The long term objective of this SBIR Project is the development of a cost effective computer telephony system for improving medical compliance in glaucoma patient.
The specific aims of the Phase I pilot study are to design the specifications of the telephony system: to construct the software algorithms to implement these specifications: to optimize the system prior to a large scale efficacy trial in Phase II. The Phase I pilot study will test the feasibility of using a telephony system in a group of glaucoma patients, stratified by sex, age, and race to ensure equal representation of women, older patients and African Americans. The Phase II efficacy study will use controlled clinical trial methodology with a crossover design in a large, broad-based population of glaucoma patients. Medical compliance is a pervasive problem among the elderly, the age group with the highest prevalence of glaucoma. Enhanced compliance may improve intraocular pressure control thereby stemming vision loss from glaucoma and prolonging useful vision for the life span of the patient. Society will benefit both from savings in health care expenditures and from an elderly population whose ability to live independently has been preserved.
