Are smartphones comparable to laptops for image diagnosis in teleophthalmology?

Objective: To assess the reliability and accuracy of smartphones in diagnosing transmitted fundus images in comparison with a laptop.

Materials And Methods: Fundus images captured with a Topcon NW 200 camera were transferred onto a conventional laptop and a smartphone and given to ophthalmologists for diagnosis. The smartphone and the laptop diagnosis were compared with the actual face to face diagnosis statistically to assess their diagnostic accuracy.

Results: Fundus images of 228 eyes of 114 patients (mean age 47 years,73.6% males) were included in the study. 92.5% eyes were correctly diagnosed by both smartphones and laptop. Smartphone analysis revealed 98% sensitivity,57% specificity and kappa value of 0.62 in comparison to laptop, suggessting substantial interrater agreement.

Conclusions: Smartphones are as effective as the laptop in diagnosing fundus pathologies and hold promise for teleophthalmology in future.