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The future of cost-effective eye testing may be a simple smartphone adapter

Created by a team of experts in eye care, engineering and technology together with Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, the Portable Eye Examination Kit (Peek) Retina adapter is a small, clip-on camera and app that optical healthcare professionals can use to examine the back of the human eye and retina, and then diagnose cataracts, glaucoma and other eye diseases.

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“Around 39 million people are blind. 80% of this blindness is avoidable, but in many regions people don’t have access to eye care,” says the Peek Retina team. “Existing eye exam equipment is heavy, expensive, fragile and difficult to use. It’s not built to travel, it can feel intrusive, and it needs a reliable supply of electricity to work.”

Healthcare workers can use Peek Retina to take high-quality photos of the eye which can then be sent to experts for further examination and diagnosis – a healthcare worker using the adapter can examine over 1 000 people per week.

A campaign on Indiegogo has been set up to raise money to provide Peek Retinas to doctors identified by Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness in countries such as Tanzania and India. Backers also have the option of purchasing a Peek Retina for themselves.

“In eye care clinics like St Mary’s Hospital in Kenya, staff on outreach programmes will use Peek Retina. It will allow them to travel widely to diagnose people in remote locations. Peek Retina will help identify people who need cataract surgery. It’s a relatively simple surgery that has a life-changing impact,” says Peek Retina.

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Trials to test the effectiveness of Peek Retina have already been carried out in Botswana and Mali, with more planned in the UK, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya.

The campaign so far has raised £23 288 of it s £70 000 goal with 44 days left until funding closes. Once manufacturing and certification are complete, Peek Retinas will begin shipping in October 2015.

[Source – Mashable, Images – YouTube]

 

 

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