Self-aligning, motion-stabilized ocular imaging for eye care in urgent and emergent care settings

ABSTRACT This research proposal from a multi-disciplinary team including urgent and emergent care physicians, ophthalmologists, and biomedical engineers seeks to improve the ability of non-specialty providers to provide ocular exams at the point of care. Urgent and emergent care settings are frequently the access point of patients seeking eye care. Standard of care instruments to examine the eye in these non-specialty settings are notoriously difficult to use, and patients frequently are referred out for later specialty care at added expense in time and delayed care. To improve the likelihood of diagnostically useful eye examinations in these non- specialty settings, we will introduce a remote, semi-autonomous eye imaging system capable of retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT), retinal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO), and anterior segment slit illuminated imaging that can be used without need for on-site staffing for operation. These developments have both direct immediate clinical and research applicability by providing the potential to readily examine patient eyes where the patients already are. In addition, there are future implications as a platform for remote diagnostic capabilities in other settings where specialty eye care may be limited.