Intelligent Medical Assessment for Guiding Ear Infection Treatment
Timothy Shope
Summary
Ear infections are common in young children with cold symptoms, but they can be difficult to diagnose due to small ear canals, child movement, and limited viewing time. In this study, investigators will take photos of the eardrums of children 6-24 months of age with upper respiratory symptoms. The photos will be reviewed by imaging software enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI app) to determine whether the AI app changes how ear infections are diagnosed and treated. The AI app has undergone rigorous study and was found to be highly accurate; but how using this technology affects the diagnosis and treatment by clinicians has not been studied. This research may help improve diagnostic accuracy for ear infections and ensure antibiotics are prescribed only for those children who have definite ear infections.
Description
Participants and Setting This will be a 12-month, within-subject design, single center study of 300 children 6 to 24 months of age presenting to their primary care providers at Children's Community Pediatrics offices with upper respiratory symptoms. Exclusion criteria are children with tympanostomy tubes or purulent otorrhea, absence of upper respiratory symptoms, or who are currently taking antimicrobials. Design and Outcomes Using a double blind, within-subject design, each child's ear will be assessed by the AI app and a standard clinical exam. The primary outcome measure will be antimicr…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 0–2 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 6-24 months * Presence of upper respiratory infection Exclusion Criteria: * No upper respiratory infection * Otorrhea * Tympanostomy tubes * Currently taking antimicrobials
Interventions
- Diagnostic TestStandard Clinical Ear Exam
The clinician will examine the child's ear with a standard otoscope and give a clinical diagnosis and decision to treat with antibiotics.
- Diagnostic TestAI app ear exam and diagnosis
Using a standard otoscope with a cell phone mounted to it, research personnel will record a video image of the tympanic membrane and send it to the cloud for analysis using AI enhanced classification software to render a diagnosis and treatment recommendation
Locations (2)
- Children's Community Pediatrics BrentwoodPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Children's Community Pediatrics Castle ShannonPittsburgh, Pennsylvania