Young people with diabetes in Central Queensland will soon be screened for a potentially damaging eye condition without visiting an eye specialist thanks to a new telemedicine research project.
Professor Richard Wootton, Director of Research at the Centre for Online Health at The University of Queensland, said the pilot project involved taking digital images of a patient`s retina, using a specialised $40,000 camera.
The images would then be emailed to Brisbane Paediatric Ophthalmologist, Dr Glen Gole, to check for any evidence of changes to the eye, in particular diabetic retinopathy.
Results would be available in 24 to 48 hours, compared to much longer waiting times to access the regular screening tests managing by the small number of ophthalmologists in Queensland, Professor Wootton said.
Diabetic retinopathy can cause blindness and is common in people with diabetes, the project`s Senior Research Assistant, Ms Jill Stillman said.
She said children and adolescents who develop diabetes need on-going retinal eye screening at younger ages to help prevent this devastating complication.
Most patients show some form of diabetic retinopathy after 15 years of diabetes.
The current national and international recommendations for retinal screening are to screen annually in adolescents after 2 years duration of diabetes and after 5 years duration in those who are prepubertal. This project investigates the feasibility of using telemedicine in the screening process.
"Telemedicine screening does not replace visits to an ophthalmologist, but allows us to triage patients that need to be seen by this particular specialist," Ms Stillman said.
She said the telemedicine screening process had the added benefit of being non-invasive.
"The eye drops usually given to cause dilation of the eye can cause stinging in some people and sensitivity to light. The digital camera method simply shines a non-irritating green light into the eye and takes a picture."
The pilot project will be conducted with the Royal Children`s Hospital with a $600,000 grant from The Commonwealth Department of Ageing, under the Medical Specialists Outreach Program. It will be conducted in coastal Central Queensland centres.
Media: For more information contact Professor Richard Wootton or Jill Stillman (telephone 07 3346 4754) or Marlene McKendry, UQ communications officer (telephone 07 3346 4713 or 0401 996847).
