Abstract
Purpose :
Dry eye, a multifactorial disease, presents challenges in clinical settings due to the variety of diagnostic tools required for assessing tear film instability, hyperosmolarity, ocular surface inflammation, and damage. Limited clinical time hampers comprehensive utilization and interpretation of these tools. To address this, we aimed to develop an application that supports comprehensive data for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of dry eye syndrome.
Methods :
A thorough survey regarding the needs for dry eye application was conducted with 55 dry eye patients and 44 ophthalmologists (22 corneal specialists and 22 non-specialists). A mock-up application, including OSDI, was developed based on the survey results.
Results :
Patients ranged from under 20 to over 70, with the majority in their 50s (27.3%) and women (76.5%). Most patients (74.5%) and ophthalmologists (54.5%) preferred Android OS for their phone. A high demand for the application was evident, with 98.2% of patients and 70.5% of ophthalmologists (81.8% cornea specialists) expressing interest. Key desired features included MMP9 (50.9%) and Schirmer test (41.8%) among patients, and OSDI (90.9% cornea specialists, 81.8% non-specialists) and BUT (90.9% cornea specialists, 77.3% non-specialists). Time constraints in clinics resulted in underutilization of these diagnostics; 50% of ophthalmologists used OSDI in less than 10% of new cases, and 31.8% could not conduct adequate tests in over half of their patients. 81.8% of ophthalmologists (86.4% cornea specialists, 77.3% non-specialists) were willing to use the app including OSDI input. According to these results we developed mock-up application for an Android OS.
Conclusions :
There is a notable demand for an application encompassing various dry eye syndrome diagnostics, particularly among patients and ophthalmologists. The developed Android mock-up, featuring OSDI results, is seen as a beneficial tool in managing dry eye syndrome.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.