Pocket Opticians

A new smartphone app is as effective at testing eyesight as an optician’s clinic.

18:41 29 May 2015

A new smartphone app, which was designed to test eyesight, is said to be as effective as eye charts. A team from the London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine has trialed the app and hope that it can transform eye care for millions of people in remote parts of the world. 

 

The group has tested the new app on 233 people in Kenya, showing results are the same as eye charts. 

 

Dr Andrew Bastawrous, who led the project, told the BBC: "The main reason for most people not getting eye treatment is simply that they don't access the services and that's usually because the services are so far away from them or are unaffordable.

 

"If we can detect people with visual impairment much earlier on then we have a much greater chance of increasing awareness and ensuring they have appropriate treatment.

 

"So something as simple as a vision test can be part of that journey."

 

Meanwhile, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness believes the app could be a "game changer".

 

It has previously said: "We simply don't have the trained eye health staff to bring eye care services to the poorest communities. This tool will enable us to do that with relatively untrained people."