University of Pittsburgh scientists in the United States have developed an artificial intelligence-based phone application that they say accurately diagnoses ear infections.

They even contend that the app could help reduce dependence on antibiotics, which are often overused in dealing with childhood ear problems due to misdiagnosis.

The app could be a “gamechanger” as it appeared to be “more accurate than many clinicians”, according to the university’s School of Medicine professor of paediatrics Dr Alejandro Hoberman.

Prof Hoberman and colleagues said they used 921 videos to “teach” AI models to “detect AOM [acute otitis media, or middle ear infection] by looking at features of the tympanic membrane, including shape, position, colour and translucency”.

The app, which is used to assess “a short video of the ear drum captured by an otoscope connected to a cellphone camera”, could prove more accurate than doctors.

This is as doctors do not always have the “intensive training” needed to discern infections such as AOM, which is treated with antibiotics, from other common ailments, such as fluid behind the ear, which are usually not bacterial.

As any bleary-eyed parent knows, ear problems, including infections, are common in babies, with around seven in 10 affected before their first birthday, leading to sleepless nights.

The app could also provide a small boost in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, which has been growing due to the overuse or misuse of antibiotics.

And this overuse or misuse is not only by people against diseases where they have no function, but also on a bigger scale as part of farm animal feeding programmes.

In 2021, England’s former chief medical officer warned that antimicrobial resistance could prove “the death knell for modern medicine”.

Annual worldwide deaths linked to this have been estimated at between half a million and 6.5 million people worldwide.

Last year (2023), the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the common bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) was becoming resistant to antibiotics.

 - dpa