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Ear Infection Detection App Could Let Pediatricians Diagnose Kids Without an Office Visit

Oct. 12, 2012 2:56pm Liz Klimas

Parents of children prone to frequent ear infections know the symptoms all too well. Still, they have to go through the process of sitting in a doctor’s office or an emergency waiting room in order to get a prescription for an antibiotic.

Now, a specialized app could let the parents send information remotely to the pediatrician to diagnose the infection and have a prescription called into the pharmacy to remedy the situation.

The “Remotoscope” app developed by researchers at Georgia Tech, Emory University and University of California-Berkeley turns a parent’s iPhone into an otoscope with a simple attachment.

Researchers Develop Remotoscope App Allowing Parents to Receive Ear Infection Diagnosis Remotely

A traditional doctor's otoscope. (Image: Shutterstock.com)

The Remotoscope let’s parents take a picture or video of their child’s eardrum using their phone. The images are sent to the doctor for review. Here’s more on the technology from the Emory’s press release:

Remotoscope’s clip-on attachment uses the iPhone’s camera and flash as the light source as well as a custom software app to provide magnification and record data to the phone. The iPhone’s data transmission capabilities seamlessly send images and video to a doctor’s inbox or to the patient’s electronic medical record.

A simple attachment for smartphones could give parents of children with frequent ear infections relief from visits to the doctor's office. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

“Ultimately we think parents could receive a diagnosis at home and forgo the late-night trips to the emergency room,” Wilbur Lam, a physician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and a professor at Emory and Georgia Tech, said in a statement. “It’s known that kids who get ear infections early in life are at risk for recurrent ear infections. It can be a very big deal and really affect their families’ quality of life.”

Watch this video showing how Remotoscope works:

The researchers believe the app could also lead to monetary savings for families and heathcare systems. With parents sending a physician several images over a few consecutive days, doctors can track the symptoms in the ear instead of only seeing it once, potentially prescribing medicine for an infection that’s not there or that will resolve itself quickly.

“As pediatricians will likely only see the child once, they often err on the side of giving antibiotics for viral infections rather than risk not giving antibiotics for a bacterial infection, which can lead to complications,” Lam said. “So, we are currently over-treating ear infections with antibiotics and consequently causing antibiotic resistance.”

The Remotoscope technology is currently in clinical trial, partially funded by the Food and Drug administration. A student working on the research team said parents who are being recruited to participate in the trial are excited about the app.

This is not the first time we’ve seen an iPhone used for scientific or medical purposes either. TheBlaze reported last year that scientists were developing ways to use the smartphone in field situations as a microscope and spectrometer.

(H/T: Gizmodo)

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Comments (26)

ladyevidence
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:30pm
Honestly, the vast majority of doctors would have the child come in anyway. They would be too afraid of getting sued over a wrong diagnoses.

Perhaps parents should spend around $10 to get their own equipment and learn what an ear infection looks like instead? That’s what I did.

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hi
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 10:19pm
Docs do a lot more than just look in the ear. They palate nodes, check throat for strep , measure temp, listen to lungs, and so on. This will not allow a thorough exam and would put child at risk. Children with childhood infections that are not treated properly can even never learn to hear/read phonics. Always go to the doc even though it is a pain.

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bigbear_awake
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:41pm
WORKS 100% OF THE TIME
ASK YOUR PHARMACY for sweat oil warm it like you do a baby bottle few drops in ear with cotton ball
repeat every 4 hours if NEEDED!!!!

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- damon_k
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 6:25pm
  Apps are wonderful things. Read political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/
  
  Report this comment
- 2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 6:47pm
  DAMON: Have you ever considered actually purchasing some advertising space instead of mooching off The Blaze?
  
  Report this comment
MCON29
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:59pm
Doctors want to see you for everything. Some will argue its so they can charge you more for a visit and thats why cost need to be controlled with Obama Care. I say its a bunch of Malarky. If a doctor diagnoses you incorrectly because they did not see you personally, 47% of this county will sue the crap out of them. Malpractice insurance probably results in the high cost of healthcare more than you think.

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randy
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:56pm
Isn’t this practicing medicine without a license?

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- wildchild
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:25pm
  I would classify it more as remote care. The idea of practicing medicine without a license would be like me (not a M.D.) prescribing you (also not an M.D.), my patient, prescription medication. I have no license to write prescriptions, therefore I am practicing without a license.
  
