Who are we?
The Kaméleon camera was created by two pediatricians who are practicing fathers themselves. Balázs Király and Péter Altorjai have already examined thousands of small patients during their more than a quarter of a century of practice, and they know exactly how much help it is for parents if they get a quick, reassuring answer to their concerns in case of uncertainty.
"I have been enjoying the benefits of mobile communication in my work for years: in urgent cases, I try to give directions to worried parents by phone. They often call me saying that the child is lethargic and has a red throat. In this case, we need to see the diseased area. After several pictures taken with a mobile phone, Péter and I started to think about what kind of device the parents could use to take a recording with adequate quality and detail. A high-quality camera, accurate, adjustable LED lighting and, of course, pressing the tongue, these three points are realized in our device. It was important to us that the preparation of the recording should be as little scary or unpleasant as possible for the little patients, so we hid the devices in a lovable appearance. I often come to my appointments with my dog named Hugó, I see how his presence has a beneficial effect on the children. We are confident that chameleons will have similar success in small patients.”
Balázs Király, pediatrician
"I like gadgets, I have almost a whole room of different devices at home. I consider it a great thing that the results of the development of science and technology are integrated into our everyday life, making it simpler and more comfortable. When designing the Kaméleon camera, we thought primarily of parents with small children. A sore throat puts routine parents to the test: although it is mostly a phenomenon that can be cured without intervention, in some cases medication may also be necessary. Once we have the recording, we can quickly let you know whether further investigation is warranted. If it's a simple cold, the parent doesn't have to go on a trip with the sick child, except sometimes on vacation, or wait in a crowded forecourt, the children can heal in the peace of their own home."
Péter Altorjai, pediatrician
How was the Kameleon camera created?
We have been working as pediatricians for nearly thirty years. During this time, we constantly followed the changes in science and technological development, we looked for new things, more modern methods and tools, so that we could perform our work as efficiently as possible. This intention and desire also brought the chameleon camera to life.
According to our experience, in many cases, parents want to receive professional help from the pediatrician from the very first moment of the illness. In our fast-paced world, there is also a need to remedy simpler problems without visiting the doctor's office.
However, without a physical examination, the correct diagnosis can only be formulated on the basis of the most accurate description, photo, recording. With the appropriate admission, the doctor has the opportunity to decide whether it is a simpler disease that can be cured with home care, or whether an additional physical examination conducted in the doctor's office is necessary.
This is especially the case with frequent colds and sore throats. In the world of smartphones, it seems easy to take a video of a child's throat, but unfortunately, in most cases, the end result is not suitable for the doctor to make an accurate diagnosis.
After trying several, and moreover much more expensive, similar devices, we decided to create a children's throat examination camera suitable for them. Our goal was to create an easy-to-use device that is capable of creating the detailed image required for establishing a diagnosis by providing the spatula and the light source at the same time, and also has a form that is lovable to children.
We hid our camera and spatula inside a chameleon. In this case, the long tongue of the chameleon, which is not too excited and usually sits persistently, hides the spatula and the camera, so during the examination, the children do not encounter a strange device, but a lovely animal. The parents can then easily and quickly send the image taken by the camera to the pediatrician, who can safely decide whether the child should be taken to the doctor's office for further examination.
During the use of the first prototype, we received feedback from many colleagues that the chameleon camera was a great help in their work. This inspired us to launch the Chameleon camera, a reliable, safe and affordable product.
With the fun, playful chameleon camera, it's much easier to get kids to do a throat exam, especially if they can even choose its color.
It is also a huge help to us doctors, since when examining the throat of a small child, we can see the "essence" for a maximum of a few seconds, but looking back at the video, we have much more time to make a diagnosis. We can analyze the video almost frame by frame, show it right away, and explain to the parents what the change in the video can mean, whether medication is necessary.
The video can be stored in the children's documentation, which confirms and validates the doctor's professional decisions. But we can also send it to parents, who, based on their own experience, are also happy when they receive not only a "red throat a little" expert opinion, but an accurate picture of their child's condition.
The recording is also suitable for the pediatrician to request a specialist consultation in case of dispute.