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Resident ophthalmologists devise iPhone slit lamp capability
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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Ophthalmology residents at the Storm Eye Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina have developed an adapter that can allow an iPhone to work as an improvised slit lamp, which has been used to help residents deliver slit lamp-quality images instantaneously at little expense, according to a speaker here.
In a presentation at Kiawah Eye 2012, George Magrath, MD, said the iPhone slit lamp adapter has been used so that first-year residents could easily send photos to their back-up when on call. He also said the adapter has the potential to help surgeons document and store interesting ophthalmic images for teaching. Evolving pathology can be documented more quickly than with a traditional slit lamp at a much lower cost.
According to Dr. Magrath, the material cost of building the adapter was $9.97, which included a felt backing, a case for the phone, an ocular clamp and some epoxy, compared with a traditional slit lamp, which costs upward of $10,000.
Dr. Magrath said the next steps for the prototype adapter are to study its utility in telemedicine as well as analyze its utility in replacing traditional slit lamp cameras by using masked observers to compare equivalency.
Disclosure: Dr. Magrath has no relevant financial disclosures.