Purpose: To describe optical principles and utility of inexpensive, portable, non-contact digital smartphone-based camera for the acquisition of fundus photographs for the evaluation of retinal disorders. Methods: The digital camera has a high-quality glass 25 D condensing lens attached to a 21.4-megapixel smartphone camera. The white-emitting LED light of the smartphone at low illumination levels is used to visualize the fundus and limit source reflection. The camera captures a high-definition fundus (5344 × 4016) image on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMO) with an area of 6.3 mm × 4.5 mm. The auto-acquisition mode of the device facilitates the quick capture of the image from continuous video streaming in a fraction of a second. Results: This new smartphone-based camera provides high-resolution digital images of the retina (50° telescopic view) in patients at a fraction of the cost (USD 1000) of established, non-transportable, office-based fundus photography systems. Conclusions: The portable user-friendly smartphone-based digital camera is a useful alternative for the acquisition of fundus photographs and provides a tool for screening retinal diseases in various clinical settings such as primary care clinics or emergency rooms. The ease of acquisition of photographs from a continuously streaming video of fundus obviates the need for a skilled photographer.

Purpose: We describe a central retinal artery occlusion with cilioretinal sparing in a young male patient who was found to have mitral valve papillary fibroelastoma Methods: At the initial examination, a 33-year-old Hispanic man had visual acuity of 20/ 200 in his left eye, and 2 weeks later, visual acuity improved to 20/20. Diagnosis required transesophageal echocardiography to localize the lesion.Results: Mitral valve papillary fibroelastoma involving the mitral valve was successfully treated with tumor resection.Conclusion: Routine echocardiography should be performed in all patients presenting with central retinal artery occlusion as it may diagnose treatable cardiogenic etiologies and present further potentially life-threatening embolic events.