Researchers: Dr Angus Turner, Karim Johnson (Centre for Ophthalmological and Visual Sciences, Lions Eye Institute)
Funding: Eye Surgery Foundation
Project summary: People in rural areas experience greater levels of ill health and lower access to health services than metropolitan residents. Telehealth offers an alternative approach to improve both the quality and access to healthcare irrespective of location. Currently a Telehealth service for eye care, Teleophthalmology, operates in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Image capture and transfer are integral components of Teleophthalmology. With recent advances in technology there has been a trend to using smartphones to capture images of the eye.
The aim of this study is to assess the validity of using an iPhone in digital imaging of slit-lamp views of the eye for use in Teleophthalmology consultations. If an iPhone can reliably be used, it will provide an alternative to more expensive digital camera slit-lamps, especially for those areas with limited funding for such a device. This has the potential to affect imaging practices for Teleophthalmology services nationally and internationally.
Progress: Did not comence