Retinal exams are a critical part of eye care for anyone with diabetes. Retinal screenings identify the signs of diabetic retinopathy early, so patients can take steps to prevent harm to their vision.

Historically, fundus photography is performed when a patient visits their ophthalmologist. But what if patients could get these important screenings done at their general practitioner’s office or in their own homes?

Giving providers the ability to offer this preventative screening in more accessible healthcare settings can mean catching a disease early enough to prevent blindness. This is a viable care model because of the improved convenience of the test and the gradability rating of the imagery captured by handheld fundus cameras.

Read on to learn about the importance of fundus photography, the gradeability of fundus images, and how teleretinal screening technology can bring diabetic retinal exams into primary care offices, community clinics, and home care settings.

How is Fundus Photography Done?

Fundus photography is performed with a special camera tool known as a fundus camera.  There are many different types of cameras available, from tabletop cameras for doctor’s offices to portable cameras meant for in-home healthcare providers. These cameras all utilize eye exam photography technology to capture images of the retina that can be evaluated by an eye care specialist.

The process of performing fundus photography is simple, non-invasive, and takes only a few seconds. All the patient has to do is look straight into a lens attached to the fundus camera. A flash of light indicates the capturing of a fundus photograph.

Tabletop fundus cameras are practical for primary care or specialty care practices. Handheld cameras are a better choice for mobile health teams, home care providers, community clinics, and primary care practices with limited space. Any healthcare provider who receives training can operate a handheld camera, which allows patients to be screened during routine appointments or home health visits. This significantly improves the ability of healthcare organizations to quickly, safely, and efficiently provide annual diabetic retinal exams to underserved diabetic populations. 

What Does Fundus Photography Show?

A fundus photograph is a photo taken of the retina with a field of view of 40 degrees or more. This photograph includes the fundus (also known as the posterior pole), macula, optic disc, vasculature, and the interior surface of the eye.

Why is Gradeability Important?

Image Quality significantly affects if pathology can be identified in a fundus image. Images with high gradability have been captured correctly and clearly. Eye care specialists can interpret (or grade) the gradable images to detect conditions such as diabetic retinopathy. 

High gradeability is a key component of diagnosing diabetic retinopathy at any stage of the disease. Images that aren’t gradeable aren’t useful for identifying eye disease. Factors such as camera technology and training can all affect whether fundus images are gradable. 

If an image is completely ungradable, then a patient must either come in to get another fundus image taken or follow up with an eye care specialist for a dilated eye exam. Both options waste valuable time and resources for the patient and provider.

Who Can Perform Fundus Photography?

Any employee who receives the correct training can be a camera operator. Expanding the number of care providers trained for fundus photography increases the options for underserved diabetic populations to receive quick, safe, and efficient annual diabetic retinal exams. Combining diabetic retinopathy screening with primary care services brings down fundus photography costs for patients, so they don’t need to schedule an additional appointment, pay an additional co-pay, and manage transport costs to get their eyes checked.

Furthermore, with the right fundus camera and IRIS’s digital retinal imaging software solution, any physician’s office, lab, pharmacy, in-home health provider, Medicare Advantage plan provider, hospital, or health system can perform fundus photography. The secure platform transmits images to qualified licensed eye care providers for interpretation. Patients receive quick and accurate diagnoses along with a recommended care plan for follow-up treatment.

IRIS’s software solution uses proprietary image enhancement technology to automatically enhance the fundus images before the images are evaluated by a licensed provider for interpretation. The enhancement technology illuminates the vasculature, allowing grading physicians to better identify pathology in an image. IRIS transmits both the enhanced and original images to the IRIS Reading Center, where a highly skilled group of interpreting providers review the uploaded images and assess them for diabetic retinopathy.

Customers using the IRIS solution typically see an average gradeability of 95%. 

Fundus Photography for Diabetic Retinopathy

Since its inception, IRIS has helped save the sight of over 150,000 individuals. Leveraging IRIS’s digital retinal imaging software solution for diabetic retinal exams is one of the most impactful things physicians can do to prevent blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy.

IRIS’s solution helps providers and payers close care gaps that impact diabetic patient populations. Teleretinal screenings allow in-home health organizations and Medicare Advantage Plans to perform fundus photography in a patient’s home. This can boost compliance rates with the number of routine diabetic retinopathy screenings.

Fundus Photography with Interpretation

IRIS isn’t just a software solution. The IRIS Reading Center (IRC) is a group of over 120 board-certified licensed eye care providers who remotely diagnose pathology using the uploaded fundus images. This widespread network of IRC providers dramatically increases access to retinal image interpretation, creating access to exams in all 50 states.

Adopting the IRIS solution means that any healthcare organization, such as healthcare systems, in-home health providers, and Medicare Advantage Plans, can capture fundus images quickly, safely, and with high gradability ratings, allowing for more accurate interpretations. The end result is that more patients can receive preventative retinal exams, which will hopefully lead to fewer cases of late-stage diabetic retinopathy.

Are you ready to see how IRIS can transform your practice and allow you to give better care to your patients? Connect with us to learn more today.

 

FAQs

What is fundus photography? 

Fundus photography is the practice of using a specialized camera to capture an image of the inner structures of the eye. These images can reveal signs of eye disease, including diabetic retinopathy.

Is fundus photography covered by insurance? 

Many insurance plans, including Medicare, cover fundus photography for patients with diabetes.

Is fundus photography necessary? 

Patients with diabetes are at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recommend annual screenings for signs of diabetic eye disease. Without regular screenings, diabetic retinopathy can advance and cause vision loss.

Is fundus photography the same as retinal imaging?

Fundus photography is one type of retinal imaging. Another commonly used technique is optical coherence tomography (OCT), which uses infrared light to create a cross-sectional image of the eye. The resulting images allow eye specialists to examine the eye in layers and diagnose eye disease. The difference between OCT and fundus photography is that OCT needs to be performed in an eye doctor’s office, while fundus photography can be performed using a handheld camera in any location. 

How does fundus photography work?

Fundus photography works by capturing an image of the inner structures of the eye. Licensed eye care providers can review the images to identify pathologies in the eye, including signs of diabetic retinopathy.

 

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