From analogue to AI: This Bengaluru startup is reinventing a 200-year-old medical device for the 21st century

The stethoscope has been a clinician’s companion since 1816, when René Laennec rolled a wooden tube to listen to the body without placing his ear on the patient. Two centuries later, Bengaluru-based AiSteth is reimagining this iconic tool with artificial intelligence, aiming to bring objectivity, consistency, and data-driven insights to everyday clinical exams.

Why reinvent a classic

Despite countless design tweaks, the traditional stethoscope still relies on a clinician’s ear and experience. As AiSteth founder Satish Somayya Jeevannavar observed, auscultation remains largely subjective: two or three doctors can listen to the same patient and reach different conclusions. Unlike an ECG or chest X-ray, a standard stethoscope exam leaves no report behind—no traceable record of what was heard and why it mattered.

Jeevannavar, an ex-Army doctor from a family of physicians, saw an opportunity: if the stethoscope could be augmented with AI, it could help surface early signs of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and make frontline screening more reliable, especially in resource-constrained settings.

The AiSteth leap

Launched in 2023, AiSteth’s smart stethoscope pairs with a mobile app to record, analyze, and share heart and lung sounds. Its AI/ML algorithms flag anomalies and generate structured reports, turning a fleeting listen into durable, comparable data.

In the last two years, more than 400 doctors across clinics, hospitals, and medical colleges in over 20 Indian states have used AiSteth, contributing to the screening of over 60,000 patients.

What sets it apart

Electronic stethoscopes aren’t new, and some global players have added AI. But many of those systems are trained on Western datasets, which may not generalize well to Indian populations and care settings. AiSteth positions itself as the first India-based player to launch an AI-enabled smart stethoscope with an end-to-end stack—its own hardware, software, distribution, and proprietary algorithms—rather than stitching together third-party components.

The company’s patent, filed in 2019, has entered the national phase in India, the US, and Europe and remains under examination. AiSteth’s focus areas include heart disorders such as valvular disease and rheumatic heart disease. Pricing is listed at Rs 18,999 for individual buyers (with an app subscription) and roughly Rs 25,000 for B2B/B2G deployments, including a three-year annual maintenance contract.

A fast-growing market

India’s stethoscope market was estimated at about $20 million in 2024, with projections of reaching $30 million by 2030. Digital stethoscopes accounted for roughly $5.7 million in 2024—around 19% of the market—and are expected to grow at a CAGR of about 5.4% over the next five years. Within digital devices, smart stethoscopes are among the fastest-growing categories, buoyed by the integration of AI/ML and the push toward data-driven care.

From subjectivity to decision support

AiSteth aims to make auscultation more consistent by transforming sound into analyzable signals and structured outputs. Key capabilities include:

• Recording and archiving heart and lung sounds at the point of care
• AI/ML-based detection of anomalies for early screening
• Report generation for traceability and follow-up
• Secure sharing for remote consultation and training

By introducing a standardized digital footprint to a subjective exam, the device could support more equitable screening across varied clinical environments, from urban hospitals to rural health centers.

Adoption challenges and the path forward

Bringing new medtech to clinics in India isn’t easy. Regulatory compliance and clinical research can take months or years, and researchers often face heavy patient loads. Beyond the systems-level hurdles, there’s a human factor: physicians have used acoustic stethoscopes for generations, so shifting to digital and AI-assisted workflows requires awareness-building and training.

Industry leaders emphasize that adoption hinges on capacity-building programs, clear clinical value, and seamless integration into existing workflows. When paired with IoT and AI/ML, digital stethoscopes can enhance triage, enable earlier detection, and improve documentation—but only if implementation is thoughtful and sustained.

Impact goals and public health pilots

AiSteth’s stated mission is to help reduce premature deaths from NCDs by 30% by 2030. The company has developed a model for respiratory and lung disorders that is undergoing clinical validation. It has also collaborated on NCD screening projects with state programs in Maharashtra and is preparing for a similar initiative in Uttar Pradesh. These efforts aim to expand access in rural and underserved areas by equipping frontline workers with decision support and shareable digital records.

The new language of listening

For over 200 years, the stethoscope has relied on a clinician’s trained ear. AiSteth proposes a complementary approach: preserve the simplicity and speed of auscultation, but add AI to make it more objective, shareable, and actionable. If widely adopted, the “earpiece to evidence” leap could turn a timeless symbol of care into a scalable, data-rich screening tool for the 21st century.