July 17, 2019
New smartphone app can hear ear infections in children
The most common reason that parents take their children to a pediatrician is ear infections, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Ear infections occur when fluid builds up in the middle ear behind the eardrum and is infected. This buildup is also common in another condition called otitis media with effusion. Any kind of fluid buildup can be painful and make it hard for children to hear. Both conditions are also hard to diagnose because they have vague symptoms.
91探花 researchers have created a new smartphone app that can detect fluid behind the eardrum by using a piece of paper and a smartphone鈥檚 microphone and speaker. The smartphone makes a series of soft chirps into the ear through a paper funnel and, depending on the way the chirps are reflected back to the phone, the app determines the likelihood of fluid present with a probability of detection of 85%.