EVALUATION OF A SMARTPHONE-BASED IMAGING MODALITY FOR CORNEAL PATHOLOGIES

To compare the quality of images and diagnostic capabilities between a slit lamp and a smartphone-based eye examination tool.

Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Kepler University Clinic and Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria

This single-center study included patients with visible anterior eye segment pathologies. All included eyes were photographed under slit lamp examination and by the QuickVue Smartphone Eye Imaging Adaptor (Visuscience Meditech Co., LTD, China). Study examination was performed on patients who underwent a routine diagnosis in the corneal outpatient clinic or through the emergency department. All slit-lamp and smartphone-based photographs were presented to two different corneal experts and two general ophthalmologists in a randomized sequence. The pictures were subsequently evaluated, and a diagnosis was made. The results were compared between the smartphone-based diagnostic method and the slit lamp, evaluating whether there is a qualitative match or a significant qualitative disagreement between the two. Furthermore, a comparison of the feasibility of qualitatively diagnosable images was conducted between the slit lamp and smartphone-based images.

Preliminary Results: 
Mean age of the 30 included patients was 60 with a standard deviation of 20,9. Among the patients, there were 19 males and 11 females. Pathologies included 7 cases of complications after keratoplasty, 5 cases of Keratitis, 5 cases of stromal scarring, 4 cases of bulbus trauma, 4 cases of corneal decompensation, 2 cases of band keratopathy, 2 cases of cysts and 1 case of Pterygium. In a preliminary analysis no significant difference between the measurement modalities was found.

A smartphone with an eye imaging adaptor showed a similar image quality compared to a standardized slit lamp camera.