The most common cause of blindness in working-age adults is retinal damage as a result of diabetes. To address this problem, researchers have developed a smartphone app that could help detect changes at an early age. The app can provide ‘retinal diagnostics’ and be a convenient option for those in low-income countries.
Learn more about diabetic eye diseases:
Findings of the study carried by scientists from the University of Bonn together in collaboration with Sankara Eye Hospital Bangalore (India) were published in the journal Ophthalmology.
"If such a retinopathy is recognized and treated in time, vision loss can often be prevented," emphasizes Dr. Maximilian Wintergerst from the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital Bonn. "An important aspect of therapy is better control of the diabetes; in addition, it is also possible to treat the undersupplied retina with laser light before further problems occur."
"The best result in our test was achieved by an adapter with an additional lens that is attached to the smartphone," Wintergerst concludes. "It allowed almost 80 percent of eyes with any retinal changes to be detected, even in the early stages. Advanced damage could even be diagnosed 100 percent of the time."
Source: Science Daily
