During a congress in Natal, RN, Brazil, in 2018, ophthalmologist Hélio Roberto de Melo Lima met the proposal for an innovative equipment for retina exams: Phelcom Eyer.
The handheld fundus camera works attached to a smartphone with a high-resolution camera. Therefore, it captures excellent-quality fundus images. Integrated to an online platform, the Eyer Cloud, it automatically sends data to a specialist’s report.
By that time, the device was still under development by the startup Phelcom Technologies, but it already counted on support and investment from renowned institutions, such as Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Samsumg Creative Economy Promotion Program and the incubators Supera Parque and Eretz.bio – the latter from Israeli Hospital Albert Einstein.
First Customer
Lima followed the technology evolution until its release to market, in April 2019. Moreover, he was the first customer to acquire the product. “I decided to invest in the acquisition due to its ease of use and good price”, reminds Lima.
Since then, he already carried out more than 600 exams in his office. He currently uses the equipment twice a week, on average. Retinography is the most frequent of the exams.
The ophthalmologist also emphasizes other key strengths of the product: high-quality images, and high efficiency and operability of Eyer Cloud – a cloud platform that stores all the exams and reports – as well as the price. “Cost-effectiveness is excellent. There is no other equipment on the same level. Unbeatable”, he states.
Slit Lamp
Phelcom slit lamp support
Recently, Lima has also acquired a slit lamp support for Phelcom Eyer. “It was a good acquisition, since it is very efficient and helps imaging”, he explains.
The support enables attaching Eyer to a surface, thus providing the experience of tabletop fundus cameras. More than that, it helps to keep social distancing in service, since the professional does not need to touch the patient’s forehead, as in traditional exams.
Phelcom Technologies
Phelcom Technologies is a startup that brings technology and healthcare together, headquartered in São Carlos, SP, Brazil. It manufactures connected wearable handheld devices, aiming to democratize access to healthcare, offering better services, with a compact equipment, to more people.
“It is an excellent and promising company. It does a great job in the whole sales service support for equipment use. I recommend”, he states.
Before Covid-19, telemedicine in Brazil was still considerably limited. For instance, the regulation law dates from 2002 and only allows three modalities: issue of remote reports, teleducation and teleassistance.
However, the activity has earned space during the present pandemic and, at present, can be used in any healthcare activity. Even in a more and more technological and connected world – including the healthcare area – many professionals face difficulties migrating to online services.
Because of that, we selected eight tools to help transition to a more digital medical office. Check them out!
1. Teleconsultation
As the very definition mentions, teleconsultation is the remote healthcare assistance through online tools, as, for example, videoconference.
Law no. 13.989, from April 15, 2028 defines it as “the exercise of medicine mediated by technologies to the ends of assistance, research, prevention of diseases and injuries, as well as promotion of healthcare”.
Faster service, reduction of operational costs, centralized information in cloud reports and assurance of data security and secrecy are among its main advantages.
2. Telediagnostic
Basically, telediagnostic is the evaluation and issuance of reports from exams via online platforms. Images may be sent directly from the equipment used for the exam or digitalized and made available in the tool, in high resolution, always with support from a healthcare professional.
After that, a specialist accesses patient information, issues a diagnostic and sends it to the requesting doctor. This way, all data remains stored in cloud and safely available on the website and/or application.
Telediagnostic optimizes report issuance, since specialists may access them more easily. It also assures effective analyses and data security.
3. Cloud storage
Cloud storage enables online access whenever and wherever necessary. Moreover, it is safer compared to softwares installed in a single computer.
Nowadays, there are diverse solutions for medical offices. Available services range from a simple email and consultation schedules to access and security for exams and the complete patient history.
Data security, integrated information from both the patient and administration, fast access, agile processes, increased clinic profitability, better storage capacity and remote support are among their main benefits.
That requires a series of information to assure patient data security. Among them, electronic signature and data associated with the doctor’s signature.
An electronic signature demands the doctor to have a digital certificate issued by the Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure (PKI Brazil, type A3, card or token).
In order to assist issuing these documents, the Electronic Prescription project enables safe digital document processing through issuance with digital certificate and prescription validation.
5. Electronic record
Presently, the electronic record is certainly most common in a medical office, and it is one of the main management tools. Technology gathers information from patients and eases follow-up by various specialists and healthcare professionals.
For example, it is possible to consult the whole history of a patient, such as consultations, exams, medicines prescribed and treatments made. All this provides agile service, more precise diagnostic and quick beginning of treatments.
