Photo tech takes the diabetic closer to regular eye check-ups
Dr Kibata Githeko of Upper Hill Eye & Laser Centre, examines a patient. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Kibata Githeko says that losing eyesight or becoming partially sighted as a diabetic has far reaching consequences, including limited participation in economic activity.
Surveys show that 25 per cent of all local diabetic patients have related eye diseases and 10 per cent of whom are at risk of going blind.
Kibata Githeko, a consultant ophthalmologist and vitreo-retinal (paediatrics) eye surgeon at Upperhill Eye and Laser Centre, says that losing eyesight or becoming partially sighted as a diabetic has far reaching consequences, including limited participation in economic activity.
It is worse in a world where business is largely transacted via the phone: be it reading short messages or accessing cash transfer messages.
Dr Githeko says a partnership with Canon Europe to screen diabetic patients using the CR-2 non-mydriatic digital retinal camera will enable faster diagnosis and reduces the risk of going blind.
Standard practice
Statistics show that less than 10 per cent of diabetic patients in Kenya receive eye examination annually, which is the standard of care, he said.
“Kenya lacks the skills, equipment, and it takes long to train. The tragedy of the situation is that 90 per cent of diabetes-related blindness is preventable or treatable if diagnosed on time,” said Dr Githeko.
One of the five diabetic eye disease surgeons in the country of more than 40 million people, Dr Githeko says he is committed to help Kenya find a solution to the problem that affected his father.
A progressive impairment of the peripheral vascular system (changes in the vasculature of the retina) causes progressive vision impairment and eventually a complete loss of eyesight.
So far, he said, that through the partnership with the camera firm, 900 patients have been screened at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) diabetic clinic in a period of two months.
“We have developed this further by entering into a partnership with Retinalyze, an online software that grades these photos and reports them in minutes so that no health personnel is needed in the process. The camera takes the photo, it is graded online and the patient gets a report indicating if they are okay or should visit the eye clinic; this is completed in less than five minutes,” he said.
The ophthalmologist says that the Retinalyze software allows automatic extraction and analysis of the vascular tree, which is an important task in image analysis since the vascular tree is the most prominent feature of the retina.
Paediatric surgeon
Since diabetes is the primary reason for blindness among working age adults, Dr Githeko says that only frequent screening will curb the situation.
“In 85 to 90 per cent of the cases, there will be no lesions detected but the optometrist is required to store the image and ask the patient to make another screening visit or contact an ophthalmologist.”
For this software to work, he says, a computer storage space and Internet access is required.
Optometrists, opthalmologists, and diabetes clinic staff can use Retinalyze.
The paediatric eye surgeon says that the innovation demonstrates how leveraging appropriate technology can help the country to leap forward in health care.
Accurate diagnosis
The camera uses LED technology, which replaces the strobe tube for the flash light during observation of the eye, enabled with 18 megapixel lenses to enhance clarity, said Dr Githeko.
Its design, he says, has yielded a small and light instrument that is safe and comfortable to operate.
“Canon’s CR-2 non-mydriatic digital retinal camera provides a new level of diagnostic capabilities, delivering and storing high-resolution images, allowing focus on the results, hence come up with an accurate diagnosis on the diabetic patient,” he said.
The illuminated control panel ensures stress-free operation in dark rooms, and its weight encourages mobility during the mobile screening services offered occasionally.
World Diabetic Day
From November 9 to 13, Dr Githeko says, a part of the World Diabetic Day celebrations, will be dedicated to demonstrating the system by screening patients at various private hospitals.
“The CR-2 camera weighs 15 kilogrammes hence offering a flexible solution designed to meet experts’ mobile needs as well as serve patients appropriately,” he said.
Dr Githeko appealed to relevant agencies to leverage on appropriate technologies to curb cases that are preventable. He asked the “relevant agencies and the county governments” to know what should be done and act.
The national government, under a Sh38 billion lease plan, undertook to equip regional hospitals with cancer screening tools to ease the pain of patients who, perennially, have relied on machines at KNH.
