iStethoscope iPhone app now used in hospitals

An iPhone app which replicates the tradition doctor's stethoscope is said to be replacing the device in many UK hospitals.

iStethoscope was initially created by Peter Bentley of University College London as a test of the tech.

But now it's been downloaded millions of times and many doctors around the world are using it in place of the traditional piece of equipment.

Docs using the device press the microphone of the iPhone against a patients heartbeat while the phone records the sound and produces a phonocardiograph  and a spectrogram.

However there is one problem -- if the phone rings while being used as a stethoscope it could give the patient a heart attack… at least there would be a doctor at hand.