Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the clinical usefulness of external images acquired with a fundus camera.
Methods :
Subjects with and without external eye conditions were referred by a local eye clinic. Images were acquired on the NW500 (Topcon Healthcare, Tokyo, Japan) using the manual photography mode. The manual focus bar was adjusted to place focus where the iris meets the pupil or placed on pathology when applicable. All images were captured in a well-illuminated room without dilation. An experienced image grader determined the clinical usefulness using a 5-point grading scale (with 1 as the lowest and 5 as the highest). Additionally, images were graded for focus quality using the same 5-point grading scale.
Results :
28 eyes of 14 subjects were imaged. The demographics of the subjects were as follows: mean age was 45 years (range 20-74); majority female (57%); majority White (64% White, 21% Asian, and 14% Black). Both normal and diseased eyes were recruited for this study. 57% of subjects were identified as positive for external eye conditions including Salzmann’s Nodular Degeneration, Radial Keratotomy Scars, Superficial Punctate Keratitis, Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, Corneal Pannus, Lid lesion x2, and Keratoconus x2.
During image acquisition using the manual photography mode, the manual focus bar was adjusted for each subject to place focus where the iris meets the pupil or placed on pathology when applicable. As described in Table 1, the overall average image quality score for clinical usefulness of external images was 4.0/5.0 and the focus quality grade was 3.9/5.0. In subjects with external eye conditions, the average image quality score for clinical usefulness was 3.8 and the focus grade was 3.6. In normal subjects, the average image quality score for clinical usefulness was 4.3 and the focus grade was 4.3.
Conclusions :
The results indicate that a non-mydriatic robotic fundus camera is capable of acquiring clinically useful and in focus external ocular images using manual photography mode in both diseased and normal eyes.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.