Spectrophotometric Otoscope: A New Tool in the Diagnosis of Otitis Media

Abstract

Otitis media is one of the most common childhood ailments and, therefore, has a significant impact on public healthcare expenditure. The initial diagnosis is usually performed by a primary-care physician and is based upon otoscopy and symptomatology; the certainty of diagnosis of acute otitis media is only 58-73%. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a spectrophotometer-based system in identifying otitis media by comparing the output from the system with the clinical diagnosis of an experienced otologist and, hence, to evaluate the system as a diagnostic aid to primary-care physicians. The study was prospective and double blind. An otologist examined 258 patients consecutively with an oto-microscope and all of the patients were simultaneously examined with a spectrometer-based data acquisition system incorporated in a standard otoscope. The otologist's diagnosis served as a "gold standard". The acquired data were analysed by means of partial least squares regression. The system correctly differentiated acute otitis media from serous otitis media and normal ears with sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 88%. The sensitivity and specificity were 89 and 95%, respectively, in a subset of subjects aged 12 y or less. Spectrophotometry was found to be a highly accurate means of diagnosing acute otitis media. We consider that it will become an important diagnostic aid for primary care physicians.

Optical absorbance of the tympanic membrane in rat and human samples

“…The TM works optically like a translucent diffuser but reflects a small amount of light [8]. Reflection characteristics were earlier investigated by different authors [4,23]. For human TM, reflection characteristics were investigated for wavelengths from 400 nm to 900 nm in cadavers with and without contributions of middle ear structures behind the TM [24].…”

Smartphone‐based spectral imaging otoscope: System development and preliminary study for evaluation of its potential as a mobile diagnostic tool

“…Similar behavior is observed in the green plot that corresponds to the healthy tympanic membrane. As reported by Schmilovitch et al, reflectance from an eardrum with OME was lower than from a normal eardrum, therefore lower intensities were measured for the former than for the latter . In addition, the same work described a low reflectance at ~550 nm with an ascendant slope for higher wavelengths.…”

A compact structured light based otoscope for three dimensional imaging of the tympanic membrane

“…Optically, the TM is a translucent diffuser but reflects a small amount of light. There have been reports on the diffuse optical reflectance properties of the TM which concluded that indeed the reflectance is higher in the 400-600 nm wavelength range of the visible spectrum (17,18). Therefore, if we project white light pattern on the TM, diffuse reflections can be captured by a camera.…”