How the smartphone is driving the eye-health imaging revolution

Abstract

The digitization of ophthalmic images has opened up a number of exciting possibilities within eye care such as automated pathology detection, as well as electronic storage and transmission. However, technology capable of capturing digital ophthalmic images remains expensive. We review the latest progress in creating ophthalmic imaging devices based around smartphones, which are readily available to most practicing ophthalmologists and other medical professionals. If successfully developed to be inexpensive and to offer high-quality imaging capabilities, these devices will have huge potential for disease detection and reduction of preventable blindness across the globe. We discuss the specific implications of such devices in high-, middle- and low-income settings.

Keywords::

• anterior segment imaging
• fundoscopy
• imaging
• mHealth
• mobile phone
• ophthalmoscopy
• retina
• slit-lamp
• smartphone
• telemedicine

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work has been supported by the authors’ home institutions, namely, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Centre of Ophthalmic Research and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK). The authors’ work is also supported by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• Smartphones, mobile devices capable of telephony, installing and running software applications are evolving toward being ubiquitous devices owned by large portions of the global population.

• Studies have shown that display quality on smartphones is sufficient to assess ophthalmic images with equal or better quality than desktop monitors.

• Smartphones are increasingly being fitted with high-quality digital cameras.

• A number of hardware solutions have been developed which allow anterior segment, indirect and direct ophthalmoscopy images to be captured using a smartphone camera.

• Several studies have so far reported smartphone ophthalmic imaging as having comparable quality to reference standards.

• Commercially available solutions remain above the affordability threshold for many settings.

• There has been recent progress which suggests that in the coming 1–3 years genuinely inexpensive solutions may emerge.

• The benefits of these devices will be felt across low-, middle- and high-income settings.

Notes