There's an app for that

I joined Twitter two years ago when my 22 year old sister told me I was too young to act like a technology-ignorant, old fuddyduddy. What she did not tell me was the wealth of information that can be accessed by engaging through social media. I learn from and talk to all kinds of interesting people regularly. If you are not on Twitter, you should try it. If you think it is a waste of time filled only with the vapid musings of the famously famous, you are doing it wrong. The biggest celebrities that I follow are Atul Gawande and Wendy Sue Swanson. Neither is very likely to be featured on TMZ tonight but if I ever meet either in person, I am very likely to be starstruck.

If you would like to read more about why health care professionals should be on Twitter, Brittany Chan wrote a nice piece on the topic here.

I want to share with you the content of a cool Twitter conversation (twittersation?) I had a few weeks ago.

It started with a tweet by Joel Topf about using the iPhone flash to look in someone’s throat. Cell phones have so permeated our lives that a physician’s iPhone is apt to be more readily available than traditional tools. No to mention, the LED flash is brighter than the standard otoscope lightbulb.

The tangential conversation that followed highlights what can happen when you combine the iPhone LED flash, human ingenuity and a strong interest in looking in throats and ears.

1. The Remotoscope 

http://pediatricdevicesatlanta.org/remotoscope

Emily Hahn shared this one. It is an attachment for the iPhone that lets you video the tympanic membrane (ear drum). I want one. The ability to show parents what their child's ear looks like would be incredible. I spend a lot of time describing the tympanic membrane but I do not know what picture my words are painting in the imagination of the parent. I hope it is a close approximation of what I see. An actual video that we can both look at and discuss would advance the conversation immensely. Hopefully it would allow the parent to have a deeper understanding of ear infections. Maybe it would lead to fewer tympanostomies (aka ear tubes).

In the hands of a medical student or resident, it would lend itself to specific teaching and targeted feedback. It took me a long time to figure out that my biggest obstacle to visualizing the ear drum was proper positioning of the child. My findings were always double checked with a senior physician's exam, but it was difficult for my instructors to glean what I had actually seen. It is even more difficult to teach the difference between infected and not infected when the learner has not gotten a good look.

The Remotoscope is currently being studied at Emory and Georgia Tech and is in the clinical study stage of development. One of the questions they are considering is whether this tool could be used by parents at home and spare a trip to the doctor.

Here is a video demonstrating its use:

2. How to look at your larynx with your iPhone 

There was some commentary on the quality of the videos of tonsils obtained with an iPhone. Michael Katz shared Dr. Helgi’s photo, acquired with an iPhone.

https://twitter.com/traumagasdoc/status/285846804745056256

For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the structure in the center is the epiglottis (protective flap over the airway) leading into the trachea (tube that connects the throat to the lungs). It is located past the tonsils. Pretty impressive shot. How does one get this pic? According to Dr. Helgi, like this:

https://twitter.com/traumagasdoc/status/285854316588331009

Now, I will be honest. One of my favorite resources at work is the Quat Wipe. I use them on my stethoscope, ID, phone, keyboard, etc. I have not reviewed any of the evidence but I like to think they are significantly stronger than Clorox wipes and have near-magical properties. I have a lot of faith in them. But not enough to put my phone in my or anyone else's mouth. I will not be trying this anytime soon.

However, when the folks in Georgia are ready to share their Remotoscope with the rest of us, call me. Or email. Or tweet… It is all on my iPhone, which is nearly always in my hand.

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To learn more about the people mentioned in this post, click on their names. They are all physicians that I follow on twitter. They all tweet about medicine as well as non-medical topics that they find interesting. Check out their Twitter profiles and click the follow button!

To read more about the remotoscope, go here:
http://gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=155181
http://pediatricdevicesatlanta.org/remotoscope

Guest Post at Still Standing Magazine

Today I am writing over at Still Standing Magazine.

Still Standing is an online publication that is focused on "inspiration and hope, in the face of loss and infertility." The magazine has been a source of peace and healing for me over the past year and I am incredibly honored to have my writing posted there.

 In January 2012, our daughter Anne was born still after eighteen weeks of pregnancy. Her death broke our hearts but with her short life, she has taught us more about love and grief and parenting than we could have ever thought possible.  This guest post, My Anne Pants, is just a piece of her story.