Application of smartphone cameras for detecting clinically active trachoma
- Satasuk Joy Bhosai1,
- Abdou Amza2,
- Nassirou Beido2,
- Robin L Bailey3,
- Jeremy David Keenan1,
- Bruce D Gaynor1,
- Thomas M Lietman1
- 1F.I Proctor Foundation and Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- 2Programme National de Lutte Contre la Cecité, Niamey, Niger
- 3Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Correspondence to Professor Thomas M Lietman, Department of Ophthalmology, F.I. Proctor Foundation, 513 Parnassus Ave, Med Sci S309, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143- 0412, USA; tom.lietman{at}ucsf.edu
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Contributors SJB: collected photographs, analysed results, and drafted manuscript. AA: examined participants, manuscript preparation. NB: manuscript preparation, photograph collection. RLB: graded photographs, manuscript preparation, clinical details. JDK: graded photographs, manuscript preparation, clinical details. BDG: graded photographs, manuscript preparation, clinical details. TML: collected photographs, manuscript preparation, clinical details.
The WHO is committed to eliminating trachoma as a public health concern by 2020.1 Since decisions for mass treatment are determined by the prevalence of clinical trachoma in a community, efficient and accurate methods for monitoring clinical activity remain a priority.2 However, reliability of clinical examination is poor and disagreement between graders is common.3 Photography of the conjunctiva could reduce variability and improve accuracy of trachoma surveillance. Currently, research studies use single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras to validate field grading.4 Yet, SLR cameras are expensive and require substantial field training to operate, and thus few trachoma programmes have adopted this technology. A …
