Usability testing of a smartphone-based retinal camera among first-time users in the primary care setting

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Devices
• Primary Care Technology

Background:

• Smartphone retinal photography offers improved accessibility for eye screenings.
• Diabetic retinopathy detection is a key application, but usability challenges persist in primary care.
• The RetinaScope is a novel smartphone-based retinal camera.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usability and efficiency of the RetinaScope for primary care medical assistants with no prior retinal imaging experience.
• To evaluate the learning curve and iterative improvements of the device over multiple testing rounds.
• To determine the feasibility of integrating smartphone retinal photography into routine primary care.

Main Methods:

• Usability testing of the RetinaScope with 24 medical assistants over five iterative rounds.
• Measurement of image acquisition times for single and multiple retinal images using a model eye and human subjects.
• Collection of user feedback through Systems Usability Scale (SUS) scores.

Main Results:

• Significant reduction in image acquisition time for first-time users: single image from 283s to 34s, 5 overlapping images from 325s to 118s (p<0.01).
• In human eye testing, average times were 65s for a single image and 229s for 5 overlapping images.
• High user comfort reported with an average SUS score of 86 ± 13.

Conclusions:

• Smartphone-based retinal photography, exemplified by the RetinaScope, can be rapidly adopted by primary care medical assistants.
• Iterative design improvements enhance device usability and efficiency for non-specialist users.
• This technology holds significant potential for expanding retinal screening accessibility in community settings.