Sriram Kannan developed a tele-ophthalmology solution called eyePhone using the iPhone to help diagnose and treat Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a leading cause of preventable infant blindness. Only about 300 specialists in India can diagnose ROP, but 2.5 lakh infants need diagnosis each month. The eyePhone allows retinal images to be taken, securely stored on a server, and accessed by specialists anywhere in real-time for analysis and reporting, helping address the shortage of experts. Future applications could include other ophthalmic diseases, telecardiology and teledentistry to improve access to care for rural and underserved populations in India.

1. Sriram Kannan
Technologist, i2i Telesolutions
Founder & CEO, Nivaata Systems
Tele-ophthalmology solution using the iPhone,
in a quest to cure infant blindness
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2. MIT The Problem Review
• ROP (Retinopathy Of Prematurity) is a disease that
affects premature children, typically infants weighing
less than 2Kg at birth. If not diagnosed early, these
infants could potentially become blind.
• Diagnosis involves viewing of retinal images by ROP
experts, and instructing trained technical assistants to
take next steps (such as to start medication and/or
preparation for laser treatment).
• In most cases, possible to cure the disease but only if
“Retinopathy of prematurity is the leading detected early enough.
cause of preventable infant blindness
worldwide. In India, over 8% of 27 million • Only a handful of specialists in India (~300) and world-
births each year are at risk of this wide, who can diagnose for ROP.
potentially blinding condition. Roughly if
100 „at-risk‟ infants are screened, 15-20%
may require treatment that can prevent
blindness. This requires a fast and
efficient system of screening infants
BOTTOMLINE
especially in the peripheral rural areas
where expertise is lacking”
2.5 lakh infants need to be diagnosed every
month, by about 300 doctors from throughout
Dr Anand Vinekar,
Project Co-Ordinator & Pediatric Retinal India…
Surgeon,
Narayana Nethralaya, Bangalore.
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3. The Solution – TeleOphthalmology using eyePhone!
Instant image
retrieval using cell
network
ANALYZE AND REPORT ANYWHERE,
ANYTIME, REAL-TIME
Images sent to
server for
secure storage
Images acquired
from retinal camera
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4. eyePhone Solution Key Features
A complete telemedicine solution Optimized for handhelds
 Worklist processing module  Imaging modules neatly fit into handheld display size
and resolution
 Image viewer module
 Images are always streamed from server and never
 Reporting module stored on the handheld itself (unless explicitly
required by specialist, such as during offline reporting)
 Instant alert sent to a specialist as soon as a
 Imaging module makes maximal use of capabilities of
new study for a patient is uploaded and handheld, such as the pinch and drag, zoom and pan
assigned to him/ her. for the iPhone.
Tele-consultation Disease specific reporting templates
 Facility to refer to other specialists and request  for each specialty and sub-specialty, built using
for opinion. inputs from specialists in the field.
 Facility to view and compare images and  Facility for specialists or institutions to further
reports across different studies of the same customize reporting templates
patient.
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5. EyePhone Screenshots – login and worklist query
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6. eyePhone Screenshots – worklist and studies browser
worklist Studies list Main menu
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7. eyePhone Screenshots – Medical Image Viewers
Image viewer Image comparison
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8. FICCI-MEF Recommended Focus Areas
• Rural Telehealth / Home care • Mother and Infant Care
89% of rural patients have to travel about 8 2.1 million children (<5 yrs) die annually
km to access basic medical treatment ~620
million rural Indians • Diabetes Care
• Early detection of Cancer Treatment cost ~ 0.2% of GDP
~1 million new cancer cases are expected to Productivity loss ~ 1.9% of GDP
be diagnosed in India by the year-end • Implantables
• Cardiac care Advanced Bionics device, eg cochlear
By 2010, 60 % of world's heart patients will implants: 4/1000 children are born deaf. Deaf
be in India population ~ 14 million.
1/5th of heart attack victims in India get to
hospital well after 12 hours. Implantable Retinal prosthesis : India has 15
million blind out of 37 million global the world's
largest number of blind people in a country.
Globally 37 million blind people.
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9. Future…
• Focus on other ophthalmic diseases such as Diabetic Retinopathy,
Retinoblastoma (eye cancer)
• Focus on telecardiology, teledentistry
• Activities started already, a sneak peak… 
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