A new app called Retina Risk has been designed to help people with diabetes monitor and assess the risk of diabetic eye disease.

The app, a risk calculator allowing diabetes patients to check their individual risk for the development of retinopathy, is free and can be used on both Android and Apple iOS platforms. It uses an algorithm that monitors several factors including duration of diabetes, gender and blood glucose levels.

The key features of the app include not only customized information with guidelines, patient educational material designed to improve diabetes management, but also a chat platform for users and access to technical support.

Einar Stefánsson, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and physiology at the University of Iceland said: “This mobile app should empower patients to better understand their own risk profiles for eye disease and motivate them to modify their personal risk factors.”

Dr Stefánsson, the co-founder of Risk Medical Solutions, the app developer, added: “The global diabetes epidemic has tripled since 2000, to some 430 million persons worldwide, and is expected to exceed 600 million by 2045.”

Sources:

1. New app could reduce risk of diabetic blindness.

2. Retina risk app tool empowers diabetic patients worldwide .

3. Know Your Risk of Developing Sight-Threatening Diabetic Retinopathy.