How The First Smartphone App For Ear Infections Can Be Used At Home

Parents will be able to test their kids for an ear infection at home with the first smartphone app that detects fluid behind the eardrum.

New software has been that will allow for an at home ear infection test- to identify fluid behind the eardrum using just a smartphone’s microphone, speaker and a piece of paper.

Designed by researchers from the University of Washington (UW), the app detects fluid behind the eardrum by “chirps” reflected back to the phone after it emits a series of soft, audible chirps, directed into the ear through paper that needs to be folded into a funnel.

Shyam Gollakota, an associate professor in the Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at UW, said: “Designing an accurate screening tool on something as ubiquitous as a smartphone can be game-changing for parents as well as healthcare providers in resource limited regions.

“A key advantage of our technology is that it does not require any additional hardware other than a piece of paper and a software app running on the smartphone.” – Compelo