  I mean, if you want to get technical…. Giving someone neosporin and a band-aid for a cut is practicing without a license. You are ‘diagnosing’ the issue and prescribing an antibacterial ointment and bandage to treat a wound. The difference being, the ointment is over the counter (no license required).
  
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snaughty73
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:53pm
just struck me as funny how glenn has turned stu into a number and then reduced him to a cockroach pat i truly believe you are the only one who can help stu escape if not you see your fate right in front of you lol keep up the good work guys

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Joss
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:26pm
Genius.

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- rx4nv
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:56pm
  People are forgetting there is still a huge liability issue that would need to be worked out. Is it truly the patient that you are told it is. Is there some other process going on that needs to be addressed, but would not be with just a picture of an ear drum. You don’t catch an ear infection. Ear infections are a result of an upper respiratory infection that can be simple or complex. A good start, but a long way to go until these fun things will actually be used as they are hoping.
  
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crazyrightwingmom
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:15pm
Oh how I wished I had a home device when my kids were young! So hard to get to the doctor….when you know what it is (all moms know this stuff), but you just need some meds.

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Gonzo
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:12pm
Great, after Obamacare kicks in and the lines to the doctor’s office get too long, we can depend on our Iphone.

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- Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:18pm
  In the end you’ll need a book. There are some good ones out there. When the SHTF we are all on our own.
  
  Report this comment
- EtchASketch
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:38pm
  Sounds good to me. I’d rather do it myself when I can then depend on someone else to do it for me.
  
  Then again, you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you man?
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:58pm
  Speaking of doing it yourself, I cut a 2 1/2 inch gash through the full layer of my arm this past July. i could see muscle and it bled somewhat, but I didn’t want to go to the emergency room, especially the one in our county, because they are known to send you five or six bills for one visit.
  Anyhow, I remembered some doctors used super glue to close a wound, so I poured alcohol on it, patted it dry, then had my daughter hold the skin together while I put spots of super glue on my skin. It worked pretty well. I have a scar, but not the needle marks of stitches.
  Anyhow, this is cool, kind of like the iPhone is becoming a “tri-corder.” I said the same thing when they came out with the app for diagnosing malaria in Africa.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:07pm
  @EtchASketch
  “Sounds good to me. I’d rather do it myself……”
  
  No need for doing it yourself…. your boyfriend wango is there for ya. Right George?
  
  Report this comment
- TEIN
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:44pm
  Yes, that would be the reason for high speed internet being a “right”, so that it can support your “right” to health care…there are other medical expert systems that will be used to cut down on office business…SKYPE might even become a “right” so that you can get the face time with a MD….
  
  Report this comment
rx4nv
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:10pm
I think it sounds great, but will insurance cover the time a physician has to spend viewing these images? This could potentially take up a lot of time in the clinic and cause some physicians to lose income. You have to remember physicians are in a business to earn money as well as take care of patients. If insurance does not reimburse for the physicians time, it is not likely many physicians will go along with this as great as it sounds. In essence, it is asking the physician to work for free.

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- crazyrightwingmom
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:16pm
  I’m sure a doc wouldn’t mind 1 minute versus 20.
  
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TheBurningTruth
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:07pm
Just wait for the Colonoscopy App!

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- wildchild
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:29pm
  Barney Frank is developing that app as we speak!
  
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Eastinfection
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:05pm
it’s only a matter of time before they make a version for proctologists and gynecologists.

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ThePostman
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:02pm
Yeah, umm, it’s called telemedicine. And yes, it could work if insurers would cover it.

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- Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:07pm
  Oh it’s coming…and insurers will cover it. The fact that profit is being driven out of medicine and that demand for “free” healthcare will go up we are going to have massive shortages for medical treatment like we are used to. 100 patients with 5 nurses and 1 doctor on a video monitor is coming. It will be the US version of NICE. Enjoy.
  
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- progressiveslayer
  Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:34pm
  ROTH Yes the joys of government health care will be upon us and this little story sounds great but the reality of government run health care will hit hard. Long lines and rationing,it’ll be like everyone is at one big VA hospital,a central planners wet dream. I’ve been through a few VA hospitals throught the years and I wouldn’t send my worst enemy to one. They’re full of quacks who get paid no matter how many people they kill and most were just biding their time to get to the private sector. Then Barry Soetoro showed up and F up the private sector with his health care for all. ‘Free’ health care LMAO yeah the suckers bought it,bunch of GD idiots who figured out how to vote to drag the rest of us down with them. I know I’m ranting but it’s enough to piss off the pope what this Marxist bastard has done.
  
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