Is there a better way to detect misaligned eyes (strabismus)?

Gresham, Oregon
Medicine
$85
Raised of $4,000 Goal
3%
Ended on 3/06/14
Campaign Ended
  • $85
    pledged
  • 3%
    funded
  • Finished
    on 3/06/14

About This Project

Strabismus, or misalignment of the eyes, occurs in approximately 2-5% of the population and is one of the leading preventable causes of vision impairment in young children. Currently, the clinical methods to detect strabismus are far from perfect. This project aims to develop an accurate, inexpensive, smartphone-based tool used to detect strabismus and help prevent unnecessary vision impairment.

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What is the context of this research?

While severe strabismus cases may be easily detected, in a busy pediatric or family practice clinic, screening for subtle ocular misalignment, may be challenging. Clinicians may not feel comfortable examining for such abnormalities and may rely on caretaker concern before referring for treatment. Caretakers may feel the problem is merely cosmetic and avoid discussing the issue at well-child visits.

Detecting and screening for strabismus would be more successful if a low cost measurement tool existed that allowed parents or clinical staff to test for such conditions. To this end, we propose to design an “app” for a common smartphone that would robustly detect and measure the degree of strabismus using photo screening methods. Such methods have previously been reported in literature with good agreement with clinical ophthalmology measurements, however, these methods used a custom photographic platform. To date, no such method has been developed for a smartphone app.

What is the significance of this project?

Despite medical advances in providing quality strabismus treatment, there are many children with who are untreated, or treated too late to reverse the vision impairment that strabismus causes. The tool proposed would help reduce the morbidity associated with this disease.

Some companies have developed hardware/software instruments to detect strabismus, however these instruments are not widely popular among primary care providers as they are expensive and little financial incentive exists to purchase them.

Production of a low-cost strabismus screening tool using a smartphone would advance the medical field in two ways.

  1. It would allow parents, or other medical staff (RNs, LVNs) to screen for strabismus in children. This would free the primary care provider to focus on pertinent medical issues during a well-child visit.
  2. In areas where medical access is limited, such as rural areas or developing countries, such a tool could be used to transfer information to specialists. Such an idea, called "telemedicine", would provide point-of-care information that would otherwise be inaccessible.

What are the goals of the project?

The big challenge of this project is developing a tool that works fantastically, not just good or great. The goal of a screening tool will be to identify nearly all cases of strabismus. 100% of the generously donated funds will go toward algorithm and product development.

Primary goal $8000 - Initial algorithm development and app development.

  • Hardware acquisition
  • Preliminary video and picture data of strabismus patients
  • Detection algorithm development
  • App interface and development kit costs.




Budget

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Primary goal $4000 - Initial algorithm development and app development.

  • Hardware acquisition
  • Preliminary video and picture data of strabismus patients
  • Detection algorithm development
  • App interface and development kit costs.
Stretch goal #1 - $5000 - Proof of clinical utility
  • Institutional research board application materials and approval
  • Comparative study showing sensitivity of tool on native patients
Stretch goal #2 - $6000 - Additional app features
  • Quantitation of strabismus severity and historical tracking.
  • Conversion of severity to clinical measurements (prism diopters)

Meet the Team

Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young

Team Bio

I grew up in Portland, OR and became passionate about the interface of science and medicine at an early age. I attended Reed College and soon after, I was accepted into the combined MD/PhD program at UCLA and Caltech. This dual degree program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, supports individuals committed to bridging the gap between basic science and medicine.

My PhD research focused on novel gene circuit architectures in cellular stress responses and was published in high profile journals such as Science and PNAS. My PhD work earned the Gerald S. Levey Medical Science Scholar at UCLA for outstanding research.

My aspirations are to improve and change the practice of medicine, something I hope to continue throughout my career in Ophthalmology.

My published articles can be found here on pubmed.

Lab Notes

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Additional Information

*Banner picture by Cassandra Sasse Photography (http://www.cassandrasassephotography.com)

Project Backers

  • 3Backers
  • 3%Funded
  • $85Total Donations
  • $28.33Average Donation
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