ACCENTUATE V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An acceptability and feasibility study of a paediatric teleotology service, and exploration of patients' and healthcare professionals' attitudes to AI-assisted diagnosis in paediatric healthcare.
IRAS ID
306366
Contact name
Babatunde Oremule
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
MFT Research and Innovation
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Children and young people (CYP) in the UK face lengthy waiting times to access specialist ear, nose and throat (ENT) healthcare due to staff shortages, increasing demand, and added service pressures exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Delay in accessing specialist healthcare is associated with poorer health outcomes which can have consequences lasting into adulthood.
Teleotology involves a non-specialist healthcare professional taking a clinical history from a patient, obtaining images/videos of the patient’s eardrums and performing audiometric tests. This information is sent to an ENT specialist at a remote location for review and advice on further management. In the near future, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies may augment teleotology services by supporting clinicians with diagnosis of ear pathology. However, teleotology has not been evaluated for CYP in an NHS setting, and we do not yet understand parental attitudes to AI in paediatric healthcare.
This study aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of teleotology for CYP at an NHS tertiary paediatric ENT department, and to explore parental attitudes to AI-technologies in paediatric healthcare. We will take a clinical history, perform smartphone video-otoscopy and measure the middle ear pressure (tympanometry) in 240 CYP attending outpatient services at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), half with glue ear and half without. We will establish the agreement between two ENT specialists remotely reviewing this information to make a diagnosis for quality assurance. We will assess the attitudes of 200 parents’ and carers’ of CYP attending MFT services to AI technologies in paediatric healthcare using the Attitudes to Artificial Intelligence in Paediatric Healthcare questionnaire.
The study findings will support widening healthcare access initiatives, optimisation of service provision, a reduction in carbon emissions associated with providing healthcare, and tailored support to enable parents to make informed decisions about their child's healthcare.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0193
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion