By:Michael Ullman, MD. – My Call Bag
Growing up, I always had a passion for technology. I initially thought my career was going to be in web design, but my father, an ophthalmologist, always stressed that if you have expertise in an area like eye care, you can always combine this knowledge with broader passion for technology.
During residency, I saw an opportunity to do this when I observed residents taking photographs of the retina with their smartphones. I thought about creating an application to help with this process and applied for an educational grant. I was able to hire a programmer to develop this app. It was an exciting project, but I didn’t have the programming knowledge or funding to make consistent updates. However, I was able to familiarize myself with mobile application development with this project.
As an ophthalmologist in Pensacola, Florida, I had the good fortune of learning from my patients. Practicing in the real world gave me tremendous insights. While on call, I would find myself at the bedside, struggling to get simple, worthwhile measurements using photocopied near cards or low-quality eye chart images online.
Fast forward to the introduction of AI and ChatGPT. I started to experiment with programming. First, it was a simple eye chart on my Apple Watch, and then, with encouragement and feedback from ophthalmologists and optometrists, I created the ‘My Call Bag’ mobile application. I spend about two hours a day iterating and adding features. Every technological capability of an iPhone, whether the camera, gyroscope, accelerometer, or LiDAR, is an opportunity to create an eye care tool that could solve real-world problems.
Now ‘My Call Bag’ has undergone over 100 updates, and more than 10,000 people now use the application. Several innovative tools have been introduced, and I am particularly proud of the vision testing feature, where the TrueDepth camera is used to calibrate the eye chart.
The app contains many other interesting tools as well. The LiDAR camera can scan faces and create 3D models to measure proptosis. There’s an OKN Drum that uses the front-facing camera to record eye movements. And Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity allow the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to remotely control the application.
Whenever I see a new piece of technology in a commercially available phone, whether it’s a new type of camera like the TrueDepth camera or a new API, I try to experiment with ways to incorporate it into eye care.
One example is the new double pinch gesture on the Apple Watch. By just pinching your thumb and index finger together twice, you can trigger a command on the Apple Watch. Or by tapping your AirPods, you can skip a song. I was able to modify these innovations to control an eye chart. Basically, any new way to interact with your electronics now opens the door for innovative eye care solutions.
AI made this possible.
AI provides two huge, synergistic benefits in eye care innovation and technology. First, AI can be used to create more traditional tools. So innovators can experiment and create without investing thousands of dollars. For instance, the Fixation Tool in the ‘My Call Bag’ app seems like a simple tool to encourage pediatric fixation. But AI was used to code the tool and to create the content. AI-created cartoon loops with eye care themes can serve as fixation targets (like a princess dancing with an eyepatch).
Second, AI can also be a part of the tools themselves. ‘My Call Bag’ contains an AI dictation tool where users can create quick dictations on their phone. Basically, AI can be used to create tools, and AI can be part of the tool itself.
With the introduction of powerful AI platforms, eye doctors are in an exciting new world. The moat for technological innovation is disappearing. Creativity from people with domain expertise is going to be unleashed, and interesting ‘indie’ products from optometrists and ophthalmologists will continue to become more commonplace.
I plan to use ‘My Call Bag’ to aid in my exploration of technology and eye care. I hope to continue to make it better and filled with more interesting tools as technology continues to improve. It is currently available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
