Patient home monitoring and physician alert for ocular anatomy

Abstract

A physician prescribes an ocular imaging unit to a patient, which the patient sets up in the home to self-monitor his/her ocular anatomy. Typically, the unit connects to a smartphone, and the patient can use an app to operate the system. When the patient experiences a problem with his/her eyes, the patient initiates a remote evaluation, and the system transmits an alert to a remotely located physician, signifying the need for a pre-diagnostic evaluation. The physician then performs an initial evaluation remotely over the Internet using the home ocular imaging unit to obtain images or live video of the patient's ocular anatomy. The physician remotely makes a pre-diagnostic assessment regarding whether an in-person diagnostic examination of the ocular anatomy is warranted, and then communicates this to the patient. In some cases, the imaging unit captures images, both of the retinas and exteriors of the eyes, and also performs vision tests.