Joseph M. Miller, MD, MPH, professor and pediatric ophthalmologist; James T. Schwiegerling, PhD, assistant professor and optical scientist; and Department Chairman Robert W. Snyder, MD, PhD, won approval from the Arizona Board of Regents in November to hold ownership stakes in Optica Technologies Inc., a company that will develop the unique retinal camera they invented when a quick replacement was needed for the missing equipment.
The new design is an improvement over the missing equipment in several ways.
It solves an old problem with light refraction in lenses designed for hand-held cameras used in photographing the back of the eye. The original retinal camera left an image on the film that was distorted by refracted light. The new lens eliminates this light by using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the interior of the eye and filtering technology to sharpen the images.
The new lens is designed to fit a standard Nikon digital camera, making it compact and allowing images to be downloaded to a computer.
The camera, lens and software developed by the team are much less expensive than the missing equipment. The system will sell for less than $6,000, compared to an average of $50,000 for current equipment.
 Three men and a camera: from left to right are James T. Schwiegerling, PhD; Joseph Miller, MD, MPH; and Robert Snyder, MD, PhD, with their invention. |
The company will develop the camera as a more affordable and smaller tool for diagnosing retinal damage in eye disorders such as age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the leading cause of irreversible blindness in people over 50 years of age in the United States and the western world. The lens also can be used by emergency room pediatricians to help detect signs of child abuse, such as shaken baby syndrome. According to Dr. Miller, the new system will have applications in telemedicine, as well, improving communication between ophthalmologists and primary care physicians.
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