Smartphones become ‘eye-phones’ with low-cost devices developed by ophthalmologists

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed two inexpensive adapters that enable a smartphone to capture high-quality images of the front and back of the eye. The adapters make it easy for anyone with minimal training to take a picture of the eye and share it securely with other health practitioners or store it in the patient’s electronic record.

The technology was developed by assistant professor of ophthalmology Robert Chang, MD and ophthalmology resident David Myung, MD, PhD. “It took some time to figure out how to mount the lens and lighting elements to the phone in an efficient yet effective way,” said Myung, who built the prototypes with inexpensive parts purchased almost exclusively online, including plastic caps, plastic spacers, LEDs, switches, universal mounts, macrolenses and even a handful of Legos.

After successfully imaging the front of the eye, he then focused on visualizing the inside lining of the back of the eye, called the retina. “Taking a photo of the retina is harder because you need to focus light through the pupil to reach inside the eye,” said Myung.

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