A new smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately diagnose ear infections, or acute otitis media (AOM), could help decrease unnecessary antibiotic use in young children, according to new research published in JAMA Pediatrics. Alejandro Hoberman, Jack L. Paradise Professor of Pediatric Research and director of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics in the School of Medicine, led the team developing the app.
AOM is one of the most common childhood infections for which antibiotics are prescribed but can be difficult to discern from other ear conditions without intensive training. The new AI tool, which makes a diagnosis by assessing a short video of the eardrum captured by an otoscope connected to a smartphone camera, offers a simple and effective solution that could be more accurate than trained clinicians.
“Acute otitis media is often incorrectly diagnosed,” said Hoberman, senior author. “Underdiagnosis results in inadequate care, and overdiagnosis results in unnecessary antibiotic treatment, which can compromise the effectiveness of currently available antibiotics. Our tool helps get the correct diagnosis and guide the right treatment.”
Hoberman hopes that the technology could soon be implemented widely across health care provider offices to enhance accurate diagnosis of AOM and support treatment decisions, with the potential that the app could be used by parents to send video files to pediatricians.
The videos can also serve as a teaching tool for medical students and residents.
Read more about the findings in the news release.