CIVCO Transducer Covers Aid in Dolphin Studies

In 2001, Jack and Donna Kassewitz founded the Miami-based Speak Dolphin Research Project. Speak Dolphin researches dolphin communication in multiple ways, including annual research expeditions to work with dolphins in their natural environment. Recently, Jack contacted CIVCO for a sample of our 610-015 transducer cover. During a routine conversation, Matt Mitchell, CIVCO Inside Sales Representative, discovered Kassewitz had a unique use for this transducer cover.

“Recently I had the opportunity to audit 1^st year medical school classes at the Medical School of Georgia,” said Kassewitz. “While there, I discovered a new product by Littman – a stethoscope that was not only electronic, but had the ability to transmit results, via telemetry, wirelessly back to a PC. The Littman 3200 was an ideal answer for the water environment I work in, except that it was not waterproof.” However, CIVCO’s transducer cover, with lengths of 36 and 58 inches, is waterproof, and therefore enables the underwater use of the Littman 3200 stethoscope.

“The marriage of these two innovative products gives us the opportunity to create databases of marine mammal heart and lung sound while the marine mammals remain in a safe water environment,” explained Kassewitz. “These heart and lung sound databases will also allow us to better evaluate marine mammals in distress and provide veterinary and professional staff with the information they need to make better health decisions in normal and triage settings.”

Kassewitz and his team will be travelling to Mexico in late June. While there, they plan to sample the heart rates of as many dolphins, and other marine mammals, as possible. Their goal is to work in conjunction with veterinary staff at Dolphin Discovery to develop a global protocol for the use of the Littman 3200 in marine conditions.

For more information on the Speak Dolphin Research Project, visit www.speakdolphin.com. For more information on CIVCO’s transducer covers, visit www.civco.com.