Light and portable novel device for diabetic retinopathy screening.

Background: To validate the use of an economical portable multipurpose ophthalmic imaging device, EyeScan (Ophthalmic Imaging System, Sacramento, CA, USA), for diabetic retinopathy screening.

Design: Evaluation of a diagnostic device.

Participants: One hundred thirty-six (272 eyes) were recruited from diabetic retinopathy screening clinic of Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia, Australia.

Methods: All patients underwent three-field (optic disc, macular and temporal view) mydriatic retinal digital still photography captured by EyeScan and FF450 plus (Carl Zeiss Meditec, North America) and were subsequently examined by a senior consultant ophthalmologist using the slit-lamp biomicroscopy (reference standard). All retinal images were interpreted by a consultant ophthalmologist and a medical officer.

Main Outcome Measures: The sensitivity, specificity and kappa statistics of EyeScan and FF450 plus with reference to the slit-lamp examination findings by a senior consultant ophthalmologist.

Results: For detection of any grade of diabetic retinopathy, EyeScan had a sensitivity and specificity of 93 and 98%, respectively (ophthalmologist), and 92 and 95%, respectively (medical officer). In contrast, FF450 plus images had a sensitivity and specificity of 95 and 99%, respectively (ophthalmologist), and 92 and 96%, respectively (medical officer). The overall kappa statistics for diabetic retinopathy grading for EyeScan and FF450 plus were 0.93 and 0.95 for ophthalmologist and 0.88 and 0.90 for medical officer, respectively.

Conclusions: Given that the EyeScan requires minimal training to use and has excellent diagnostic accuracy in screening for diabetic retinopathy, it could be potentially utilized by the primary eye care providers to widely screen for diabetic retinopathy in the community.