Did you know that 80% of blindness could be either cured or prevented? The first step in preventing blindness is diagnosing eye diseases. Until recently, trained heath care workers and expensive, fragile equipment, were needed. These were not available in many communities in Africa. However, almost everybody has access to a mobile phone. What if you could use your mobile phone to check your eye health?

Peek Vision is a social enterprise that uses smartphones to identify people who need eye care, and then refers them on to treatment.

They have two products available to the public: Peek Acuity, a mobile phone app which can be used to check visual acuity (how clearly someone can see) and Peek Retina, which is used to find out why somebody has poor vision.

PEEK ACUITY

The Peek Acuity app can be downloaded from the Google play store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.peekvision.public.android&hl=en_GB

The app is fast and easy to use, and comes with a tutorial. Anyone with a smart phone can use it to check their vision and research has shown it is as accurate as vision tests in hospital.

PEEK RETINA

Peek Vision have developed a device called Peek Retina, which makes it possible to look at the back of the eye using a smartphone. The Peek Retina device is clipped on to the phone, and then used to take photographs of the back of the eye. The photographs are sent to experts who interpret the images.

Peek Retina is very easy to use, and does not require a lot of training, so community health workers can use it to check the eyes of patients in their own homes or in schools. All you need is a single person on a bicycle with a smartphone. It can be charged with a solar powered rucksack.

It costs less than 250 dollars, which is much cheaper than the equipment used in hospitals. And scientific research has shown that the photographs of the back of the eye taken with the Peek device are as good as those taken in an eye clinic.

So far, Peek Vision have screened over 250000 people for eye diseases. Their devices were developed in Kenya, and they have also worked in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

The Peek Acuity app has been downloaded over 30,000 times in over 150 countries since its launch in October 2016.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Read our interview with the CEO of Peek Vision here.

The Peek Acuity app can be downloaded from the Google play store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.peekvision.public.android&hl=en_GB

The Peek Retina device can be purchased via their website:

https://www.peekvision.org/en_GB/peek-solutions/peek-retina/buy-peek-retina/

You can get in touch with the Peek team by visiting their website (https://www.peekvision.org/) or email (enquiries@peekvision.org)

This article is part of Eye Health Week at Right for Education