Abstract
Purpose :
The Coronavirus pandemic has increased interest in telemedicine, with the most sought-after tool for Ophthalmology being the ability to measure visual acuity (VA) at home. Previous studies have explored the use of computer charts, printable ETDRS charts, and a phone application (Verana Vision) that have mostly relied on training or guidance from eye professionals.
VA applications for smartphones, such as OdySight (available on the iPhone Apple Store and Android Google Play) and Peek Acuity (available only on Android Google Play), have been validated in a clinical setting only. However, these applications have potential utility for checking vision at home. This ongoing randomized, prospective clinical trial utilizes two smartphone apps, OdySight and Peek Acuity, to determine if patients can measure their VA at home with no in-person training or guidance.
Methods :
Patients (18 years and older) with a compatible smart phone that were seen in the ophthalmology clinics of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center were enrolled in this study. Each patient’s VA was measured with a 20 foot Snellen chart per clinic protocol as part of their standard clinic work-up. Patients were randomized into groups using one of the smartphone apps and directed to download their assigned app during the clinic encounter. Patients were sent home with basic instructions on how to use the application. No in person training for the application was provided to the patients either during the clinic visit or virtually at home. Patients were asked to report their home VA within 72 hours. The difference between the clinic VA (CVA) and home VA (HVA) or ΔVA was calculated along with 95% confidence interval (CI) for each arm.
Results :
To date 43 eyes have been enrolled in the study in the OdySight (n = 30) and the PEEK Acuity (n = 13 eyes) arms. The ΔVA was 0.04 (95% CI -0.01 to 0.08) logMAR and 0.07 (95% CI 0.07 to 0.22) logMAR for the OdySight and Peek Acuity arm, respectively. The ΔVA OdySight compares very favorably to the ΔVA existing studies for at home devices including Verna Vision (-0.12 logMAR), ETDRS charts (-0.02 to 0.08 logMAR) and computer charts (-0.13 logMAR).
Conclusions :
Results from a real-world prospective study show that smartphone apps can be used by patients to measure their VA accurately at home without any in-person training. VA applications can be used to potentially monitor patients in between clinic visits.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.