# Medical Students’ Perspectives Regarding the Use of a Slit-Lamp Smartphone Adapter for Clinical Slit-Lamp Photography

## TL;DR

Medical students found using a smartphone slit-lamp adapter easy and useful for learning and telemedicine.

## Contribution

This study introduces a smartphone slit-lamp adapter and evaluates its ease of use and educational value for medical students.

## Key findings

- Students successfully recorded five slit-lamp exams per person using smartphones and an adapter.
- Time to capture images improved significantly from the first to the fifth attempt.
- Students rated the method as easy to learn and highly useful for education and teleconsultations.

## Abstract

Background

This study aimed to investigate medical students’ perspectives regarding the ease and utility of smartphone slit-lamp photography.

Methodology

In this prospective experimental study, fourth and fifth-year medical students who were in or had finished ophthalmology rotation were included to attempt slit-lamp smartphone anterior segment photography on adult patients after a brief hands-on instruction course. Each medical student attempted to record five supervised slit-lamp videos of the anterior segment of five patients using the described adapter and their own smartphone. The time taken until photography was calculated for each attempt. After the fifth attempt, each medical student rated the ease of the use of this method of slit-lamp photography as well as their perspective regarding its utility as a potential means of medical education and telemedical consultations on a five-point Likert scale.

Results

A total of 33 medical students participated, with each successfully recording five slit-lamp examinations using their smartphones. The time used for the application of the adapter until the image capture ranged from 6 to 278 seconds (average = 39.51 ± 34.7 seconds) and markedly improved by the fifth attempt (30.5 ± 25.7 seconds) compared to the first attempt (67.3 ± 49.3 seconds). Learning this skill was perceived to be relatively easy (2.2 ± 1), with high potential in clinical education (4.6 ± 0.75) and teleconsultations (4.7 ± 0.65).

Conclusions

Smartphone slit-lamp photography is a relatively easy process. It can be quickly acquired by medical students and has the potential to enhance their medical education and telemedical consultation capabilities.