Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare > Volume 10, Number 6 > Pp. 337-341

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Original Articles

Feasibility of tele-ophthalmology for screening for eye disease in remote communities

Li-Sheng Chen, Ching-Yao Tsai, Tzeng-Ying Liu, Tao-Hsin Tung, Yueh-Hsia Chiu, Chang-Chuan Chan, Der-Ming Liou and Tony Hsiu-Hsi Chen

Institute of Public Health and Institute of Health Informatics and Decision Making, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei; Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Municipal Chung-Hsin Hospital and Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei; Health Bureau of Lienkiang County, Matsu; Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei; Institute of Public Health and Institute of Health Informatics and Decision Making, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei; Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; Institute of Public Health and Institute of Health Informatics and Decision Making, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei; Institute of Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
We assessed the feasibility of tele-ophthalmology in a remote location, Tungyin, an island 200 km from Taiwan, which has no ophthalmologist. Screening for eye diseases was carried out among residents aged 40 years or more. A total of 113 subjects, approximately 31% of the whole population, were enrolled in the screening programme. Images were transmitted (via ADSL) to a retinal specialist in Taiwan for diagnosis. The average processing time, excluding the time for copying files, was 6.4 s (SD 2.1) per subject. Transmission took 60–90 s for most of the images (83%). The average time required to make a diagnosis for each subject, including data entry, was approximately 34 s (SD 18). In screening for retinopathy, the detection rate with digital imaging (8.8%) was two times higher than with indirect ophthalmoscopy (4.4%). In 12% of cases macular degeneration was identified, and in 6% there were mild or moderate problems with the optic disc. Community-based screening for four categories of eye disease was successfully demonstrated using store-and-forward tele-ophthalmology.

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