Chicago-based Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital has created an app that can screen for bruises, one of the most overlooked signs of child abuse.
The app, dubbed Lurie Children's Child Injury Plausibility Assessment Support Tool, can assess bruises and help clinicians spot any that may be red flags for abuse, according to an April 4 press release from Lurie Children's Hospital.
The app uses an interactive 3D model of a child and allows clinicians to click on the body parts where the bruises are located. The app then requires clinicians to answer questions about the bruises as well as other signs of injury.
The app then gives clinicians a summary of results to indicate whether the injury is related to abuse or accident.
Mary Pierce, MD, emergency physician at Lurie, and Kim Kaczor, director of operations at Lurie, developed the app in partnership with software company Slingshot and software platform BioDigital.