6. Scheduling of online appointments
Undoubtedly, your clinic may lose patients due to often busy phone lines or delay in answering the phone. For that reason, options for scheduling online consultation ease the routines of both clinic users and employees, since there is an increase in productivity and organization.
Moreover, appointments can be confirmed just before the date, via SMS or email, for example. It also solves one of the most common problems faced by doctors: a patient who misses the appointment.
7. Telemedicine systems for medical offices
telemedicine systems are essential tools that offer, at once, teleconsultation, telediagnostic, electronic record, cloud storage and assurance of both patient and office data security, among other benefits.
They consist in one of the medical technologies that most enhances productivity. On the other hand, they relieve the work of professionals acting in various duties and in office, in addition to studying.
8. Portable devices for monitoring
Presently, it is possible to monitor a patient’s health through portable devices – also known as wearables.
Those tools register and store patient health data in real time. After that, the doctor accesses and generates a complete report with blood pressure, calorie control, heart rate, inter alia. All this with real and more accurate information.
They allow the professional to remotely follow the patient’s evolution. Undeniably, those are great instruments to monitor people who suffer from diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, etc.
Conclusion
It is undoubtedly indispensable for the medical office to become digital, mainly in the late scenario of a pandemic. Moreover, creation and use of telemedicine tools have been progressively increasing all around the world.
In Brazil, doctors, clinics, hospitals and healthcare institutions use such technologies in a slightly increasing pace. Nevertheless, due to the recommended social isolation and release of more activities by the government, many professionals and healthcare institutions have recurred to telemedicine in order to keep a safe service available to patients.
Know more about telemedicine and how to employ it in you medical office. Follow Phelcom blog.
Doctors’ daily routines, with medical assistance and surgeries in hospitals, as well as care in their own clinics, may be quite distressing. Moreover, other appointments leave these professionals an even tighter schedule. For example, home visits to patients, business management and taking part on congresses, seminars, inter alia.
Therefore, counting on technologies that help improving production, time optimization and cost reduction may largely simplify a doctor’s daily life.
That is why this article is on ophthalmologist Caio Regatieri’s experience with Phelcom Eyer handheld fundus camera. Understand, as follows below, how the equipment made the specialist’s daily life easier.
How does Eyer help Dr. Caio’s routine?
Around a year ago, ophthalmologist Caio Regatieri first met the proposal of a new technology developed by the Brazilian startup Phelcom Technologies: Phelcom Eyer handheld fundus camera. Attached to a smartphone, the equipment generates retina images in few minutes and sends data to a cloud platform.
Thus, it helps diagnose of eye-related diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataract, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinoblastoma, retinal detachment, retinopathy of prematurity and blindness, inter alia.
Regatieri has been using the equipment for six months in his office, as well as home visits and in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), in São Paulo Hospital, in the capital.
Since then, the specialist has carried out more than 500 exams, mainly to detect diabetic retinopathy. “Eyer is easy to handle and makes excellent-quality images”, he states.
Retinal examination performed by Dr. Caio with the Phelcom Eyer
Retinal examination performed by Dr. Caio with the Phelcom Eyer
As it provides exams in an online platform, the Eyer Cloud, the doctor also emphasizes the system’s ease of access. “Undoubtedly, having a cloud database makes daily life easier”.
More than that, Regatieri highlights that Eyer has the best cost-effectiveness due to its more accessible price, mainly in comparison to a traditional fundus camera, as well as the high quality. “Actually, it is a set of factors that makes it the best equipment of the market in its sector: portability, image quality, ease of use and the support Phelcom offers”, he says.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, Phelcom Eyer’s connectivity, embedded artificial intelligence, easy operation, portability and low cost help physicians have a simpler, more agile and profitable routine related to retina exams.
Phelcom Eyer can help you live an easier daily routine. Click here and register for further information on the technology.
In January this year, ophthalmologist Korn Malerbi boarded an expedition towards a special destination: taking free medical care to three indigenous reserves in the State of Mato Grosso. “I was invited to join a team of doctors who already takes periodical actions in these locations”, tells Malerbi.
The group consists of physicians of the Department of Social Medicine, from the USP Medical School (Ribeirão Preto), and the Department of Endocrinology, from Paulista School of Medicine, Unifesp.
The expedition counted on four specialists in the following areas: ophthalmology, endocrinology and preventive and social medicine.
Malerbi explains that the reserves Sangradouro, Meruri and São Marcos present high rates of diabetes mellitus. “This disease may trigger various other health conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy. In case it is not detected and adequately treated in time, this ophthalmological alteration may lead to blindness”, he clarifies.
In order to identify the disease and other possible disorders, the doctor carried out retinography and applanation tonometry. 193 indigenous people altogether were evaluated, from Xavante and Bororo communities, during eight days of work.
More than diabetic retinopathy, exams found cases of cataract.
Eyer
The ophthalmologist utilized Phelcom Eyer handheld fundus camera to perform the exams.
The equipment is state-of-the-art in portable retinography for prevention and diagnose of eye-related diseases.
It works attached to a smartphone and performs high-quality retina exams in few minutes, without need of pupil dilation. Synchronized to cloud, it automatically provides data to the online platform EyerCloud, so that they can be analyzed by a specialist anywhere over the world. That is, it enables remote diagnostic.
“It was a great experience with the equipment, mainly because of its portability and ease of access”, evaluates Malerbi.
He reminds of his involvement in other projects with the fundus camera, also for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy. “I believe Eyer to be very relevant for this kind of action, representing an important alternative for mapping and tracking diseases in populations from remote areas”, he finishes.
Ophthalmologist used Eyer to carry out exams and solve doubts on diagnostics.
Imagine a floating hospital with medical and dental offices, surgical center, complete ophthalmological room, analysis lab, medication room, vaccination room and infirmary beds. More than that: equipments for examinations as X-ray, electrocardiogram, mammograph and treadmil ergometer.
This is São Francisco Boat Hospital, built to take health and medical care to more than 1 thousand riverside communities in the Amazon Region. Associação e Fraternidade São Francisco de Assis na Providência de Deus, a Brazilian charity organization, idealized the boat and made dozens of expeditions in 2019.
One of them was in the municipality of Terra Santa, in Pará, from October 21 to 30. The expedition counted on several volunteers in different healthcare areas, such as ophthalmology, pediatrics, oncology, psychiatry, dermatology, plastic, orthodontics, inter alia.
Ophthalmologist Mariana Lafetá was one of the volunteers in that trip. “Each specialist has an office on boat and we travel from town to town offering medical care to the population. We consulted 4,052 people altogether”, she tells.
Regarding eyes, the doctor emphasizes that the main disease diagnosed was dry eye syndrome. Moreover, there were many cases of refractive errors, cataract, presbyopia (known as eyestrain), pterygium (known as surfer’s eye), blepharitis and meibomitis – these latter affecting glands around the eyelids. There were also cases of glaucoma and, in a very low rate, diabetic retinopathy.
Eyer
The doctor took Phelcom Eyer handheld fundus camera to the expedition. “Due to the great number of patients, I chose to use the device just in cases of diagnostic doubts and patients with glaucoma. Being able to email exams to the ones who had email addresses was interesting. This way, they could use them in future consultations”, emphasizes Lafetá.
The ophthalmologist says the equipment is easy to use and practical. “It is easy to carry out exams, take photos, find them among files and store afterwards. We can also send or print images, which I consider very interesting, besides getting to access them from anywhere with internet connection. I really liked it”, she analyzes.
Phelcom
“Eyer’s main goal is to democratize and take access to healthcare to locations presently suffering from infrastructure deficit in the area, such as of specialists and equipment. With portability, accessible prices and the possibility of remote diagnose, via cloud, we can help healthcare professionals to assist more people”, say startup Phelcom Technologies founders, José Augusto Stuchi, Flávio Pascoal Vieira and Diego Lencione.
According to the first World Report on Vision, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), 2,2 billion people around the world have a vision impairment. From this sum, 1 billion cases would be avoidable or remediable, such as myopia, cataract, glaucoma and hyperopia.
Phelcom Technologies was one of the companies invited to participate in the International Seminar on Innovative Startups in the Area of Health and Inclusion, which took place on November 23 in São Paulo.
The meeting presented the startups business models developed during the Startups Training and Development of People with Disabilities course offered by the São Paulo State Departament for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in partnership with the University of São Paulo (USP).
In addition to Phelcom, the international companies Renew Senses and Cure Medical were also some of the invited startups.
Phelcom co-founder and CEO José Augusto Stuchi presented the Eyer portable retinal camera, an innovative smartphone device that performs high quality exams. “Portability and low cost compared to the traditional fundus camera democratizes access to retinal examination, helping to prevent and diagnose blindness and severe visual impairment, diseases that affect about 250 million people in the world,” says Stuchi.
Today, 85% of Brazilian cities do not have ophthalmology services. With Eyer, the exams can be done anywhere and the generated data will be automatically synchronized with the internet, allowing the remote diagnosis.
The equipment is expected to be launched in early 2019.
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