Sanjukta Mahapatro, Suchitra Dash, B. Nageswar Rao Subudhi
BACKGROUND The rural citizens who constitute major portion of Indian population are underprivileged as they have very little or no access to tertiary eye care. In order to make eye care services accessible to everyone, the concept called teleophthalmology has come into existence. A mobile van with eye-care-experts and equipment regularly reconnoiters through the rural population in the district of Ganjam to carry out screening, offsite diagnosis, monitoring, providing treatment and distantly educate the paramedics. The whole gamut of activities of this initiative can be categorized into three broad aspects. The first one is to screen out patients with treatable ailments and advise them for future course for a better prognosis. The second one is to educate the paramedics and ophthalmic assistants of their locality and generate consciousness among the mass. The third one is smart-phone-based transmission of information of patients to the Prof. & Head and to other senior faculty of Department of Ophthalmology for treatment on the spot or to store information for use subsequently. MATERIALS AND METHODS A mobile van (air conditioned) which has inhouse sterilization chemicals, betadine, spirit, sterilized drum, surgical instruments, surgical gloves & surgical masks, slit lamp, autorefractometer, fundus camera, streak retinoscope, ophthalmoscope, trial box, vision drum, tonometer, colour vision chart, magnifying lenses, smart phones, on-board computer etc. were deployed for the purpose. Ophthalmological experts and paramedics organized camps in villages.
