Clinical Observation of Allergic Conjunctival Diseases with Portable and Recordable Slit-Lump Device

Abstract

Purpose : Not only ophthalmologists but also non-ophthalmologists often prescribe eye drops for allergic conjunctivital diseases (ACDs); however, there are many cases that are treated without sufficient examination and diagnosis of the eyes. We have invented a portable, recordable, and smartphone-attachable slit-lamp device, called the Smart Eye Camera (SEC). The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic abilities of ACDs between the SEC and the conventional, non-portable slit-lamp microscope.

Methods : This prospective observational study included thirty-two eyes of 17 Japanese patients (mean age: 21.5±14.8 years; range: 11-51 years; female: 5). The severity of ten objective signs in the palpebral conjunctiva, bulbar conjunctiva, limbus and cornea were scored on a grading scale of 0 to 4 (0 = normal; 1+ = mild; 2+ = moderate; 3+ = severe), respectively. First, two ophthalmologists used the conventional slit-lamp microscope to examine the grade of the ACDs. Second, another ophthalmologist filmed the eyes in video mode by the SEC and two other ophthalmologists evaluated the grades on another day. The correlation and inter-rater reproducibility in total scores of ten objective signs among two devices were determined.

Results : Total scores of clinical signs evaluated by the two approaches showed a strong correlation with statistical significance (both eyes: r = 0.918 [95%CI: 0.839 to 0.959; p < 0.001]). Inter-rater agreement was substantial (weighted κ value = 0.631 [95%CI: 0.601 to 0.661; p < 0.001]).

Conclusions : This study suggests that the SEC is as reliable as the conventional non-portable slit-lamp microscope for evaluating ACDs.

This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.