Welch Allyn device harnesses iPhone camera for eye exams

SKANEATELES FALLS — At first glance, Welch Allyn’s new iExaminer may seem squarely aimed at remote markets.

The product allows users to snap high-resolution images of the eye using an iPhone and an accompanying app. A hardware adapter attaches the phone to Welch Allyn’s PanOptic Ophthalmoscope.

Users can store the images, print them, or email them to an expert thousands of miles away for consultation, which gives the product obvious uses in areas where eye-care professionals aren’t present. But the company sees broader potential for the iExaminer, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, says Rick Farchione, senior manager for physical assessment at Welch Allyn.

Viewing the back of the eye with an ophthalmoscope is one of the more challenging tasks physicians perform, Farchione explains. Often, they’re able to get only a fleeting glimpse.

The iExaminer can use the iPhone’s camera to take anywhere from 15 to 75 pictures in just five seconds. There is bound to be at least a couple of good, useful images in the batch, Farchione says.

“Rather than a fleeting image, it’s frozen on the phone and they can take more time to analyze it,” he says.

Welch Allyn, based in Skaneateles Falls, is a medical-device manufacturer and employs more than 2,600 people.

The iExaminer app also allows physicians to store multiple images from the same patient in a single file so photos can be compared from visit to visit.

Welch Allyn also sees potential for the product among medical students. Most second- or third-year students purchase a set of basic diagnostic tools, including an ophthalmoscope.

Early efforts to promote the iExaminer among students have been promising, Farchione says. Many of them, he notes, already have iPhones.

“Here is a tool to help them in mastering a difficult skill,” he says. “We definitely see a wide swath of target markets for this.”

The Welch Allyn PanOptic Ophthalmoscope itself was a major advance in the field when it rolled out in 2003, Farchione says. It allowed physicians the necessary field of view they need to capture a useful look at the back of the eye.

The iExaminer is compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S. The accompanying app is available for $29.99.

Farchione met the inventor of the iExaminer, Dr. Wyche Coleman, at a conference. Coleman had developed the device and attached it to the PanOptic Ophthalmoscope.

Farchione says he was intrigued. Welch Allyn ultimately wound up licensing the technology from Coleman, refining the design further, and commercializing it.

The company had been developing prototypes for something similar on its own, but working with Coleman got the product to market much faster, Farchione says.

Coleman could not be reached for comment.

“This is the first affordable device to give almost anyone, anywhere the ability to capture a picture of the back of the eye,” he said in a news release. “I was able to take this very lightweight, portable, inexpensive iExaminer to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in sub-Saharan Africa and take a picture of a patient’s fundus. From the top of the mountain, I then transmitted it to a doctor at Johns Hopkins University in the United States where he was able to analyze the image.”

Work on the iExaminer could pave the way for further development of applications that combine Welch Allyn technology with mobile devices, Farchione adds.

“It’s certainly a learning experience and there could be opportunities to capitalize on the space in other ways,” he says.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com