Uncooperative Child? There’s an App for That!

Practical Pointers
Discover Shortcuts Devised By Colleagues

Children are commonly uncooperative during procedures. When a frustrated ultrasonographer requested ketamine to quiet a child, I instead showed the child an application on my iPhone. This particular application generates imagery based on sound. As the child viewed the display of a spirograph of morphing colors that changed with vocalizations, the ultrasonographer completed the radiography. Since that episode, the distraction has helped calm a child during repair of a facial laceration. In this instance, an assistant held the phone while I completed the repair. The assistant also helped by talking and making funny noises that moved the image on the phone.