Medical diagnostic devices and supplies help physicians measure and monitor various aspects of a patient’s health so they can make a diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, the doctor can prescribe an appropriate treatment plan.
Medical diagnostic devices are found in adult and pediatric clinics, emergency rooms, inpatient wards, and intensive care units.
Our problem is not our ability to develop technological Medical diagnostic tools to improve clinical decision making. Some of these exist and are used by physicians across the country. The problem is that these tools are not a normal part of the medical school curriculum and medical students are not taught how to incorporate them into clinical practice.
Importance of Diagnostic Equipment for medical students
With the advancement of technology, medical education has focused on the use of computers for simulation, but not on how they can be used in the exam room during the diagnostic process. It’s like telling pilots to memorize routes and processes, but without allowing them to train and evaluate in a nutshell to become familiar with the tools and checklists that are used daily.
The following list is not exhaustive but provides an overview of some of the most commonly used diagnostic tools.
Stethoscope
Stethoscopes are probably the best known of all medical diagnostic devices. Doctors’ utilize to listen to the sounds of the heart, lungs, and circulation of blood flow.
Stethoscopes help diagnose:
- Lung infection
- bronchitis
- palpitations
- heart disease
- Arrhythmia
- Heart valve problems
Stethoscopes are also used in conjunction with a blood pressure monitor to measure blood pressure.
Electronic stethoscopes improve sound quality by listening to deep sounds from the heart and loud sounds from the lungs. They can be connected to a computer to record and save tones. They can be connected to dealers that allow some people to hear stethoscopes nearby. This last characteristic is important when training interns, residents and members.
Blood pressure monitor
Evidence-based medicine has shown that measuring blood pressure is important in determining a person’s overall health.
The blood pressure monitor can help diagnose:
- diabetes
- High or low blood pressure
- Hardening of the arteries
- Arterial plaque
- Hypotension
High blood pressure is the root cause of – two main disorders in the human body. Several products are used to measure blood pressure. Finger digital blood pressure monitors are the smallest and most portable. While they are easy to use, they are a bit more accurate.
Digital blood pressure monitors, like digital blood pressure monitors, are electronic monitors. They can be inflated manually or automatically. They are easy to use but indirectly derive blood pressure. Digital units measure mean arterial pressure, which is essentially translated into mean systolic and diastolic pressure. The systolic and diastolic readings should be derived from the digital blood pressure monitor. These are useful in noisy environments where portable mercury meters would be ineffective because the doctor has to listen to the sounds.
Ophthalmoscope
Ophthalmoscopes are portable devices that allow the physician to look into the patient’s eye socket. This type of diagnostic tool is often used during outpatient or physical examinations.
Ophthalmoscopes can help diagnose:
- Bacterial infections
- Isolated retina4
- Glaucoma
There are two types of ophthalmoscopes.
Straight ophthalmoscopes produce a straight image at approximately 15x magnification. These instruments are kept as close to the patient’s eye as possible.
Indirect ophthalmoscopes produce an inverted image at 2- to 5-fold magnification. Indirect ones also have stronger light, which makes them more effective than direct ones in cataract patients.
Otoscope
Otoscopes are portable devices that allow the doctor to look into the ear canal and see the ear through the loupe. Real otoscopes are only known by the doctors and they better which one is best to buy. Or Medical equipment manufacturers have a better know-how of which otoscope is best to buy.
Otoscopes help diagnose:
- Ear infections5
- tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Causes of dizziness or lightheadedness
- Meniere’s disease
- The swimmer’s ear
In combination with the magnifying glass, the light allows the outer and middle ear to be seen. The part that gives the doctor a useless speculum in the canal. Or auditory. Disposable specula in a dispenser chair in the exam room so that a new, clean one can be placed on the otoscope for each patient.