AVOIDING BLINDNESS THROUGH A SMARTPHONE APP

Eye-scan with your phone is now possible

Ouailty of healthcare remains a serious issue for many low-income countries. People living in these countries are some of those most in need of medical check-ups, as even small abnormalities or infections may lead to very serious conditions

Sight is the main issue here. The project got started during a study in rural Kenya.

A team of ophthalmologists, developers and engineers have created Peek (Portable Eye Examination Kit), a clip-on hardware and application for smartphones. It can be used by non-experts with minimal training. It carries out a range of eye-health checks and helps prevent and diagnose blindness.

It’s easy to use and easy to carry, so it’s now less difficult to treat people living in hard to reach regions of the world.

According to doctors: “285 million people worldwide are visually impaired, 39 million of these people are blind, 80 percent of blindness is avoidable“, “In the areas of greatest need, patients do not have access to diagnostics or treatment.”

Thanks to Peek, blindness, cataract, visual impairment, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are easy to detect! A range of other less-common eye-related diseases can also be diagnosed with the kit, including signs of brain tumors and hemorrhaging.

It can even share the data with a network of professionals if needed, via internet.