Smartphone-based community screening for eye disease in rural India

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PROJECT SUMMARY This is an application for an R21/R33 award titled “Smartphone-based community screening of anterior eye diseases in rural India.” The investigators from Johns Hopkins University and Aravind Eye Hospital have diverse expertise in ophthalmology, biomedical engineering, machine learning, epidemiology, biostatistics, and use of mobile health technology in low-resource settings. 90% of the world’s 275 million blind and visually impaired people live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cataract, refractive error, corneal opacities, and other anterior eye diseases account for the majority of global blindness. In rural LMIC settings, lack of access to highly trained eye care providers such as ophthalmologists is a key barrier to timely diagnosis and treatment for anterior eye diseases. Periodic “eye camp” screenings performed by highly trained ophthalmologists have been the mainstay of rural eye disease screening for many decades but have several limitations including lack of access to trained ophthalmologists, failure to reach the most remote communities, lack of consistent calendar coverage beyond eye camp dates, and high costs due to equipment, personnel, and community publicity. We propose development, validation, and implementation of a novel smartphone based device for community health worker (CHW)-led screening, diagnosis, and referral for eye diseases in rural LMIC settings. We will develop this smartphone platform using iterative prototyping and user-centered design approaches. After demonstrating feasibility, we will evaluate the diagnostic validity of CHW-led screenings using the smartphone platform compared to traditional in-person eye camp exams by an ophthalmologist. After collecting sufficient data and images using the platform, we will design, validate, and implement machine learning algorithms to permit real- time diagnosis and referral decisions by CHWs without dependence on ophthalmologists. This project will perform detailed data collection regarding referral patterns, loss to follow-up, cost-effectiveness, and differential outcomes among vulnerable groups in order to enable more targeted health interventions. This project is intended to overcome key longstanding geographic, financial, operational, and human resource constraints to eye screening while ensuring diagnostic validity, quality control, and interoperability with existing health system infrastructure. Our scalable approach has potential to transform global eye care delivery in low-resource settings. This collaboration will also result in permanent improvements in mobile health and research capacity at Aravind Eye Hospital.