Smartphone Retinal Imaging: Addressing Technical and Clinical Challenges

Abstract

Smartphone-based retinal imaging is a method introduced to address the limitations of conventional methods of retinal imaging. An example of a conventional retinal imaging method is the desktop mydriatic and non-mydriatic fundus cameras which are known to be bulky, expensive, and highly dependent on trained professional users. For screening purposes specifically for low- and middle- income populations located at geographically remote areas, the smartphone-based retinal imaging method which are known to be portable, cost-effective, and easier-to-use is the most suitable alternative. This would help to increase the rate of patients getting early diseases diagnosis from the rural areas. However, smartphone-based retinal imaging still has significant limitations that need to be tackled for future improvement. Thus, this paper aims to address the technical and clinical challenges of smartphone-based retinal imaging based on existing studies. Besides this, this paper also reviewed existing smartphone-based retinal imaging devices and adapters where the current trend these devices and adapters are identified and discussed. Based on the research, smartphone-based retinal imaging method is still incapable of competing against reference standards from conventional methods based on the repeatability in obtaining clinically adequate image quality shown in the studies reviewed. Besides this, the current state of smartphone-based retinal imaging method has limited applicability due to several reasons such as the small size of field of view, highly dependent on dilation, and limited smartphone compatibility. Hence, more research into the optimization of smartphone-based retinal imaging method is necessary to improve its current state, in realizing its full potential.