NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – In the U.S., seven percent of children are diagnosed with fluid in their ears – those infections are costly and can damage children’s hearing. Traditional exam tools are becoming outdated, so one doctor is building software to aid in spotting the infections. Prevent Hearing loss
Five out of six children will develop painful ear infections by their third birthday. Their eustachian tubes connecting the ear to the back of the nose are underdeveloped, requiring artificial drainage tubes.
“They, basically, are ventilating the middle ear space. So, you create a hole in the ear drum, you place a tube in that’s keeping that hole open, and that allows it to ventilate the middle ear and remove any fluid that might be behind the ear drum,” explains professor of otolaryngology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Aaron Moberly, MD.
Ear infections are painful and can cause hearing loss and speech delays. Otoscopes have been in use for decades, but lack proper lighting and clear field of view. So, Dr. Moberly is turning to creating artificial intelligence to record and analyze ear drum videos.
“The software then takes that, creates a composite image, but then also provides some feedback back to the clinician and says, ‘This is a 90 percent chance that this isn’t a normal-looking ear, or this is a 75 percent chance of there’s fluid behind the eardrum,’” Dr. Moberly further explains.
The AI algorithm will use deep learning to identify and classify middle ear disease with greater accuracy. This should prevent long-term hearing loss and improve speech and language development.
Dr. Moberly cautions against buying an otoscope online and trying to diagnose these infections through phone apps.
Contributors to this news report include: Donna Parker, Producer; Roque Correa, Videographer & Editor.
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Source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK565858/
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: USING AI TO PREVENT HEARING LOSS
REPORT: MB #5273
BACKGROUND: Ear infections, also known as acute otitis media, occurs when the middle of the ear, behind the eardrum fills up with fluid. Children are more prone to ear infections than adults, with 50 percent of all children having at least one ear infection before their second birthday. Ear infections are pretty common in children, so antibiotics can usually clear them up, but if left untreated, it could result in permanent hearing loss.
(Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ear-infections/symptoms-causes/syc-20351616
DIAGNOSING: Symptoms differ between children and adults. Common symptoms in children include, but are not limited to: tugging or pulling ear, trouble sleeping, crying more than usual, trouble hearing, loss of balance, fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and/or loss of appetite. In adults, symptoms could be: ear pain, drainage or fluid from ear, and/or trouble hearing. Ear infections can be diagnosed by your doctor based on your symptoms, but they can also use a pneumatic otoscope, tympanometry, acoustic reflectometry, tympanocentesis, or they can send you to an audiologist, speech therapist, or developmental therapist.
(Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ear-infections/symptoms-causes/syc-20351616
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ear-infections/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351622)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Artificial intelligence is on the rise, and it may become the newest way to diagnose ear infections. Associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Aaron Moberly, and his colleague Metin Gurcan, PhD, led the project to see if AI could effectively diagnose ear infections in its early stages. Gurcan says, “This project is highly innovative, both in terms of its clinical impact to shift the field toward a more objective approach to ear diagnosis.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Craig Boerner
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