the presence of Key market players such as 3M in the country gives a positive impact on the industry’s growth.
Europe is anticipated to see momentous growth over the forecast period, due to increasing launches and availability of innovative products in the region. For instance, in 2016, Ekuore, a Spain-based company, gets official certifications to produce and commercialize the first digital wireless stethoscope in the health system, eKuore Pro. The UK and Germany hold the most substantial regional markets in Europe, with Germany being the dominator due to several partnerships and innovations such as Bluetooth-enabled stethoscopes in the region.
Competitive Trends
Key players are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and regional expansion to stand out as strong competitors in the market. Recent product launches, approvals are other strategies competitors are using to distinguish themselves from the rest. Few of the recent competitive strategies include –
In March 2019, Northwestern Medicine announced that it has partnered with Eko, a startup that has developed a cardiac monitoring platform, to more accurately screen for valvular heart disease. The Chicago-based hospital system is conducting a study to demonstrate that Eko’s digital stethoscopes and AI algorithms can interpret heart sounds accurately to help screen for pathologic heart murmurs and valvular heart disease.
November 2018, eKuore, Spanish technology firm, launched its new device eKuore ONE the interface for stethoscopes that digitalizes and records the auscultation sound through smartphones or tablets.
November 2018, The Mayo Clinic is launching a mHealth project to determine whether a digital stethoscope can be used to screen for damaged hearts. The health system is teaming up with Eko to test the company’s Duo Digital Stethoscope on patients diagnosed with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction. Eko and Mayo Clinic will work together to develop and commercialize a machine learning-based algorithm that screens patients for the presence of a low ejection fraction – a weak heart pump.
April 2018, Steth IO launched a smartphone-based digital stethoscope that received FDA approval in 2016. This device helps doctor to listen and also measure heart rates or lung sounds just by operating an app on phone and by placing it close to the patient’s chest.
In June 2017, Eko Devices, a leader in mobile acoustic cardiac monitoring tools, received FDA clearance to market its innovation, DUO – a combined digital stethoscope and electrocardiogram (ECG). The portable cardiac device was inspired by cardiologists’ demand for more effective monitoring tools for heart disease – the leading cause of death in the United States.
In February 2017, Eko Core digital stethoscope received approval from Health Canada due to its advantages such as improved speed and accuracy to diagnose illness by increasing heart and lung sounds by 40 times and generating a digital file that can be stored and shared.
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