NOTE: This page is for archival purposes only and may contain information that is outdated.
USDA grant will help improve eye care for rural Iowans
December 8, 2005
UI researchers have received a $198,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help improve eye care for rural Iowans by providing timely and convenient access to critical eye exams.
The UI team, led by Dr. Michael Abramoff, UI assistant professor of ophthalmology and electrical and computer engineering, will use the grant to make diagnosis of retinal disease available over the Internet for more than 27,800 Iowans in nine counties. The program will allow these Iowans to receive specialized eye exams at their local physician's clinic rather than traveling many miles to visit a retinal specialist.
Specifically, the grant will help equip nine family care clinics with sophisticated digital cameras capable of photographing the retina and optical disc. These images will be transmitted over the Internet to the UI Department of Ophthalmology where retinal specialists will examine the photographs for evidence of retinal disease, and especially for diabetic retinopathy, a cause of blindness that can be prevented if diagnosed early. A diagnosis and recommendations will subsequently be sent back to the local physicians' offices.
The UI initiative is one of 79 projects in 36 states to receive funding under the USDA's Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program designed to enhance educational and health care services in rural America. The UI project was the only Iowa program to be funded.
(source: http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/ccomnews/newsBriefsArchive.asp?offset=10)
