The discovery is by a research team from the University of Illinois
at Chicago College of Medicine and Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical
School.
‘The prototype retinal camera is affordable, portable and can take pictures of the back of the eye without the need for eye drops.’
To examine the retina, pupil-dilating eye drops are used
routinely. These drops work by dilating the pupil and preventing the iris
(which is the muscle that controls the opening of pupil) from constricting in
response to light.
Some significant disadvantage of the drops include:
- Can sting
- Takes longer time (up to 30 minutes) to work
- Causes blurry vision
- Sensitivity to light for several hours afterwords
This can be an inconvenience for both the doctor and the
patient.
"As residents seeing patients in the hospital, there
are often times when we are not allowed to dilate patients -- neurosurgery
patients for example," said Dr. Bailey Shen, a second-year ophthalmology
resident at the UIC College of Medicine. "Also, there are times when we
find something abnormal in the back of the eye, but it is not practical to
wheel the patient all the way over to the outpatient eye clinic just for a
photograph."
The prototype camera can be carried in the pocket and can
take pictures of the back of the eye without eye drops. The pictures can be
shared with other doctors, or attached to the patient's medical record.
Retinal Camera- How it Works?
The camera is based on the Raspberry Pi 2 computer, which
is a low-cost, single-board computer designed to teach children how to build
and program computers.
The board hooks up to a small, cheap infrared camera, and a
dual infrared and white-light-emitting diode.
The rest of the camera is made up of a handful of other
components like a lens, a small display screen and several cables.
The camera works by first emitting infrared light, which is
used to focus the camera on the retina. This step can take up to a few seconds.
The iris does not react to the infrared light.
Once the camera is focused, a quick flash of white light is delivered as the picture
is taken.
The prototype camera photos show:
- The retina and its blood supply
- Portion of the optic nerve that leads into the retina
- Reveals health
issues like diabetes, glaucoma and elevated pressure around the
brain
Drawbacks of Other
Traditional Retinal
Cameras
Most table mounted, nonmydriatic fundus cameras use white
light, which is why pupil-dilating eye drops are needed.
Though they use the same infrared/white light technique, most cameras are
bulky, not portable and very expensive.
Conclusion
"This is an open-source device that is cheap and easy
to build," said Mukai. "We expect that others who build our camera
will add their own improvements and innovations."
"The device is currently just a prototype, but it
shows that it is possible to build a cheap camera capable of taking quality
pictures of the retina without dilating eye drops, " Shen said. "It
would be cool someday if this device or something similar was carried around in
the white-coat pockets of every ophthalmology resident and used by physicians
outside of ophthalmology as well."
Shen and his co-author, Dr. Shizuo Mukai, associate
professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and a retina surgeon at
Massachusetts Eye and Ear, describe their findings in the
Journal of
Ophthalmology.
References :- Bailey Y. Shen, Shizuo Mukai. A Portable, Inexpensive, Nonmydriatic Fundus Camera Based on the Raspberry Pi® Computer. Journal of Ophthalmology; (2017) DOI: 10.1155/2017/4526243
Source: Medindia
