Description :  The medical specialty of ophthalmology has relied on computer-assisted diagnostic techniques, especially digital imaging, to a greater degree than many other medical specialties. The usefulness of most ophthalmic image data is limited due to the diversity of methods by which images and other data are obtained, data storage techniques, and inadequate software resources to efficiently access and study this data. LSU Eye Center at LSUHSC has and will continue to accumulate vast quantities of data for clinical diagnostics and investigative research through its clinics and several federally funded research projects. Louisiana Tech (LaTech), through its educational and research programs, has developed a perfect groundwork of interdisciplinary courses, research programs, and consortiums for academic collaborations. Co-operation with LaTech produces software modules that greatly widen the availability and usefulness of image data to researchers and educators in the LSUHSC. The impact of this system as a model and as a utility extends beyond its benefits to the LSU Eye Center and impacts other clinical and basic science departments at LSUHSC. The project also provides a facility at LSU Eye Center including software and image display capabilities where physicians and other experts on image content teach image observation and interpretation skills to students, residents, and fellows. At LaTech, the project impacts academic courses in Clinical Informatics with embedded sub-modules. It also enhances the laboratory facilities at LaTech for clinical informatics collaborative research and enhanced instruction in collaboration with LSUHSC.

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Principal Investigator:  Dua, Sumeet  --  Computer Science

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Collaborators:  Hillary W. Thompson, Ph.D; Donald Bergsma, M.D; Claude Burgoyne, M.D.

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Funding Agencies:  Board of Regents through LSUHSC

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Amount Awarded:  $20,683

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Start Period:  06/01/2004

End Period:  06/30/2005