3M Littmann Model 3200 and Zargis Cardioscan software receive red dot design award

3M and Zargis Medical Corp., today announced that the 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 (Littmann Model 3200) and the Zargis Cardioscan™ software recently received two industry awards for design and innovation: the "red dot: best of the best" award for product design, given by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, an internationally known design institution located in Essen, Germany, and the Medical Design Excellence Award, sponsored by Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry (MD&DI) magazine.

“It's an honor that the Littmann Model 3200/Zargis Cardioscan system continues to be recognized by the industry for its innovative technology and design”

The novel stethoscope/software system, which was named 2009 Popular Science "Innovation of the Year", is also a finalist in the Electronics and Computers category for the prestigious Edison Award, given to companies with products that drive innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.

"It's an honor that the Littmann Model 3200/Zargis Cardioscan system continues to be recognized by the industry for its innovative technology and design," said Ingrid Blair, global business manager, 3M Infection Prevention Division. "Through the use of Bluetooth® technology and algorithmic computing, the Littmann Model 3200 and Zargis Cardioscan system is changing the way physicians approach auscultation and the interpretation of physiological sounds."

The red dot design award, which dates back to 1955, is divided into the three disciplines "red dot award: product design", "red dot award: communication design" and "red dot award: design concept." With more than 4,200 entries from more than 57 nations and 1,600 companies, the award program is one of the biggest and most prestigious design competitions in the world.

The Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA) exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries were evaluated on the basis of their design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials, user-related functions that improve healthcare delivery and change traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide enhanced benefits to the patient, and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives.

The Littmann Model 3200 and Zargis Cardioscan system was launched in 2009 as the first electronic stethoscope featuring Bluetooth technology, which wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds from the stethoscope chest piece to Zargis Cardioscan or Zargis StethAssist^™ software. The stethoscope and Cardioscan software combination is designed to help clinicians identify suspected heart murmurs and differentiate between those that should be referred for echocardiography and those that should not, based on guidelines issued jointly by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Based on the software analysis and their own assessment, physicians can then choose to refer patients for an echocardiogram test, which is a definitive test, but also more expensive.