Part VI of Apps for the Ophthalmologist covers useful apps that can be used by any eye care specialist, especially in the clinic. These apps will prove beneficial whether used for personal knowledge growth or used as a tool to explain disease processes to patients.
Eye Chart Pro (Free)
By Dok LLC
Eye Chart Pro is a very popular medical application that offers randomizable visual acuity exams. This app is remote-controlled and can be used by patients and providers for triaging, house calls, bedside consults or patients who have memorized the chart. The app features a randomizable Snellen chart, Landolt C, and tumbling E chart, as well as a near vision chart. Advanced features can be purchased. The entire chart or one line at a time can be randomized and interfaces can be changed with the tap of a finger. The charts can be used at different distances from the patient. The app is free through iTunes and has been updated for iOS8. The latest version, updated in July 2015, is 2.0.2 and is compatible with an iPad. It is 18.9 MB. Reviews of the app have been made by non-eye care specialists who have commented on how useful this app is.
Parks 3 Step (Free)
By Calgary Vision Centre
The Park’s Three-Step Test is used to isolate the paretic muscle in acquired vertical diplopia. The vertical deviation is observed in primary gaze, left and right gaze and right and left head tilt. By plugging in the side with the greatest magnitude of hyperdeviation, one can isolate the paretic muscle. The device’s screen simulates the patient’s face from the doctor’s perspective, so one just tilts the screen to the appropriate side. This app will not provide useful information in horizontal diplopia, a restrictive strabismus or neuromyopathic condition. Rather, the test is most appropriate for neuroparalytic disorders. If a patient has had previous strabismus surgery, results may not be accurate. The app was released in 2011 and is on its first version. It is 0.1 MB and requires iOS 4.0 or later. It is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touches and is a free download. Your device must have a compass for this app to function.
Ophthalmology Pocket ($5.99)
By Börm Bruckmeier Publishing LLC
This app provides a quick reference guide containing information related to most disease processes encountered in ophthalmology. Highlights include eye anatomy, refraction errors and their management, temporal arteritis, endophthalmitis, central vein occlusion, central artery occlusion and retinal detachment. Symptoms, diagnosis and management of glaucoma, macular degeneration, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and uveitis are included. Classification and therapy for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, algorithms for the management of acute pupillary block and primary open angle glaucoma, and images to test for color blindness and visual acuity test charts are included. This app is $5.99 and was updated in July 2015. It is up to version 2.1, is 28.6 MB, and requires iOS 7.0 or later. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Luma Vision Simulator (Free)
By Eyemaginations, Inc.
This app is a tool that allows doctors to explain eight common diseases of the eye. Besides pictures of the healthy eye, ocular conditions showcased include cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, dry eye, myopia, diabetic retinopathy, and floaters. There are up to eight anatomical views of the different disease progressions as well as four corresponding POV scenes. There is also an on-screen drawing tool that allows doctors to annotate and markup images. The iPad screen images can be shared wirelessly to a television. This app is free and was updated in April 2012. It is on version 1.1 and is 53.8 MB. It requires iOS 5.0 or later and is compatible with the iPad. The app won the Silver Award for the 2012 Winter/Spring Web Health Awards, an honor for the nation’s best in digital health resources.
EyeDock (Free)
By Todd Zarwell, OD
This app is designed as an iPhone companion to eyedock.com, a website for eye care professionals and an EyeDock membership is required to use this free app. This app contains a regularly updated database of contact lenses and topical ophthalmic medications, as well as calculators related to contact lens fitting. Contact lenses can be searched by name, company or parameters, including lens type, power, dk, diameter, water content, EW, and replacement schedule. There are links to the manufacturer’s websites as well as package inserts for the lenses. Medications can be searched by trade name, generic name, manufacturer, type, generic availability, pregnancy class, etc. This app’s calculators include a contact lens calculator for soft sphere and toric, RGP sphere, bitoric, back toric and front toric lenses. There are vertex spectacle Rx’s to the corneal plane, keratometry conversions (mm à diopters), and oblique cross-cylinder calculations. This app was just updated in July 2015 and is on version 1.37. It is 4.3 MB and requires iOS 7.0 or later. It is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This app has received very good reviews.
CL Calcs ($4.99)
By Todd Zarwell, OD
This app is a light version of the above EyeDock app, also created by Dr. Zarwell and targets contact lens calculations without the medications and searchable contact lens databases. This app includes a vertexing calculator to convert from a spectacle Rx to the corneal plane. It accepts and returns results in plus or minus cylinder and allows for different vertex distances. There are vertexing tables and an oblique cross cylinder calculator for calculating new toric lenses based on lens rotation and over-refractions. There is a keratometry conversion calculator (mmßà diopters) allowing for a wide range of curvatures and keratometry conversion tables. The app offers contact lens design advice and makes suggestions, giving pros and cons to different lens options. For the calculators there is a custom onscreen keypad with only the needed numbers and symbols so that entering refractions is much faster. The app is $4.99 and was updated in October 2014. It is up to version 1.11 and is 3.4 MB. It requires iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Apps for the Ophthalmologist will continue with the next article discussing useful tools for learning.