WEB CHUTNEY

A smart phone app developed by Peek Vision (Portable Eye Examination Kit) can cure blindness. This app has been used in India, Kenya and Botswana to test patients. The app is developed majorly to help the poor countries, where it not easy for the patients to get a proper eye care treatment.

Two main causes to eye problems are cataracts and refractive errors.

According to Dr. Andrew Bastawrous who gave up his job and helped develop this app

“The majority is reversible. People who have been blind for decades, with help, can see again”.

This app is a solution to many problems, with the Peek app test, the letter “E” is shown on a phone’s screen with different orientations. The patient points in the direction they see the letter facing and the examiner swipes in that direction. The results are immediately available after the test, and patients (or their parents and school in the case of children) receive a text message recommending further treatment if necessary.

The app can replace traditional hospital equipment, which is mostly heavy, expensive and fragile. Dr. Andres Bastawrous has also worked with village leaders to train examiners at a low cost.

Dr. Bastawrous thinks that the potential for this app is huge and other startups working on similar projects will step up to help get rid of this endemic problem that exists world over.

“The potential is huge.”

“It’s a joy to witness people see again.”

This post orignally appeared here