Direct ophthalmoscopy is an important piece of equipment permitting non-ophthalmologist physicians to visualize fundi and look at quite a number of pathologies at the patient’s bedside. The ophthalmoscope’s versatility comes from its ability to provide clean photos by correcting for the errors of refraction produced from each patient’s and physician’s eyes. While easy to apply, it could be a task to master. This, in part, derives from its constant normal layout which specializes in a single-user interface, with a noticeable absence of attachable components to enhance it. Direct ophthalmoscopy is an important investigation not only for ophthalmologists but also for general practitioners. So, teaching direct ophthalmoscopy to medical students is important.

A smartphone direct ophthalmoscope attachment (D-EYE) has proved smooth to apply and successful in visualizing the optic disc in comparison with the direct ophthalmoscope (DO), in accordance to research provided at the virtual annual meeting of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Data from the prospective, randomly assigned, crossover, educational trial concerned forty-four first-year medical college students not acquainted with this type of exam, who checked out measurements together with vertical cup-to-disc ratio, fundus matching the usage of an internet program and figuring out whether or not the state of health of the optic nerve was normal or abnormal, according to Dr. Rachel Curtis, a fourth-year ophthalmology resident at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and the study’s presenting author. The investigators observed no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of estimating vertical cup-to-disc ratio in both the right or the left eye, which become the primary final results of the study, the usage of D-EYE vs DO.

In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, using the smartphone and DO attachment shall we clinicians be more physically distant from an affected person whilst acting the examination and adhere to infection-minded prevention. “With the direct ophthalmoscope, you have to be very close to the patient to get a good view,” Dr Curtis concluded. “In an infection-minded environment, you may want a larger buffer between you and the patient. This [smartphone and direct ophthalmoscope attachment] is a good arm’s-length distance between you and the patient’s eye.”

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