Kadam Yogita, Dagli Namrata, Venugopal RaguKumar, Raj Sushrutha, Goel Sonu
Indian Health Outcomes, Public Health, and Economics Research Centre, L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.
Department of Eyesmart EMR and AEye, L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.
Semin Ophthalmol. 2025 Sep 17:1-11. doi: 10.1080/08820538.2025.2559842.
Tele-ophthalmology is transforming eye care delivery, particularly in remote and underserved areas, where specialist shortages and geographic barriers prevent millions from receiving timely diagnosis and treatment for preventable blindness. Tele-ophthalmology has emerged as a critical solution to bridge these care gaps, with applications ranging from remote screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of conditions like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Despite rapid technological advances and growing implementation, the research landscape lacks literature providing an overview of global trends, collaborative patterns, and emerging innovations in this field, hindering strategic research planning and evidence-based policy development for expanding digital eye care services. This study aims to analyse global trends and emerging themes in tele-ophthalmology research to fill this knowledge void and provide strategic insights for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers.
A comprehensive online literature search was conducted using the Scopus database, retrieving English-language publications related to tele-ophthalmology up to 31st December 2024. Data were extracted and analysed using Biblioshiny in R Studio and VOSviewer. The study assessed annual publication trends, top journals' contributions, authors' contributions, authors' collaboration, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution.
A total of 5,498 publications were identified, with an annual growth rate of 9.55%, and nearly 800 articles published in 2023 alone. The United States led in publication output and international collaborations. Dr. Michael F. Chiang published the highest number of articles, with the highest total link strength (174), followed by Dr. R.V. Paul Chan and Dr. J. Peter Campbell (122). Telemedicine and E-Health was the leading journal, followed by the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare and the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. Common keywords included "telemedicine," "diabetic retinopathy," "artificial intelligence," and "COVID-19," reflecting major research themes. Thematic analysis showed a shift toward AI integration and digital health solutions in ophthalmology.
The field of teleophthalmology has experienced significant and rapid growth in research activity. Recent trends indicate growing integration of artificial intelligence and digital health tools. This bibliometric study provides a comprehensive overview that can inform future research and policy efforts to enhance digital eye care delivery.
远程眼科正在改变眼科医疗服务的提供方式，尤其是在偏远和服务不足的地区，那里专科医生短缺和地理障碍使数百万人无法及时获得可预防失明的诊断和治疗。远程眼科已成为弥合这些医疗差距的关键解决方案，其应用范围涵盖糖尿病视网膜病变和青光眼等疾病的远程筛查、诊断和监测。尽管技术进步迅速且应用日益广泛，但研究领域缺乏对该领域全球趋势、合作模式和新兴创新进行概述的文献，这阻碍了扩大数字眼科服务的战略研究规划和循证政策制定。本研究旨在分析远程眼科研究的全球趋势和新兴主题，以填补这一知识空白，并为研究人员、临床医生和政策制定者提供战略见解。
使用Scopus数据库进行全面的在线文献检索，检索截至2024年12月31日与远程眼科相关的英文出版物。使用R Studio中的Biblioshiny和VOSviewer提取和分析数据。该研究评估了年度出版物趋势、顶级期刊的贡献、作者的贡献、作者的合作、关键词共现情况和主题演变。
共确定了5498篇出版物，年增长率为9.55%，仅2023年就发表了近800篇文章。美国在出版物产出和国际合作方面领先。蒋迈克博士发表的文章数量最多，总链接强度最高（174），其次是陈保罗博士和J.彼得·坎贝尔博士（122）。《远程医疗与电子健康》是领先期刊，其次是《远程医疗与远程护理杂志》和《印度眼科杂志》。常见关键词包括“远程医疗”、“糖尿病视网膜病变”、“人工智能”和“COVID-19”，反映了主要研究主题。主题分析显示，眼科研究正朝着人工智能整合和数字健康解决方案转变。
远程眼科领域的研究活动经历了显著而快速的增长。近期趋势表明，人工智能和数字健康工具的整合日益增加。这项文献计量研究提供了全面的概述，可为未来加强数字眼科服务的研究和政策努力提供参考。
