Utility of a smartphone-enabled otoscope in the instruction of otoscopy and middle ear anatomy

Purpose To present the utility of a smartphone-enabled otoscope as a teaching adjunct in pre-clinical otoscopy training. Methods 60 pre-clinical medical students were randomized into either a control group using a conventional otoscope or an experimental group using a smartphone-enabled otoscope. Pa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology 2019-10, Vol.276 (10), p.2953-2956
Main Authors: Hakimi, Amir A., Lalehzarian, Aaron S., Lalehzarian, Simon P., Azhdam, Ariel M., Nedjat-Haiem, Sharon, Boodaie, Benjamin D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Diagnostic Techniques, Otological - instrumentation
Ear, Middle - anatomy & histology
Ear, Middle - diagnostic imaging
Educational Measurement - methods
Female
Head and Neck Surgery
Humans
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurosurgery
Otolaryngology - education
Otorhinolaryngology
Otoscopes
Otoscopy - methods
Short Communication
Smartphone
Teaching
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose To present the utility of a smartphone-enabled otoscope as a teaching adjunct in pre-clinical otoscopy training. Methods 60 pre-clinical medical students were randomized into either a control group using a conventional otoscope or an experimental group using a smartphone-enabled otoscope. Participants in each group were trained to use their assigned device and were given time to practice on a colleague’s ear. Participants then completed a questionnaire indicating their ability to visualize anatomical landmarks of the middle ear as well as their confidence in performing a middle ear examination using their device. Results Compared to participants using the conventional otoscope, significantly more students using the smartphone-enabled otoscope identified the umbo (93% versus 63%, P  = 0.005), the short process of the malleus (67% versus 33%, P  = 0.008), the cone of light (100% versus 70%, P  = 0.001), and the pars flaccida (60% versus 33%, P  = 0.03). Furthermore, participants who used the smartphone-enabled otoscope reported significantly increased confidence in performing otoscopy compared to those who used a conventional otoscope (4.1 ± 0.7 versus 2.8 ± 0.9, P  
ISSN:0937-4477
1434-4726
DOI:10.1007/s00405-019-05559-6