Mobile Apps and Visual Function Assessment: A Comprehensive Review of the Latest Advancements

With technological advancements and the growing prevalence of smartphones, ophthalmology has opportunely harnessed medical technology for visual function assessment as a home monitoring tool for patients. Ophthalmology applications that offer these have likewise become more readily available in recent years, which may be used for early detection and monitoring of eye conditions. To date, no review has been done to evaluate and compare the utility of these apps. This review provides an updated overview of visual functions assessment using mobile applications available on the Apple App and Google Play Stores, enabling eye care professionals to make informed selections of their use in ophthalmology.

We reviewed 160 visual function applications available on Apple iTunes and the Google Play Stores. The parameters surveyed included types of visual function tests, the involvement of healthcare professionals in their development, cost, and download count.

Visual tests, including visual acuity and color vision tests, were most common among apps surveyed, and they were comparable to traditional clinical methods. Certain applications were more widely used, some of which have had studies conducted to assess the reliability of test results. Limitations of these apps include the absence of healthcare professionals' involvement in their development, the lack of approval by regulatory authorities and minimal cloud-based features to communicate results to healthcare professionals.

The prevalence and easy access of visual function testing applications present opportunities to enhance teleophthalmology through early detection and monitoring of eye conditions. Future development to enhance the quality of the apps should involve regulatory bodies and medical professionals, followed up by research using larger samples with longer follow-up studies to review the reliability and validity of ophthalmology applications. This would potentially enable these applications to be incorporated into the comprehensive assessment and follow-up care of patients' eye health.