Utility of a smartphone assisted direct ophthalmoscope camera for a general practitioner in screening of diabetic retinopathy at a primary health care center

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the use of smartphone-based direct ophthalmoscope photography for screening of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in known diabetic patients walking into a general practitioner's clinic and referring them to a vitreoretinal specialist for further evaluation and management if required. Methodos: The study included 94 eyes of 47 walk-in patients in a general practitioner's OPD who were known to have type 2 diabetes mellitus and were already on treatment for the same. Results: The study included 47 patients with diabetes with a mean age of 56.2 ± 9.4 years. The Cohen's kappa values revealed that the diagnosis related to the DR status made using a camera was in substantial agreement with the clinical diagnosis (Kappa value: 0.770). The Cohen's kappa values revealed that the diagnosis related to the DME made using a camera was in moderate agreement with the clinical diagnosis (Kappa value: 0.410). The agreement between the findings of the camera and clinical diagnosis was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: Direct ophthalmoscope-based smartphone imaging can be a useful tool in the OPD of a general practitioner. These images can be assessed for retinopathy, and patients can be referred to a vitreoretinal specialist for further evaluation and management if needed. Hence, the burden of vision loss due to complications of DR in the rural sector can be abridged.

New Zealand's first practical demonstration of the telemedicine system specific to Ophthalmology: MedicMind teleophthalmology platform

“…The Dunedin ophthalmology specialists had access to a smartphone-based ophthalmoscope and fundus camera (nun ophthalmoscope and nun IR camera), attached to a smartphone with internet connectivity. 2 The devices used for the trial have been reviewed elsewhere [3][4][5] and their effectiveness have been studied and reported.…”

Commentary: Utility of a smartphone-assisted direct ophthalmoscope camera for a general practitioner in screening of diabetic retinopathy at a primary health care center

“…[ 2 ] The authors have published a manuscript highlighting the utility of a monocular direct ophthalmoscope SBI device to detect DR and diabetic macular edema in this edition of Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. [ 3 ]…”