With the advent of new technologies for diagnosis, many doctors are saying that in the near future, technologies like ultrasonography and CT will replace ‘old-fashioned’ devices like stethoscopes in diagnosing cardiovascular diseases. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Using new diagnostic technologies to get a better approach to diseases has been used widely throughout the centuries. Hence, many doctors believe that in the near future, technologies will replace instruments such as stethoscopes. In my opinion, the stethoscope should always remain part of the physical examination, and technologies like ultrasonography and CT-scan should be used in addition to, not in replacement of it. Firstly, other diagnostics, such as ultrasonography, cannot be compared to a stethoscope, even if the current version is considerably smaller. It's obvious that the stethoscope is the most portable one to carry around. Furthermore, a stethoscope does not require time to start the engine. When it comes to emergency cases and the need for a first-approaching examination, a stethoscope allows you to monitor the patients' circulatory and respiratory systems immediately. Doctors can then locate the specific area and assist with additional paraclinical. In that regard, ultrasonography and CT-scan will play a better role. On the contrary, using ultrasound or CT-scan for the initial assessment will take time to locate the specific issue location (ultrasound) or wait for the picture to be produced (CT-scans). Secondly, there's no cost for using a stethoscope, while ultrasound and CT-scan are required. To cite an example, with Periodic Health Examination in schools for students, a check-up with a stethoscope can help to screen at first to identify who has health problems and who does not. Because ultrasound and CT-scan cost an amount of money, if they replace stethoscopes as the initial check-up, people who consider that they have good health will think they spend money indiscriminately if joining the PHE. Thirdly, a stethoscope is necessary for not only doctors but also medical students and residents to practice at the first physical check-up. Before doing paraclinical procedures, a doctor or resident must perform a physical examination on the patient, which includes inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Therefore, the most familiar instrument for doctors is the stethoscope. Moreover, it goes without saying that diagnostic technologies require particular courses to master these procedures, even need people who are mature in reading them, called radiologists. If the stethoscope is replaced with ultrasound or CT scans, medical students and residents will struggle to keep up with cases because they lack sufficient expertise in these methods. With the stethoscope, medical students can learn basic skills such as detecting aberrant sounds and identifying signs and symptoms of diseases that do not require paraclinical testing. Last but not least, unlike other procedures, a stethoscope causes no harm to the body. For example, paraclinical procedures like blood tests that require phlebotomy may hurt or terrify patients like children, or in the case of X-rays and CT scans that use X-ray beams, even though they use a little amount of radiation, still do harm to the patients. Alternatively, while ultrasound appears to be harmless, in some situations of severe pain, clinicians must put the ultrasound transducer deeper to obtain better images, which causes the patient great pain. Stethoscopes, on the other hand, cause no discomfort just by simply putting the stethoscope directly on the patient's exposed skin. To summarize, new diagnostic technologies have unquestionably become physicians' new right-hand man throughout history. Nevertheless, the stethoscope's role remains valuable and irreplaceable, particularly during the first-approaching examination. As a result, clinicians will have a greater selection of tools depending on the approaches and will be able to provide better diagnoses for their patients.