Using Your iPhone To Detect Ear Infections Also Keeps The Doctor Away

[pankajgoyal]

Researchers from Georgia Tech and Emora University developed an iphone accessory named Remotoscope which turns an iPhone into an otoscope -- that thing doctors usually put into your ear to peer inside.

It’s a simple clip-on attachment that puts a scope over the iPhone’s camera lens and flash on an iPhone making it easy to snap photos of a child's ear canal. While the app magnifies the image sends it to a physician,who will have access to all the data needed to make an accurate diagnostic.

Full Story With Video

 

[skippymac]

That's just a disaster waiting to happen. Some over zealous parent is gonna puncture their kid's eardrum :|

 

[resin_dr]

agreed!!

if you really wanted the best for your child wouldn't you want a professional to provide "gold standard" care, in such a case, an appropriate clinical examination. to put it into perspective, many have suffered issues with "scuff gate" out of the box and to get it resolved didn't people have to go somewhere to have it seen before anything happened?

not to say that this wouldn't have any limited serve regional and outreach applications.

That's just a disaster waiting to happen. Some over zealous parent is gonna puncture their kid's eardrum :|

 

[pankajgoyal]

That's just a disaster waiting to happen. Some over zealous parent is gonna puncture their kid's eardrum :|

This Application will surely rock and You will see when it will release,it will have millions of downloads

 

[Nhwhazup]

This Application will surely rock and You will see when it will release,it will have millions of downloads

I agree. Check out the video. As a parent that had a child with ongoing ear infections as a baby, if would have been great to send a video to the doc and get her on medicine early. We struggled a lot trying to determine when she cried if she was just cranky or was coming down with another ear infection. I would have jumped all over this tool and app and I would have been very careful to use it correctly and not damage the inner ear.

 

[skippymac]

This Application will surely rock and You will see when it will release,it will have millions of downloads

I have no doubt that it will have millions of downloads, but that doesn't by any stretch of the imagination make it safe. I did a 12 week research project with the audiology department at the University of Southampton a couple of years ago and I learnt that there are very strict rules, regulations and training that one must go through to use an otoscope, especially on a child. Improper use can cause permanent and devastating damage to a child's ears.

I really hope some regulatory body disallows this or it's just asking for trouble.

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I agree. Check out the video. As a parent that had a child with ongoing ear infections as a baby, if would have been great to send a video to the doc and get her on medicine early. We struggled a lot trying to determine when she cried if she was just cranky or was coming down with another ear infection. I would have jumped all over this tool and app and I would have been very careful to use it correctly and not damage the inner ear.

I'm very sorry to hear about that, it must have been horrible for you. Although I'm sure you would be very responsible with your child's safety, you can't speak for everyone. There would be hundreds of cases of parents not reading the instructions or having any training and causing injury. Also, with the best intentions, accidents happen, and if I had children I could feel much more comfortable with them in the hands of a professional, not myself.

 

[lelisa13p]

I am intimately familiar with Georgia Tech and Emory University, and I can say that these sorts of research projects are reported routinely. It does not mean that they will be available anytime in the near future or available to the general public.

This particular item could be potentially helpful for visiting/traveling RNs who see patients in very rural areas and may not have immediate access to a physician for consultations.

BTW, the OP (and the blog post linked) needs to correct the spelling of Emory.

 

[smithrh]

The phrase "first do no harm" comes to mind...

 

[pankajgoyal]

I am intimately familiar with Georgia Tech and Emory University, and I can say that these sorts of research projects are reported routinely. It does not mean that they will be available anytime in the near future or available to the general public.

This particular item could be potentially helpful for visiting/traveling RNs who see patients in very rural areas and may not have immediate access to a physician for consultations.

BTW, the OP (and the blog post linked) needs to correct the spelling of Emory.

According to me the biggest advantage of this app could be for parents that receive a diagnosis at home and forgo the late-night trips to the emergency room.

 

[lelisa13p]

According to me the biggest advantage of this app could be for parents that receive a diagnosis at home and forgo the late-night trips to the emergency room.

You don't have children, do you? Any parent knows to call the pediatrician on-call during the nite. The doctor will advise whether an emergency room visit is necessary. I've been thru this situation for many years with my child, including 4 ear surgeries for PE tubes. This app/device will not be released into the wild. You can bet your life savings on that.

And I see that you still didn't correct the spelling of Emory University.

 

[Rocko1]

That's just a disaster waiting to happen. Some over zealous parent is gonna puncture their kid's eardrum :|

Yeah, there are also so many cases of parents piercing the area under the tongue with a thermometer, better ban those too. Wake up.

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

That's just a disaster waiting to happen. Some over zealous parent is gonna puncture their kid's eardrum :|

A specula will never go that far into the ear canal to perf a child's eardrum. What you will end up with it a parent traumatizing the canal itself, possibly lacerating it. That's about all the damage one could do. I've seen more parents screw an ear up with a Q-tip.

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

Yeah, there are also so many cases of parents piercing the area under the tongue with a thermometer, better ban those too. Wake up.

There's a reason why some thermometers go under the tongue, some under the arm in the armpit, some in the ear, some in the butt. It's called understanding who your trying to take a temp on. Your not going under the tongue with a 2yr old.

 

[lelisa13p]

It's my belief that the OP created this thread specifically to drive traffic to his blog, the link in his post.

We should let this thread sink into oblivion.