Ocular Imaging Challenges, Current State, and a Path to Interoperability: A HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Whitepaper

Kerry E Goetz; Michael V Boland; Zhongdi Chu; Amberlynn A Reed; Shawn D Clark; Alexander J Towbin; Boonkit Purt; Kevin O'Donnell; Marilyn M Bui; Monief Eid; Christopher J Roth; Damien M Luviano; Les R Folio

doi:10.1007/s10278-024-01261-0

Ocular Imaging Challenges, Current State, and a Path to Interoperability: A HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Whitepaper

J Imaging Inform Med. 2024 Oct 1. doi: 10.1007/s10278-024-01261-0. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Office of Data Science and Health Informatics, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. [email protected].
² Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Verana Health, Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁴ Office of Data Science and Health Informatics, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁵ Cybersecurity-Network Protection, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁷ Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁸ Canon Medical Research, Mayfield, KY, USA.
⁹ Departments of Pathology and Machine Learning, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
¹⁰ Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Duke Health, Durham, NC, USA.
¹² Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA.
¹³ Diagnostic Imaging & Interventional Radiology, Department of Machine Learning, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA.

PMID: 39354293
DOI: 10.1007/s10278-024-01261-0

Abstract

Office-based testing, enhanced by advances in imaging technology, is routinely used in eye care to non-invasively assess ocular structure and function. This type of imaging coupled with autonomous artificial intelligence holds immense opportunity to diagnose eye diseases quickly. Despite the wide availability and use of ocular imaging, there are several factors that hinder optimization of clinical practice and patient care. While some large institutions have developed end-to-end digital workflows that utilize electronic health records, enterprise imaging archives, and dedicated diagnostic viewers, this experience has not yet made its way to smaller and independent eye clinics. Fractured interoperability practices impact patient care in all healthcare domains, including eye care where there is a scarcity of care centers, making collaboration essential among providers, specialists, and primary care who might be treating systemic conditions with profound impact on vision. The purpose of this white paper is to describe the current state of ocular imaging by focusing on the challenges related to interoperability, reporting, and clinical workflow.

Keywords: DICOM; Enterprise imaging; Informatics; Interoperability; Medical imaging; Ophthalmology; Optometry.