Take a photo of the retina with a smartphone

Many people do not want to go for eye exams for expensive or time-consuming reasons. But these issues will only be in the past because now, researchers are developing economical technologies that allow a smartphone to capture high quality images of the front and back of the eye.

It is much simpler when anyone after being instructed can take a picture of his or her own eye and send it to the therapists who will diagnose and save them in electronic medical records. . This technology increases access to eye care services as well as helps doctors give advice to remote patients.

"This technology is like an eye-catching Instagram app," said Robert Chang, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, one of the researchers on the issue.

Retina shooting.(Source: Daily Mail)

Devices are currently used for eye photography, which costs about $ 10,000 and requires a well-trained device operator. Many remote places in the world do not even have access to such devices.

The ophthalmologist David Myung, the lead author of this technology study, said: "Bringing smart phones to support eye exams will enhance the provision of eye care, more specifically this service to places where people have difficulty accessing them ".

"We hope to improve the quality of care for patients, especially those in developing countries, where there are quite a few ophthalmologists."

"Imagine a traffic accident victim transferred to an emergency with one injured eye causing hematoma in the front part of the eyeball. The doctor can only use the description of the patient's condition in an electronic medical record. ".

'Smartphone today not only integrates cameras to support the descriptions with high-resolution pictures, but also has the ability to transfer data to upload those photos electronically. Full in seconds'.

Dr. Myung believes this technology is a step closer to remote diagnosis.

'Care for patients must be done quickly, so the requirement is to take snapshots in seconds and can upload them immediately to a secure server ,' Myung said. .

Now researchers are designing a pocket adapter that helps the phone perform this eye-shooting function. After a few experiments, they found a combination of exaggerated images and the right amount of light.

'It takes a bit of time to find the right and effective lens and amount of light ,' said Dr. Myung, who is building a prototype from common parts like plastic covers and plastic pads. LEDs, switches, frames, macro lenses and even Lego puzzle pieces.

After successfully photographing the front part of the eye, Dr. Myung is focusing on recreating the inner light of the back of the eye, also known as the retina.

'Shooting the retina is much more difficult, because you have to focus the light on your pupils to reach the inside of the eye.'

Dr. Myung has found the right distance and lighting conditions for a simple adapter that connects a traditional test lens to a smartphone for eye photography. A computer model of prototypes is used to create three-dimensional images.

Research on smartphone image quality will be done at the Emergency Department, Stanford University, while another study will test the ability to detect eye disease in diabetics with electrical images. Smart phones through this modulator.

A small number of products, dubbed EyeGo, will be produced only for these research purposes.