David Littmann (July 28, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was an American cardiologist born in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 s ...

(born to Ukrainian immigrants from Novogrod Wolyn aka Zwill Ukraine (formally the Russian Empire), Issac Litman and Sadie Zewat Litman) and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

professor and researcher.3M US Littmann Stethoscopes - History, Dr. Littmann, Cardiosonics Inc
/ref> The name Littmann is well known in the medical field for the patented ''Littmann

Stethoscope The stethoscope is a medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, and one or two tubes connected to two earpieces. ...

'' reputed for its acoustic performances for

auscultation Auscultation (based on the Latin verb ''auscultare'' "to listen") is listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is performed for the purposes of examining the circulatory and respiratory systems (hea ...

. With Gustev Machlup, Dr. David Littmann founded ''Cardiosonics, Inc.'' to sell his stethoscopes. At that time the stethoscope line consisted of two key models, the doctor's stethoscope and the nurse's stethoscope. 3M acquired the stethoscope company on April 1, 1967, and hired Dr. Littmann as a consultant. 3M currently produces the range of Littmann brand stethoscopes. The 1960s-era ''Littman Cardiology 3'' stethoscope, which is out of patent, became the basis of a 3D-printed stethoscope developed by Dr. Tarek Loubani and a team of medical and technology specialists as part of the open source Glia project. Dr. Littmann's son was jazz drummer Peter Littman (1935-1985).

References

External links

3M Littmann WorldwideComparison of Littmann StethoscopesHow to Choose a Littmann Stethoscope Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Littmann, David 1906 births 1981 deaths American cardiologists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Harvard Medical School faculty 20th-century American inventors