3M Co. (MMM) recently launched its Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, an auscultation device that wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds through Bluetooth technology to a software for further analysis. This will help enhance clinicians’ natural abilities and enable healthcare providers to confirm diagnoses and more easily gather a second opinion.
The company partnered with Connecticut-based Zargis Medical to develop two companion software packages exclusively for the stethoscope. Zargis Cardioscan software guides the clinician through four main cardiac sites and after about one minute, indicates whether the patient possesses a suspected diastolic or systolic murmur.
Further, Zargis StethAssist software allows physicians to visualize heart, lung and other body sounds, play recordings at slow speeds to hear more clearly and save recordings for comparison in future auscultations.
Controlled studies have demonstrated a clear benefit of electronic stethoscopes in detecting murmurs versus the non-electronic, cardiology-type ones. Littmann’s electronic stethoscopes not only provide enhanced sound quality but also reduce ambient noise, helping doctors make precise evaluation.
Zargis Medical Corp. develops advanced diagnostic decision support products and services for primary care physicians, pediatricians, cardiologists and other healthcare professionals. Zargis was formed in 2001 when Siemens Corporate Research, a division of Siemens AG (SI) and Speedus Corp. (SPDE) co-invested to develop and market an advanced acoustic technology for detection of heart abnormalities
3M Co., along with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company and has manufacturing operations spread over 60 countries worldwide. The Health Care segment provides medical and surgical supplies, skincare and infection prevention products, drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems and anti-microbial solutions.
We currently have an Outperform recommendation on 3M.
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