App review: the verdict on four optical apps

The revolution in smartphone and tablet use has given us access to a plethora of references, educational resources, communication tools, patient demonstration graphics, clinical assessment methods… the list goes on and continues to grow. Impossible a task as it is to keep on top of all that is available, this week we start a regular column looking at apps of interest. Though these reviews are not meant to be comprehensive, I hope they may trigger interest enough for you to investigate some for yourself. Likewise, we would welcome suggestions from readers of apps they have found particularly useful or interesting. I have tried to slot each into one of a number of simple categories which, though in some cases this is a rather artificial reductivist approach, it may help if just glancing for any particular type of app.