The AI-powered smartphone app that diagnoses acute otitis media (AOM) could help decrease unnecessary antibiotic use in young children. Researchers published their outcomes in JAMA Pediatrics.
AOM commonly has antibiotics prescribed to treat it, but can prove difficult to discern from other ear conditions without intensive training. This AI tool makes a diagnosis by assessing a short video of the eardrum captured by an otoscope connected to a smartphone camera. The researchers say this offers a simple and effective solution with potentially more accuracy than trained clinicians’ diagnoses.
“Acute otitis media is often incorrectly diagnosed,” said senior author Dr. Alejandro Hoberma, pro…