Portable hand-held non-mydriatic retinal camera

描述（由申请人提供）：根据美国国立卫生研究院的数据，美国有超过8000万人患有潜在的视力威胁疾病。医生每年会看到七百万到八百万新的眼病病例。超过200万50岁及以上的美国人患有晚期黄斑变性，这一阶段可能导致严重的视力损害，1000万人患有早期或中期黄斑变性。超过230万40岁及以上的美国人患有青光眼。另有200万青光眼患者未被确诊。美国和全世界的糖尿病病例一直呈上升趋势。不良的饮食习惯和缺乏锻炼是导致2型糖尿病的因素，也导致了越来越多的超重人口。根据国际糖尿病联合会的数据，截至2010年，全球有2.85亿糖尿病患者。对于2型糖尿病患者，50%会在疾病诊断后的15年内发展为糖尿病视网膜病变。定期进行眼病筛查是必要的，以防止眼病发展到严重的视力威胁阶段。该项目的目标是开发和测试一种低成本、手持式、无晶状体视网膜相机，用于广泛应用，包括远程视网膜筛查眼病，如糖尿病视网膜病变、青光眼和与年龄有关的眼部疾病。拟议中的相机填补了一个重要的未满足需求：低成本（商品成本低于1,500美元）；占用空间小（主要是手持设备）；易于使用（人体工程学设计，由最低限度训练的医疗技术人员或护士操作）。将这项技术引入诊所环境，将使服务不足的个人无需前往眼科护理专业人员那里就能接受定期的眼科检查。为了实现这一目标，我们的建议有两个目的。首先，我们将

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): According to the National Institutes of Health, there are more than 80 million people in the US who suffer from a potentially sight-threatening disease. Doctors see seven to eight million new cases of eye disease annually. More than two million Americans age 50 and older have advanced AMD, the stage that can lead to severe vision impairment and 10 million have early or intermediate AMD. Glaucoma affects more than 2.3 million Americans age 40 and older. Another two million individuals with glaucoma are undiagnosed. Diabetes cases in the US and throughout the world have been on the rise. Poor eating habits and lack of exercise, factors which contribute to type 2 diabetes, have led to an increasingly overweight population. According to the International Diabetes Federation, there are 285 million cases of diabetes in the world as of 2010. For the type 2 diabetics, 50% will develop diabetic retinopathy within 15 years of disease diagnosis. Regular eye disease screening is necessary to prevent the progression of eye diseases to advanced, sight-threatening stages. The objective of this project is to develop and test a low-cost, hand-held, non-mydriatic retinal camera for widespread applications, including teleretinal screening for eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related ocular diseases. The proposed camera fills an important unmet need: low-cost (under $1,500 cost of goods); small footprint (principally a hand-held device); and easy to use (ergonomically designed for operation by a minimally trained medical technician or nurse). Introducing this technology to a clinic environment will allow underserved individuals to receive regular eye screenings without traveling to an eye care professional. To meet this goal, our proposal has two aims. First, we will produce a prototype of the low-cost, hand-held, non-mydriatic camera, which will be based on an early prototype of a mydriatic camera that was developed, and for which early testing has shown significant functionality. The design is based on low-cost, off-the-shelf components that can be assembled easily for a high- volume market. Second, we will test this camera in a screening or clinic environment. Making the camera ergonomically suitable for use by a minimally trained individual will be the goal of this aim. Quantitative analysis will be performed as to field of view, resolution, and safety.