Expand your virtual care practice

WavelyDx® helps you evaluate an ear infection remotely with middle ear fluid results captured via the smartphone your patient already has.

Three easy steps for families

  • Download WavelyDx

    After installing the app (iPhone now, Android soon), families login with an Access Code you give them.

  • Scan the child's ears

    Families direct acoustic pings into the ear and record the reflection for analysis, per our STM paper.

  • Get results

    Families can send you a clinical report of the findings to support your clinical decision and plan.

Immediate value for your practice

  • Improve Time Management

    As the most common reason kids see a doctor, ear infections take up a lot of time. Virtual visits are typically shorter and can generally be scheduled sooner, giving you back valuable time.

  • Foster Loyal Families

    Families appreciate tools to make informed decisions about when to contact you, and having a virtual option when they do keeps them with you rather than seeking convenience elsewhere.

  • Better Antibiotic Stewardship

    Virtual visits tend to result in higher rates of antibiotic usage. With WavelyDx’s physical exam finding you can prescribe with the confidence you have in your clinic.

Ear infections by the numbers:

80%

of kids have an ear infection

30M

appts in the US annually

$10B

spent in the US annually

Antibiotics by the numbers:

8.7M

ear infections diagnosed yearly

10M

antibiotics scripts for AOM yearly

13%

overprescribing for ear infections

Science of diagnosing ear infections

The standard of care for diagnosing and treating acute otitis media (AOM) is summarized in the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, which specify that diagnosis requires presence of middle ear fluid, and can be made in the presence of a bulging ear drum (Key Action Statement 1C). WavelyDx’s Middle Ear Fluid Detector acoustically measures ear drum mobility (similar to pneumatic otoscopy and tympanometry), which is abnormal in the presence of middle ear fluid and bulging.

The largest and most rigorous study conducted for AOM (Karma, et al.) was conducted in Finland with over 11,804 pediatric visits. Pneumatic otoscopy and myringotomy were performed for any patient suspected of otitis media and correlated with acute symptoms to confirm a diagnosis of AOM. Otoscopy findings were then correlated with the diagnosis. Per this data, impaired tympanic membrane mobility was the best physical exam predictor of AOM with 95% sensitivity and 85% specificity. The most specific exam predictor was bulging with ~97% specificity but had a lower sensitivity of ~51%. Additionally, another study cited by the guidelines (Schwartz, et al.) identified that moderate to severe bulging is the highest predictor of a positive bacterial culture.

Foundational otoscopic findings in children with acute symptoms and MEE that informed AAP guidelines for ear infection diagnosis

Click table to enlarge

Acoustic reflectometry isn’t new, but putting it on a phone is.

Our Science Translational Medicine paper explains how smartphones and a paper funnel can be used to detect middle ear fluid.

How it works

The WavelyDx Middle Ear Fluid Scanner is a smartphone app paired with a disposable paper ear tip that turns a phone into an acoustic reflectometer. Providers distribute the ear tips broadly as part of routine care or via targeted mailings, so when a suspected ear infection occurs, caregivers can capture the data needed for a virtual visit.

In that virtual visit, providers can use clinical decision guidelines developed by WavelyDx’s Medical Advisors to diagnose and treat many ear infections.

FDA listed as a Class II Exempt medical device

What people are saying about WavelyDx

“Families get an immediate sense of relief knowing that no matter what day or time they can get an answer to the question, ‘Does my child have an ear infection?'“

Matt Fradkin MD, Pediatrician and Owner, Puffin Pediatrics, Seattle, WA

“My 15 month old son had been sick for a few days with a low grade fever and stomach issues. One morning, I noticed him pull on his ear. Normally, I’d wait a half day or so to see if that persisted, but since I had WavelyDx, I thought I would check it out immediately. It was easy to set up and my son happily tolerated the cone in his ear. I used the app and it said “likely fluid,” so I made an appointment with the pediatrician.”

Amanda, Parent

“I'm a pediatric audiologist who has been watching this technology develop for a while. I used WavelyDx on my daughter and then followed up with a diagnostic tympanometry. Spot on! She had fluid in her left ear (to my shock)!”

Dr. Jacqueline R. Scholl, AuD, CCC-A, CSP/A, Tulsa, OK

The benefits are clear

Families don’t have to purchase expensive hardware, they use the phone they already own

Easy to use, especially compared with at-home otoscopes that rarely result in clinically useful images

A fast and reliable path to diagnose and treat a child’s ear infection

Implement WavelyDx in your practice

Our clinical team is happy to demo the product and discuss how you can quickly get your families using WavelyDx.