Madison-based health tech startup Otologic Technologies is on a mission to change the way physicians diagnose and treat ear disease.
In children, the nagging pain results in more than 20 million visits to the doctor’s office each year, yet many cases—as high as 60 percent—are misdiagnosed, leading to recurrent infections, unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, and potentially unnecessary ear tube surgeries, according to Otologic's Chief Strategy Officer Dan Wenger.
But the problem with misdiagnosis doesn’t exactly lie with the clinicians, he says.
“We think it goes to three things,” Wenger explains. “The tools are limited; clinical training is limited—doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners get just a few rounds [of training]—and the diagnostic process itself is still subjective. It’s just one person looking in there, often with a squirming child patient. They can only see and diagnose based on what they remember.”
Otologic says part of the problem is the standard otoscope—the handheld medical device used to peer into a patient’s eardrum—which has scarcely advanced over the last 100 years.
"Studies show that up to seven out of every 10 times a doctor looks in someone's ear the diagnosis is not completely correct," said Aaron Moberly, Otologic's chief medical officer. “You're looking for answers with a little magnifying glass and a light stuck in a patient's ear."
Otologic is looking to revolutionize the ear disease diagnosis process. The early-stage startup has developed an artificial intelligence system to help doctors better diagnose ear disease.
It works like this: Using a digital otoscope, a doctor captures a short 5-second video clip of a patient’s ear. The doctor then loads the images into Otologic’s database of ear anomalies. The system then identifies and analyzes the physical features of the patient’s ear, and presents three to five similarly diagnosed cases with a “percent-match” suggestion for the clinician to take into consideration.
The entire process takes just a few minutes, Wenger says. Today, Otologic’s database contains more than 250 patient images and covers more than 14 ear anomalies. Early results of Otologic’s patent-pending technology and accurate diagnosis rates show promise.
“The doctor makes the ultimate diagnosis, but this time they make objective guidance from known cases along the way,” Wenger says. “This is great technology because it can have such a large impact on how we diagnose ear disease, here and across the world. But somebody has to bring it together.”
That “somebody” includes Otologic’s team of five founders who banded together to take the startup’s technology to the commercial market, where annual U.S. spending for the most common ear diseases tops $4 billion.
Otologic is seeking to bring its technology to otoscope makers, primary care physicians, clinical training facilities and telemedicine providers.
Originally developed at the Ohio State University under a research grant, and currently expanding its work under a grant from the National Institute of Health, Otologic fielded several pitches to formalize as a business out-of-state.
"This is great technology because it can have such a large impact on how we diagnose ear disease."
But Wenger says the founders had their ear to the ground in Wisconsin.
“We chose Wisconsin because there is so much going on here: The resources, the startup community and the ecosystem growing in biotech and life sciences,” Wenger says. “There is such great stuff happening in Wisconsin, and [companies] are really looking to change the world, so we are thrilled to be a part of that.”
This June, Otologic took home the top prize for the Governor’s Business Plan Contest in the Life Sciences category at the 2019 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Conference, and pitched their business concept at the Summerfest Tech event.
So far, the company has been funded by family and friends, but Wenger says the team hopes to launch a commercialization funding round late next year for about $500,000. Until then, Otologic is focused on expanding its capabilities, seeking regulatory clearance and shifting its headquarters to Milwaukee.
The team might be moving to Cream City shortly, but Wenger sees Otologic Technologies’ AI going worldwide.
“I feel like we’re doing something new that really makes a difference,” he says. “It could happen in a remote location in Africa, where there aren’t ear specialists, or have a PCP get a better diagnosis on the spot. We don’t have anything to lose by pushing the envelope—to drive something that can have such an impact on the world.”
