Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide, despite being curable through a simple and cost-effective surgical procedure. In 2024, over 15 million people were blind due to cataracts, with an additional 80 million suffering from visual impairment. While cataract surgery can restore sight in as little as ten minutes, many patients in low-resource settings undergo surgery without being adequately screened for other conditions beforehand. This can lead to other conditions going undetected, resulting in poor surgical outcomes or unnecessary procedures.

This project aims to improve pre-operative screening by integrating point-of-care ultrasound into cataract surgery outreach programs in Ghana. Using a portable, affordable ultrasound device, the team will assess patients for posterior chamber pathology before surgery. By improving diagnostic accuracy and building local capacity, this project seeks to increase the success of cataract surgeries and create a scalable model for use in other low-resource regions.

“This will improve cataract outcomes, pre-op planning and patient education while allowing resource patients to have the same standard of care as wealthy countries,” says Geoffrey Tabin, M.D., a principal investigator and professor of ophthalmology and global medicine at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.

Principal Investigators:

Geoffrey Tabin, M.D. – Professor of Ophthalmology and Global Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

In-Hei Hahn, MD, FACEP, FACMT, FAWM – Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Research Team:

Thamanna Nishath, MD, MSPH – Resident Physician, Stanford University School of Medicine

Patrick Lanter, MD, MPH – Clinical Instructor, Ultrasound and Global EM Fellowship Graduate, Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Akwasi Ahmed, MD, MBA, FGCPS – Retinal Specialist, Stanford University School of Medicine

Zahra Ghazi-Askar, MD, FAAP – Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Funder:

Stanford Department of Ophthalmology