New technology for at-home diagnoses of ear infections
Wilbur Lam, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, and Emory medical student Kathryn Rappaport review images of the ear taken with Remotoscope, a clip-on attachment and software app that turns an iPhone into an otoscope. Photo: Georgia Tech
A new pediatric medical device being developed by Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University could make life easier for every parent who has rushed to the doctor with a child screaming from an ear infection.
Soon, parents may be able to skip the doctor’s visit and receive a diagnosis without leaving home by using Remotoscope, a clip-on attachment and software app that turns an iPhone into an otoscope.
Pediatricians currently diagnose ear infections using the standard otoscope to examine the eardrum. With Remotoscope, parents would be able to take a picture or video of their child’s eardrum using the iPhone and send the images digitally to a physician for diagnostic review.
Wilbur Lam, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, along with his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, is developing the device, with plans to commercialize it.