Researchers from Stanford University have developed inexpensive adapters that enable a smartphone to capture very precise images of the eye.

 

The adapters allow anyone with minimal training to take a picture of the front and back of the eye, to share this image securely with other eyecare professionals or to download it to the patient’s electronic record. One of the developers of the device, ophthalmologist Robert Chang, likens it to “Instagram for the eye.”

 

Such a device would be extremely helpful in providing eye care in remote locations or in disadvantaged regions where paying for leading-edge medical equipment is a challenge. This could also accelerate diagnoses in emergency rooms.

 

“Imagine a car accident victim arriving in the emergency department with an eye injury resulting in a hyphema. Normally the physician would have to describe this finding in the patient’s record with words alone. Smartphones today not only have the camera resolution to supplement those words with a high-resolution photo, but also the data-transfer capability to upload that photo securely to the medical record in a matter of seconds,” explained Dr. Chang.

Source:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140307111056.htm

 

A remote screening system performed well in identifying patients with treatable diabetic eye disease.

 

The researchers evaluated the performance of the EyePACS tele-ophthalmology system to detect edema resulting from leaky blood vessels at the back of the eye. “Edema that is detected close to the line of sight can and should be treated to slow or avoid any loss of vision,” said Dr. Anthony Adams, editor-in-chief of Optometry and Vision Science. “However about one-third of all people with diabetes don’t realize they have diabetes and about 20% of those with recently diagnosed diabetes already have some changes in the blood vessels.”

 

The study included 103 adults with type 2 diabetes, seen at a public health clinic, who were considered at high risk for macular edema. A digital camera was used to take a magnified view of the interior of the eye, without the use of eye drops to dilate the pupil. The photos were sent over the Internet to ophthalmologists, who looked for hard exudates as an indicator of macular edema. “The presence of hard exudates allowed correct detection of actual edema 90% of the time,” explained Dr. Adams.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225111816.htm

IRIS The Visual Group announced that it has partnered with Nikon to launch MyLab^TM, an integrated Nikon-Iris laboratory. Since IRIS opened a lab in the spring of 2013, its stores have been integrating MyLab^TMtechnology to meet growing demands.

MyLab^TM provides patients with exclusive IRIS products, namely Nikon’s brand new digital progressive lens series, the I-View Series2.

Thanks to this new association, the MyLab^TM integrated lab has access to the latest generation of manufacturing equipment, allowing it to produce high-quality lenses that are manufactured and tested with precision and speed.

“Our partnership will prove that vertical cooperation is more effective than vertical integration,” said Dr. Francis Jean, optometrist and president of IRIS.

Nikon Optical Canada’s president, Pierre Longerna, says that, on behalf of Nikon, he is proud “to be associated with IRIS in the creation of MyLab^TM, a specialized structure that offers IRIS patients the most sophisticated Nikon lenses available.”

 

Source: Iris, The Visual Group

 

A simple vision test performed on the sidelines may help determine whether athletes have suffered a concussion.

 

The King-Devick test usually takes less than one minute. It involves quickly reading numbers on index cards. During the study, 217 members of the University of Florida men’s football, women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse teams took the test at the beginning of the season. Thirty of the athletes had a concussion during the season and were tested again at the time of the injury.

 

The time to complete the test was longer for 79% of the athletes after the injury. The test requires eye movements, language and concentration, all of which can be impaired as a result of concussion.

 

“The visual pathways are commonly affected in concussion,” said Laura Balcer, lead author of the study. “Adding a vision-based test to evaluate athletes on the sidelines may allow us to better detect more athletes with concussion more quickly. This is particularly important since not all athletes reliably report their symptoms of concussion, including any vision problems.”

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140226165110.htm

 

Ocuco, the company behind the Acuitas Practice Management System (Acuitas PMS) and the Innovations Lab Management System (LMS), has acquired Canada-based EMRlogic, provider of the ODPro PMS and activEHR.

 

Ocuco will honour all software support contracts for EMRlogic and will fix certain bugs in the ODPro system; however, development on this system will be frozen. Ultimately, ODPro will be discontinued and replaced by Acuitas PMS. Technical support will continue for two years after the replacement has been released. Ocuco will also enhance activEHR features.

 

EMRlogic had been under protection from its creditors for some months. A settlement has been reached and the acquisition will save most of the jobs in the company. EMRlogic’s employees will form the core of Ocuco’s new North American software support team. “We are delighted to provide a safe home with Ocuco for our customers and staff who have invested so much with us over the past few years,” said John McCormick, owner of EMRlogic.

 

There are already 7,200 eyecare professionals in 35 countries who use Ocuco products, including the FYidoctors network in Canada. The company is now intent on increasing its market share in North America.

Source:

http://www.emrlogic.com/PDFs/PR_20140220%20-%20Ocuco%20Acquires%20EMRlogic%20Software_INT.pdf