Universal measuring attachment for esophageal stethoscopes

Abstract

A measuring attachment for use with a variety of sizes of esophageal stethoscopes is disclosed for enabling the measurement of a number of patient body conditions while monitoring a patient's body sounds in the region of the esophagus. The measuring attachment includes a coupling adapter having an input opening for coupling to the open end of an esophageal stethoscope, an output opening for coupling to an acoustically-responsive instrument, and a central bore extending through the coupling adapter between the input and output openings for the passage of the patient's body sounds. A lateral passageway is provided from an outside surface of the coupling adapter and through the adapter for entry into the open end of the stethoscope. The lateral passageway enables a pair of electrically-conductive wires to slidably pass from the outside of the coupling adapter through the adapter to an adjustably-positionable sensing probe. The sensing probe is insertable into the stethoscope and may be adjustably placed at any suitable position therein. A suitable measuring instrument for displaying the measurement is connected to the output terminals of the pair of conductive wires and may be located remotely from the coupling adapter for the convenience of the physician. The esophageal stethoscope may be intubated into the patient with the measuring attachment of the invention in place, or the measuring attachment may be inserted into, or may be removed from, the stethoscope after its intubation.