Abstract
Purpose :
Validation of a mechanized remotely operated stereoscopic drone slit lamp in assessing anterior segment pathology compared to a conventional slit lamp.
Methods :
Patients meeting the study inclusion criteria were recruited from eye clinics at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Two independent examiners assessed anterior chamber (AC) depth and presence or absence of cells and/or flare of each patient first using the drone slit lamp, followed by conventional slit lamp. Qualitative data was collected on the ability to assess corneal integrity, foreign bodies, epithelial defects, stromal infiltrates and conjuctival injection using the drone slit lamp.
Results :
Forty-eight eyes of 42 participants were examined using both the drone slit lamp and conventional slit lamp. No significant within-examiner differences in AC depth or cell were detected. There was substantial agreement between the drone slit lamp and conventional slit lamp when assessing AC cell and flare (κ=72.6 and κ =60.4, respectively) and moderate agreement when assessing AC depth (κ=42.5). The drone slit lamp compared to conventional slit lamp had a sensitivity and specificity of 98.3% (95% CI= 94-100) and 100% (95% CI= (98.7-100) respectively, for detecting AC cell. The drone slit lamp had sensitivity and specificity of 100% (95% CI= 97.5-100) and 88.2% (95% CI= 80.2-96.1) respectively for detecting AC flare.
Conclusions :
To our knowledge this study is the first to attempt to validate the use of a mechanized remotely operated stereoscopic drone slit lamp on human subjects. There was substantial agreement between the drone slit lamp and conventional slit lamp when assessing AC depth, cell and flare. Sensitivity and specificity for assessing these findings ranged from 88.2% to 100%. This drone slit lamp provides excellent capability for examination of anterior segment pathology in live patients when compared to a conventional slit lamp.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.