Telemedicine for audiology screening of infants.
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) screening were conducted in infants at a distant hospital using remote computing. Eighteen males and twelve females ranging in age from 11-45 days were tested. Both DPOAE and AABR data were recorded using an integrated test system which was connected to the computer network at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Using a broadband Internet connection, an examiner at Utah State University, 200 km away, could control the DPOAE and the ABR equipment. Identical hearing screening results were obtained for face-to-face and telemedicine trials with all infants. The DPOAE means for face-to-face and telemedicine trials were not significantly different at any frequency. In an analysis of variance, there was no significant difference for the test method (F = 0.8, P > 0.05). These results indicate that remote computing is a feasible telemedicine method for providing DPOAE and ABR hearing screening services to infants in rural communities.
Krumm
Mark
M
School of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Kent State University, Ohio 44242, USA. mkrumm@kent.edu
Huffman
Todd
T
Dick
Kelly
K
Klich
Richard
R
D001298:Audiology / Q000639:trends; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous / Q000502:physiology; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014589:Utah