Using Artificial Intelligence to Diagnose ‘Glue Ear' in Children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of an Artificial Intelligence System for the Automated Diagnosis of Otitis Media with Effusion in Children
IRAS ID
311902
Contact name
Fei Zhao
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff Metropolitan University
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN17082829
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
IRAS ID307418, Previous IRAS submission (not approved)
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Otitis media with effusion (OME) (also known as ‘Glue Ear’) is one of the most common causes of childhood hearing impairment and disability. It is estimated that more than 80% of children will have otitis media before the age of 10. This places a significant cost burden on the NHS with approximately 200,000 children with OME seen annually in primary care. Delayed diagnosis and poorly managed cases can result in severe and persistent OME with surgical treatment becoming the only management option, leading to long waiting times, and excessively high costs for the NHS. Our recent research into Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made great progress in demonstrating its potential for the accurate diagnosis of OME based on the results obtained from a commercial hearing test called Wideband Absorbance Immittance (WAI). This novel research proves the capability of AI tools to diagnose OME automatically with an accuracy of 82%. We aim to achieve the best accuracy and reliability of the AI tools in the proposed project.
We propose a comprehensive work plan, starting from October 2021 for 12 months. One of the work packages (WP) is to conduct clinical trials for AI model verification at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales and the Child Health Centre in St David’s Hospital in Cardiff from February 2022. According to the project aim, we intend to recruit children under 12 years old who attend the routine clinical appointment, because parents are concerned about their hearing or for a follow-up appointment after an acute case of ‘glue ear’. We will provide the parents and their children with an information sheet and consent forms. If they agree to participate, they will continue to have the routine hearing assessments, followed by the WAI test (less than 1 minute per ear) performed by a clinical researcher.REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0045
Date of REC Opinion
19 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion