Fundus photography technique using smartphone

This article describes a relatively simple technique of performing fundus photography in human and rabbit eyes using a smartphone.

Fundus images were captured with an iPhone 4 or 5 and a 20D lens (Volk Optical, Inc.) with or without a Koeppe lens (Ocular Instruments). By using the coaxial light source of the phone, this system works as an indirect ophthalmoscope that creates a digital image of the fundus.

The application Filmic Pro (Cinegenix LLC), which costs $4.99, was used because its software allowed for independent control of the focus, exposure and light intensity during filming. Without this app, it was extremely difficult to obtain good quality fundus images. A second app called Video 2 Photo was used to create still images from the video.

The authors report that the technique was able to capture excellent high-quality fundus images in children under anesthesia, awake adults, and animals. They say it is relatively simple to master, relatively inexpensive and can take advantage of expanding mobile-telephone networks for telemedicine.

They expect the quality of the images to improve with the availability of higher-resolution cameras and better image stabilization.