A local nurse who experienced vision loss as a result of her diabetes has become the inspiration for a world-first medical app.
A Berkeley Vale local, Ms Julia Clarke, was diagnosed with diabetic macular oedema (DME) two and half years ago.
This resulted in vision loss caused by accumulation of fluid in the macula as a result of diabetes.
Following medical appointments and complicated treatments, Ms Clarke’s story became the basis for Diabetic Macular Oedema Xplained, a free app which aims to explain the complicated disease information to patients and their families through graphic storytelling.
The app follows Ms Clarke’s journey and breaks down what diabetic macular oedema is, explains risk factors, treatment options, as well as side effects and psychological issues.
Ms Clarke said she felt compelled to tell her story to others living with diabetes as her diagnosis is not an uncommon experience.
The app has been developed with input from patients, ophthalmologists, researchers and nurses.
It is one of many from Medicine X, a start-up founded by Australian medical professional, Dr Kim Chilman-Blair, that converts difficult to understand medical jargon around a range of diseases like diabetes and prostate cancer into engaging and easy to understand graphic narratives that users can download as apps for free.
Media release,
Mar 2, 2017
Aurelie Rimbaut, Hill+Knowlton Strategies