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In just a few years I expect that certain common medical instruments (the ear scope, blood pressure gauge, thermometer) will be cost reduced and have an added bluetooth capability.
Then, when your kid has an earache, you can just snap a picture of the inside of each ear and send it directly to your
doctor, who may be able to save the time and expense of an office visit.
Digital Otoscope, USB output
http://www.pcgears....ult.aspx?oid=290677
[jutta, Nov 05 2009]
Wikipedia: 3G
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G
[jutta, Nov 05 2009]
Wikipedia: Bluetooth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
[jutta, Nov 05 2009]
Bluetooth earpiece with remote-controlled scratching brush
Bluetooth_20earpiec...0scratching_20brush
Similar field of endeavour [8th of 7, Nov 06 2009]
[link]
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The thing that keeps you from having to see the doctor would be that you happen to own a digital otoscope. It doesn't matter whether it's connected via cable, bluetooth, or swapping memory cards around. |
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Uh... you do realize you'll still have to go to the office to send
the picture via Bluetooth, right? Thae technology only has a 30-ft
range. If you're going to prescribe treaments using just a picture,
why not send it as MMS or as an email attachment and maybe
not have to actually go to the doctor's office at all? That'll save
you some time and expense. This doesn't save you anything.
Even if a picture taken with a regular camera would be enough,
which it wouldn't. There's a reason otoscopes are used. [-] |
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Oh! Good point, I didn't realize that that was the poster's confusion; I thought they'd go from otoscope to PC or laptop, and took for granted that they'd just email the data from there. But yeah, swapping bluetooth for 3G would work, too. Erm. mzellers? |
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By the time an otoscope becomes a general
household item, the database of pictures on the
desktop cray will be able to tell you whether you
should see a doctor. Probably your whole life of
medical variables will be there to register change
against. |
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This is where I'm confused: when it says "snap a picture of the
inside of each ear", does the poster mean using a household
otoscope and sending it to your doctor's phone or computer
using Bluetooth, or does he/she mean to snap the picture using
a regular digital camera? Either way, Bluetooth isn't going to
save the expense of a trip, but if he means to use a household
otoscope and perform the procedure yourself, then have it
checked by the good doctor, it may save you some service
charges. But I don't think a regular camera can get a precise
enough picture of the inner ear, or they wouldn't need
otoscopes in the first place. |
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What may work here is a household otoscope with Bluetooth,
and you send the images to your own phone or computer, from
which you email or MMS it to the doctor. Perhaps that's what is
meant? |
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My otoscope cost me several hundred quid and it
was the cheapest i could find. It uses halogen
bulbs which break if they come into contact with
humid air, and each bulb costs something like
twenty quid to replace. The price, i imagine, is
due to the optics. I don't think they're going to
get cheaper. There's also a slight skill issue
involving actually being able to observe the
eardrum, but that's not insurmountable. There
are, however, lots of skills like that which people
don't generally learn. |
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Things may have changed dramatically in the area
of optical diagnostic equipment since i bought it,
but i'm not aware of it. Amazingly, for the first
time this place has triggered me into doing
something work-related! |
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Later: Well stone me! I don't like the idea of
having to plug it into a PC, but i absolutely do like
the idea of the white LEDs, and i've long
wondered why they don't do that. |
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I think the real problem here is whether doctors can do a proper diagnosis using limited information. Every time a doctor has used an otoscope on me they have also looked down my throat, felt my glands and asked me loads of questions. |
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The only time I've seen remote diagnostics done well is when I was providing videoconference support for heart surgery. There were whole load of surgeons watching and discussing a new procedure in a hotel near the hospital. It worked well because the camera was operated by a surgeon who knew what to point it at. |
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There's no substitute for physical presence, but this may sometimes be impossible. For instance, someone might be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or the Antarctic or in orbit at the time, particularly if they're adolescents. |
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