Smartphone Otoscope for the Masses

The geniuses at UC Berkley (Cellscope) have developed an otoscope that can attach to a smartphone allowing visualization of the eardrum on the phone's screen.

Possible applications include allowing parents to take pictures of their child's ear on the smartphone and emailing to their physician rather than a clinic visit for diagnosis of an ear infection, fluid behind the eardrum, or eardrum perforation.

Not for sale yet... as far as I know...

Here is their original research paper describing this idea which extends not just to eardrum visualization, but any application where magnification is required.

Reference:
Mobile Phone Based Clinical Microscopy for Global Health Applications. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6320. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006320

Dr. Chang Quoted in National Press Release

Dr. Chang has been quoted in a recent national press release regarding the new Sermo iPhone app.

Sermo is a physician only online forum where medical quandaries are discussed and advice requested from physicians by physicians. Dr. Chang was recently contacted by Sermo for an interview regarding the new iPhone Sermo app. In the press release, he is quoted:

"The ability to consult with my colleagues in real-time, from the patient's bedside or my exam room, addresses an unmet need and will be of tremendous benefit, particularly for urgent clinical cases when I need an immediate response," said Christopher Y. Chang, MD, Fauquier ENT Consultants. "Similarly, the capacity to instantly post images and explanations about a patient case and share this information with colleagues through Sermo Mobile helps me provide the best care possible to my patients."

 Read the full press release here.

Our Practice Website Completely Renovated (www.FauquierENT.net)

Recently, readers may have noticed that I have not been as prolific with blog articles as I have been in the past. The reason is because I've been in the process of overhauling the our practice's official website (www.FauquierENT.net) to the latest and greatest in webpage coding incorporating HTML5 and CSS3 standards.

Given the official practice website contains over 200 webpages... it just took a very long time and I required the assistance of Chris Ferrell with Pettygrove Full Creative Agency to make it a reality. BTW... I highly recommend him if you need a website or extensive website rework.

The website is best viewed using the most recent version of your browser whether it be Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox. Older browser versions will work, but just won't be as pretty and formatting may be slightly off.

Also new to the website is its ability to automatically detect and adjust appearance of the webpages based on whether you are on a regular computer vs tablet vs smartphone. Very cool...

Check it out here!