journal article·2025-10-29Open access

OMES: An Open-Source Multi-Sensor Modular Electronic Stethoscope

Veronika Catharina Schatz, Jerome Vande Velde, Laurent Segers, Bruno da Silva

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 21

Abstract

Electronic stethoscopes address limitations of auscultation with analog stethoscopes, such as the dependency on the physicians’ hearing ability, their experience, and their subjective interpretation. However, electronic stethoscopes currently found on the commercial market fail to exploit the full potential of cutting-edge microphone technology and innovative multi-sensor approaches. Our novel device, called Open-source Modular Electronic Stethoscope (OMES), proposes a modular upgrade to an analog stethoscope that incorporates multiple sensor types and features microphone array capabilities. OMES has been tested for its performance in detecting heart beats but is designed to be applied to other auscultation sites as well. Above that, it can be employed as an educational and potential research platform to promote the development of revolutionary signal processing techniques and artificial intelligence algorithms.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Phonocardiography and Auscultation Techniques · ECG Monitoring and Analysis · Healthcare Technology and Patient Monitoring

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium

References (47)

Show source-provided references
1. Advances in microsensors and wearable bioelectronics for digital stethoscopes in health monitoring and disease diagnosis10.1002/adhm.202101400 ↗
2. Thinklabs (2024, September 08). Thinklabs One User’s Manual. Available online: https://www.oaktreeproducts.com/img/product/description/TL-One%20user%20manual.pdf.
3. TelehealthTechnology (2024, September 08). Electronic Stethoscopes—JABES. Available online: https://telehealthtechnology.org/toolkit/electronic-stethoscopes-jabes/.
4. Cardionics (2024, September 08). Clinical E-Scope® Electronic Stethoscope. Available online: https://cardionics.com/en/product/clinical-e-scope-electronic-stethoscope/.
5. Thinklabs (2024, November 07). Thinklabs ONE—Digital Stethoscope. Available online: https://www.thinklabs.com/.
6. Chowdhury, M.E.H., Khandakar, A., Alzoubi, K., Mansoor, S., Tahir, A.M., Reaz, M.B.I., and Al-Emadi, N. (2019). Real-time smart-digital stethoscope system for heart diseases monitoring. Sensors, 19.10.3390/s19122781 ↗
7. Park, H., Wei, Q., Lee, S., and Lee, M. (2022). Novel Design of a Multimodal Technology-Based Smart Stethoscope for Personal Cardiovascular Health Monitoring. Sensors, 22.10.3390/s22176465 ↗
8. Wang, T., Gong, M., Yu, X., Lan, G., and Shi, Y. (2021). Acoustic-pressure sensor array system for cardiac-sound acquisition. Biomed. Signal Process. Control, 69.10.1016/j.bspc.2021.102836 ↗
9. A low-cost, ear-contactless electronic stethoscope powered by Raspberry Pi for auscultation of patients with COVID-19: Prototype development and feasibility study10.2196/22753 ↗
10. Stethoscope acoustics10.1016/j.jsv.2022.117194 ↗
11. McGee, S. (2007). Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis, Elsevier Health Sciences. [2nd ed.].
12. Pappano, A.J., and Wier, W.G. (2013). Cardiovascular Physiology, Elsevier. Chapter 4—The Cardiac Pump.10.1016/B978-0-323-08697-4.00004-6 ↗
13. Abbas, A.K., and Bassam, R. (2009). Phonocardiography Signal Processing, Morgan & Claypool Publishers. Chapter 1.10.1007/978-3-031-01637-0_1 ↗
14. Sherazi, M.H. (2019). The Objective Structured Clinical Examination Review, Springer. Chapter 4—The Cardiovascular System.10.1007/978-3-319-95444-8 ↗
15. Jeong, Y., Kim, J., Kim, D., Kim, J., and Lee, K. (2021). Methods for improving deep learning-based cardiac auscultation accuracy: Data augmentation and data generalization. Appl. Sci., 11.10.3390/app11104544 ↗
16. Analysis of respiratory sounds: State of the art
17. Kölle, K., Aftab, M.F., Andersson, L.E., Fougner, A.L., and Stavdahl, Ø (2019). Data driven filtering of bowel sounds using multivariate empirical mode decomposition. Biomed. Eng. Online, 18.10.1186/s12938-019-0646-1 ↗
18. Novel methods for sensing acoustical emissions from the knee for wearable joint health assessment10.1109/TBME.2016.2543226 ↗
19. Design approaches of MEMS microphones for enhanced performance10.1155/2019/9294528 ↗
20. Van Rhijn, A. (2003, January 22–25). Integrated circuits for high performance electret microphones. Proceedings of the Audio Engineering Society Convention 114, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
21. Leng, S., Tan, R.S., Chai, K.T.C., Wang, C., Ghista, D., and Zhong, L. (2015). The electronic stethoscope. Biomed. Eng. Online, 14.10.1186/s12938-015-0056-y ↗
22. Yilmaz, G., Rapin, M., Pessoa, D., Rocha, B.M., de Sousa, A.M., Rusconi, R., Carvalho, P., Wacker, J., Paiva, R.P., and Chételat, O. (2020). A wearable stethoscope for long-term ambulatory respiratory health monitoring. Sensors, 20.10.3390/s20185124 ↗
23. Ottoy, G., Thoen, B., and De Strycker, L. (2016, January 20–22). A low-power MEMS microphone array for wireless acoustic sensors. Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium (SAS), Catania, Italy.10.1109/SAS.2016.7479875 ↗
24. Kusainov, R.K., and Makukha, V.K. (July, January 29). Evaluation of the applicability of MEMS microphone for auscultation. Proceedings of the 2015 16th International Conference of Young Specialists on Micro/Nanotechnologies and Electron Devices, Erlagol, Russia.10.1109/EDM.2015.7184613 ↗
25. Johnson, K.H., and Underwood, D.A. (1991). Recording, Digital Stethoscope for Identifying PCG Signatures. (5,025,809), U.S. Patent.
26. Cardionics (2023, November 09). Operator’s Manual E-Scope® II Electronic Stethoscope. Available online: https://www.mystethoscope.com/PDF/escopeii.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoqdh901PmsrY34ywaigVO7-yPkJzSKeqzVwhVMtTE1-Ja3rNUhA.
27. Smith, C. (2003). Transducer for Sensing Body Sounds. (6661897), U.S. Patent.
28. eKuore (2023, November 09). eKuore Pro Electronic Stethoscope. Available online: https://ekuore.com/product/ekuorepro-electronic-stethoscope/.
29. eKuore (2023, November 09). eKuore Trajectory. Available online: https://ekuore.com/about/.
30. eKuore (2025, October 16). eKuore Pro User Manual. Available online: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/2449084/Ekuore-Pro.html.
31. 3M (2024, November 07). 3M™ Littmann® CORE Digital Stethoscope. Available online: https://www.littmann.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b5005222000/.
32. Eko Health Inc (2024, November 12). Eko’s Story. Available online: https://www.ekohealth.com/pages/about-us.
33. 3M (2024, November 07). 3M™ Littmann® CORE Digital Stethoscope FAQs. Available online: https://www.littmann.com/3M/en_US/littmann-stethoscopes/advantages/core-digital-stethoscope/.
34. Eko Health Inc (2024, November 06). Eko Core 500™ Digital Stethoscope. Available online: https://www.ekohealth.com/products/core-500-digital-stethoscope?variant=39662120304736.
35. Eko Health (2025, October 16). Instructions for Use CORE 500™ Digital Stethoscope. Available online: https://support.ekohealth.com/hc/en-us/articles/8890312188443-User-manuals.
36. A flexible skin-mounted wireless acoustic device for bowel sounds monitoring and evaluation10.1007/s11432-019-9906-1 ↗
37. Lee, S.H., Lee, K.R., Kim, T., Im, S., Lee, Y.J., Jeong, S., Shin, H., Kim, M., Lee, J., and Kim, D. A wearable stethoscope for accurate real-time lung sound monitoring and automatic wheezing detection based on an AI algorithm. Engineering, 2025. in press.10.1016/j.eng.2024.12.031 ↗
38. Chuchnowska, I., and Białas, K. (2025). Prototype of Self-Service Electronic Stethoscope to Be Used by Patients During Online Medical Consultations. Sensors, 25.10.3390/s25010226 ↗
39. Duggan, D., Sarana, V., Factor, A., Shelevytska, V., Temko, A., and Popovici, E. (2024, January 15–19). Towards a Wearable, High Precision, Multi-Functional Stethoscope. Proceedings of the 2024 46th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Orlando, FL, USA.10.1109/EMBC53108.2024.10781607 ↗
40. Stretchable piezoelectret electronic stethoscope for phonocardiography and lung sound detection in motion and noise conditions10.1016/j.apmt.2024.102077 ↗
41. A flexible multi-sensor device enabling handheld sensing of heart sounds by untrained users10.1109/JBHI.2025.3551882 ↗
42. Intelligent Stethoscope System and Diagnosis Platform with Synchronized Heart Sound and Electrocardiogram Signals10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3275015 ↗
43. Giordano, N., Rosati, S., Balestra, G., and Knaflitz, M. (2023). A wearable multi-sensor array enables the recording of heart sounds in homecare. Sensors, 23.10.3390/s23136241 ↗
44. Klum, M., Leib, F., Oberschelp, C., Martens, D., Pielmus, A.G., Tigges, T., Penzel, T., and Orglmeister, R. (2019, January 23–27). Wearable multimodal stethoscope patch for wireless biosignal acquisition and long-term auscultation. Proceedings of the 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Berlin, Germany.10.1109/EMBC.2019.8857210 ↗
45. Wu, Y.C., Han, C.C., Chang, C.S., Chang, F.L., Chen, S.F., Shieh, T.Y., Chen, H.M., and Lin, J.Y. (2022). Development of an electronic stethoscope and a classification algorithm for cardiopulmonary sounds. Sensors, 22.10.3390/s22114263 ↗
46. Comparison study of hardware architectures performance between FPGA and DSP processors for implementing digital signal processing algorithms: Application of FIR digital filter10.1016/j.rineng.2022.100639 ↗
47. Solé Morillo, Á., Lambert Cause, J., Baciu, V.E., da Silva, B., Garcia-Naranjo, J.C., and Stiens, J. (2022). Ppg edukit: An adjustable photoplethysmography evaluation system for educational activities. Sensors, 22.10.3390/s22041389 ↗