IOP measured using smartphone

A study carried out by researchers at the University of Birmingham has used smartphones to scan people’s eyes for early warning signs of glaucoma.

Findings were published in Engineering Reports and detailed that the study performed experiments using soundwaves and an eye model to detect increasing intraocular pressure (IOP).

Dr Khamis Essa, study co-author, said: ‘We discovered a relationship between the internal pressure of an object and its acoustic reflection coefficient. With further investigation into eye geometry and how this affects the interaction with soundwaves, it is possible to use a smartphone to accurately measure IOP from the comfort of the user’s home.’