Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Nov 17, 2020
Date Accepted: May 13, 2021
A portable smartphone-based laryngoscope system for high-speed vocal cord imaging of patients with throat disorders: Instrument Validation Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Currently, high-speed digital imaging (HSDI), especially HSD endoscopic imaging, is being routinely used for the diagnosis of vocal cord disorders. However, high-speed digital endoscopic imaging devices are usually large and costly, which limits access to patients in underdeveloped countries and in regions with inadequate medical infrastructure. Modern smartphones have sufficient functionality to process the complex calculations that are required for processing high-resolution images and videos with a high frame rate. Recently, several attempts have been made to integrate medical endoscopes with smartphones to make them more accessible to underdeveloped countries.
Objective:
To develop a smartphone adaptor for endoscopes to reduce the cost of devices, and to demonstrate the possibility of high-speed vocal cord imaging using the high-speed imaging functions of a high-performance smartphone camera.
Methods:
A customized smartphone adaptor was designed for clinical endoscopy using selective laser melting (SLM)-based 3D printing. A standard laryngoscope was attached to the smartphone adaptor to acquire high-speed vocal cord endoscopic images. Only existing basic functions of the smartphone camera were used for HSDI of the vocal cords. For image processing, segmented glottal areas were calculated from whole HSDI frames, and characteristics such as volume, shape, and longitudinal edge length were analyzed.
Results:
High-speed digital smartphone imaging with the smartphone-endoscope adaptor could achieve 940 frames per second and was used to image the vocal cords of five volunteers. The image processing and analytics demonstrated successful calculation of relevant diagnostic variables from the acquired images.
Conclusions:
A smartphone-based HSDI endoscope system can function as a point-of-care clinical diagnostic device. Furthermore, this system is suitable for use as an accessible diagnostic tool in underdeveloped areas with inadequate medical service infrastructure.
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