Scientists have developed a smartphone app that can quickly tell a health professional whether someone is suspected of having dry eye disease, a chronic and incurable condition that affects approximately one in five adults in the U.K.—and is becoming increasingly prevalent in youngsters glued to their screens.
The app, developed by researchers at Aston University in conjunction with U.K. industry, can be rolled out across GP surgeries, pharmacies, and can even be used at home. It is being showcased for the first time at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where scientists will conduct the first large-scale survey of dry eye in young people.
“Dry eye is traditionally considered an old person’s disease, but we are increasingly seeing it surface in children,” says Professor James Wolffsohn of Aston University.
“This is likely because of prolonged screen use, which makes us blink less and speeds up the rate our tears evaporate. We need to do more to understand the health implications of children glued to smartphones, tablets, and game consoles for hours at a time, which is why we will use our app to launch the first large scale survey of dry eyes in children at the Royal Society this week.”
The app incorporates some simple questions and a quick test which measures how long you can comfortably stare at a screen without blinking. The team at Aston University, who are part of a cross-European health project, developed the app to support healthcare professionals such as GPs and pharmacists, who generally don’t have access to the equipment and expertise to confirm a diagnosis of dry eye.
The team’s research, which is being displayed at the Not a dry eye in the house exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, shows that people with dry eyes have disrupted tear films that raises the ‘saltiness’ of tears. This in turn increases the rate tears evaporate from the surface of the eye, making cells more susceptible to damage and raising the need not just for adequate eye protection, but also to treat dry eye disease as early as possible to prevent further damage.
