Glaucoma, from the Patient’s Perspective
Free glaucoma simulation app reinforces the importance of taking medication
A recently-launched free app for iPhones and iPads will help newly diagnosed glaucoma patients better understand how the condition will affect their vision as it worsens, reinforcing the importance of taking prescribed eye drops and attending eye clinic. The Glaucoma SIM app (see Figure 1) uses the device’s camera and video to simulate the effects of glaucoma on visual field over time. It was developed by MSD Pharmaceuticals in collaboration with the International Glaucoma Association and ophthalmologists at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
Figure 1. The Glaucoma SIM app. (a) Patients can increase the severity of glaucoma experienced, by moving the Glaucoma Progression slider from left to right. (b) An educational section details the anatomical and physiological changes to the eye that underlie the development of glaucoma.
“Patients and carers are able to use the app to understand how glaucoma can damage their vision by showing the impact of progressive field loss on the camera view of the device,” explains Moorfields’ Nick Strouthidis. “Much of the initial feedback, however, has been from clinicians who have been finding the tool useful as an intuitive, interactive prop during consultations to help explain the condition and the need for treatment.”
The app doesn’t stop at glaucoma simulation. An educational section offers medical images of basic anatomy and physiology of the eye, and further sections explain how elevated intraocular pressure – and therefore glaucoma – develops. A supporting website (www.glaucomasim.co.uk) provides additional information, such as what a patient might expect when visiting an ophthalmologist for the first time following a referral. Strouthidis sees the app as part of a wider trend for using mobile app technology as a medium for education and communication. “Despite the fact that glaucoma is a disease of ageing, many of our patients own mobile phones or tablets,” he points out. “The glaucoma simulation app is an opportunity to tap into this new platform.”
The developers hope that, as well as providing an educational tool for patients, carers, and the general population in the UK, Glaucoma SIM may have utility much further afield. “There has been quite a bit of interest in launching the app in other countries,” notes Strouthidis.
I have 22 years' experience as a writer and editor specializing in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medicine and life sciences. I was also European News Editor at GEN for 7 years, reporting daily on academic research, and the commercial aspects of the biotech and pharma industries. A brief, postgrad period during which I was involved in molecular genetics research at Bristol University in the 1980s is a more distant memory, and most of what I achieved in then is now automated and can be completed within days.
