A Mobile Phone-Based Retinal Camera for Wide Field Imaging
A Mobile Phone-Based Retinal Camera for Wide Field Imaging
Digital fundus imaging is used extensively in the diagnosis, monitoring and management of many retinal diseases. Access to fundus photography is often limited by patient morbidity, high equipment cost and shortage of trained personnel. Advancements in telemedicine methods and the development of portable fundus cameras have increased the accessibility of retinal imaging, but most of these approaches rely on separate computers for viewing and transmission of fundus images. We describe a novel portable handheld smartphone-based retinal camera capable of capturing high-quality, wide field fundus images. The use of the mobile phone platform creates a fully embedded system capable of acquisition, storage and analysis of fundus images that can be directly transmitted from the phone via the wireless telecommunication system for remote evaluation.
Since the late 19th century, when retinal imaging was first described, there has been steady technical improvement in imaging the fundus of the eye. Recently, this has included the development of digital imaging, non-mydriatic imaging systems and optical coherence topography imaging systems. These technological advancements have enabled clinicians to use a number of different imaging methods to detect, diagnose and monitor retinal diseases.
One limitation of most of the current imaging systems is the bulky and stationary nature of the equipment. Current gold standard tabletop fundus cameras require patients to be seated upright, which can be difficult in sick and hospitalised patients. Portable cameras have been introduced for fundus imaging, but these devices are often costly and typically must be connected to a computer for image processing, storage and visualisation. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a mobile phone-based retinal camera that leverages the compact size, high-resolution camera, large data storage capacity and wireless data transfer capabilities of current mobile devices to capture diagnostic retinal images. The camera includes a custom-designed mobile phone attachment that houses optics capable of capturing a retinal field-of-view of approximately 55°, which we call the Ocular CellScope. The device allows a completely portable and inexpensive solution for retinal imaging that could be used in the hospital setting and also for community vision screening.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Digital fundus imaging is used extensively in the diagnosis, monitoring and management of many retinal diseases. Access to fundus photography is often limited by patient morbidity, high equipment cost and shortage of trained personnel. Advancements in telemedicine methods and the development of portable fundus cameras have increased the accessibility of retinal imaging, but most of these approaches rely on separate computers for viewing and transmission of fundus images. We describe a novel portable handheld smartphone-based retinal camera capable of capturing high-quality, wide field fundus images. The use of the mobile phone platform creates a fully embedded system capable of acquisition, storage and analysis of fundus images that can be directly transmitted from the phone via the wireless telecommunication system for remote evaluation.
Introduction
Since the late 19th century, when retinal imaging was first described, there has been steady technical improvement in imaging the fundus of the eye. Recently, this has included the development of digital imaging, non-mydriatic imaging systems and optical coherence topography imaging systems. These technological advancements have enabled clinicians to use a number of different imaging methods to detect, diagnose and monitor retinal diseases.
One limitation of most of the current imaging systems is the bulky and stationary nature of the equipment. Current gold standard tabletop fundus cameras require patients to be seated upright, which can be difficult in sick and hospitalised patients. Portable cameras have been introduced for fundus imaging, but these devices are often costly and typically must be connected to a computer for image processing, storage and visualisation. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a mobile phone-based retinal camera that leverages the compact size, high-resolution camera, large data storage capacity and wireless data transfer capabilities of current mobile devices to capture diagnostic retinal images. The camera includes a custom-designed mobile phone attachment that houses optics capable of capturing a retinal field-of-view of approximately 55°, which we call the Ocular CellScope. The device allows a completely portable and inexpensive solution for retinal imaging that could be used in the hospital setting and also for community vision screening.
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