New Doppler sound database could help those suffering from heart conditions

Handheld devices can scan the lower limbs of a patient and ‘listen’ to the blood flow, providing vital early indication of problems that could lead to strokes or heart attacks.  But inexperience or lack of training sometimes mean that clinicians do not properly interpret what they hear and therefore miss the warning signs. Now a new research project aims to build a digital library of the different foot and leg artery sounds recorded during the Doppler ultrasound procedure.