LinguAPP: An m-Health Application for Teledentistry Diagnostics.

Matia Fazio,Giuseppe Alessandro Scardina,Giuseppe Marino,Pietro Messina,Francesco Torregrossa,Cesare Valenti,Anand Marya,Antonino Tocco,Christian Lombardo

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020822

Abstract

An Android/iOS application for low-cost mobile devices to aid in dental diagnosis through questionnaire and photos is presented in this paper. The main purposes of our app lie in the ease of use even for nonexperienced users, in the limited hardware requirements that allow a wide diffusion, and in the possibility to modify the questionnaire for different pathologies. This tool was developed in about a month at the beginning of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and is still in use in Italy to allow support to patients without going to the hospital, if not strictly necessary.

Highlights

M-health applications have been applied to various medical fields due to the wide diffusion of mobile devices, the low cost of Internet connection, and the ability to reach substantially almost any remote area [1,2]
LinguApp has enabled carrying out a remote triage which is essential in order to have access to health facilities in Italy, having assessed the low risk of COVID-19 positivity
The app has made it possible to manage some patients at a remote distance and to accept at the health facility low-risk patients with COVID-19 positivity, reducing the risk of patient mobility, which is essential for the containment of the pandemic infection itself

Summary

Introduction

An m-Health Application for Recently, m-health applications (i.e., medicine supported by mobile devices) have been applied to various medical fields due to the wide diffusion of mobile devices, the low cost of Internet connection, and the ability to reach substantially almost any remote area [1,2]. Our app, called LinguApp, is freely downloadable for Android and iOS operating systems and is still in use at the Department of Surgical Oncological and Stomatological Disciplines in Palermo, Italy, even though it provides support for the entire country of Italy. This tool submits a triage questionnaire, formulated in a simple way for nonspecialists, and prompts them to take at least two photos to highlight lesions within their mouth without the use of any template to refer.

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion