956
Professor Emmanuel Balogun of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has led a landmark international study that successfully validated the Smart Eye Camera (SEC) as a reliable, low-cost device for preventing and treating blindness in Nigeria.
The study, carried out in collaboration with scientists and ophthalmologists from Nigeria and Japan, confirmed that the Smart Eye Camera, a smartphone-mounted diagnostic tool developed by OUI Inc., Japan, can effectively replace the traditional slit-lamp microscope used in eye examinations.
Titled “Validation and Optimization of Smart Eye Camera as Teleophthalmology Device for the Reduction of Preventable and Treatable Blindness in Nigeria,” the research has been published in Eye, a prestigious Nature journal in ophthalmology.
The SEC enables high-quality eye examinations for detecting conditions such as cataracts, corneal ulcers, and keratitis. Trials conducted at ECWA Eye Hospital, Kano, and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, showed that the device achieved up to 96 per cent diagnostic accuracy, matching the performance of conventional slit-lamp machines.
The research was a multidisciplinary collaboration involving experts from ABU, ECWA Eye Hospital Kano, ABU Teaching Hospital, Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Yokohama Keiai Eye Clinic, and OUI Inc., Japan.
A major breakthrough from the study is the SEC’s affordability. While a standard slit-lamp microscope costs about N13 million, the Smart Eye Camera is priced around N1.7 million, making it a potential game-changer in a country where over 1.13 million people are blind, most of them in the Northwest region.
Portable and easy to use, the SEC is particularly valuable for rural and underserved communities with limited access to ophthalmologists. It also supports real-time telemedicine, allowing images captured in remote areas to be instantly transmitted to specialists for review. The device further provides cloud storage for data sharing and analysis.
Globally, the implications are significant. With more than 1.2 billion people suffering from visual impairment or blindness, 90 per cent of which are preventable or treatable, the Smart Eye Camera could redefine eye care delivery across developing nations.
Professor Balogun and his international partners are now seeking investment partnerships to establish local production of the Smart Eye Camera in Nigeria. He said the initiative would position the country as a key player in Africa’s eye-care technology manufacturing sector.
Images from the project show Professor Balogun holding the device during a site visit to Japan, and the SEC being used to examine a child, clear proof of its versatility and impact.
For further inquiries, Professor Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun can be reached at the Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.