I-Corps: Telehealth nasoendoscope for remote diagnosis and therapy of ear, nose, and throat disorders

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a lower-cost, improved performance nasoendoscope (nasal endoscope) system for diagnosis of ear, nose and throat conditions. There are three main types of endoscopes: rigid optical, fiberscope, and video-endoscope. Those which are cost effective for widespread use tend to lack adequate performance specifications and features.

Presently, nasoendoscopes are often too cumbersome during the procedure and the documentation of results is time-consuming. Additionally, current nasoendoscopes are difficult and costly to disinfect. The proposed devise is user-friendly device and can help qualified medical personnel conduct diagnostic examinations of the nasal cavity and reach high-quality diagnoses more quickly.

This proposed project explores implementation and commercialization opportunities in Otolaryngology markets as well as Sleep Medicine, Speech and Language Pathology, and veterinary markets. The innovation can have significant impact on patient care and safety, as well as reductions in long-term care costs and medical waste.

This I-Corps project develops a nasoendoscope utilizing Universal Serial Bus (USB) to power and stream video. The device is used by qualified medical personnel to visualize areas within the nasal cavity for diagnosis, tracking, and therapeutic biofeedback purposes. The novel nasoendoscope system includes software that allows the user to power the device, view, and share the video through a single cable, greatly simplifying the procedure and subsequent documentation.

The design allows for real-time sharing of the procedure and seamless integration into a clinic's workflow. Previous progress on this project has focused on the theoretical development and experimental verification of the electrical design. This effort will be used to refine understanding of product-market fit and will further inform the development path and specification focus.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.