In most developing countries, access to basic health care is still a huge problem. Millions of people still struggle to get the attention of qualifies health professionals.
Studies show that over 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired, 39 million of these people are blind, 80% of blindness is avoidable and 90% of blind people live in low-income countries.
Peek Vision has made a significant step at revolutionizing the way the millions of people in remote parts of the world get essential eye care.
Peek vision developed by a team of experts in the fields of eye care, research and technology wants to leverage mobile phone technology to extend the availability of a full range of ophthalmic diagnostic tests outside of high income hospital departments to anywhere in the world: hospital wards, GP surgeries, patient homes and we’re even being tested in the Antarctic!
Peek Vision is the brainchild of British hygienist Dr. Andrew Bastawrous of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The organization’s sole vision is to empower general health workers and eye care practitioners to diagnose eye diseases and provide a means for managing and monitoring the treatment of patients, anywhere in the world.
How it works
Peek Vision can help perform retina screening, depth of field tests, color vision testing, and visual acuity. These tests can be administered by anyone trained to use the program. Then, the results are archived and geo-tagged with the GPS location of the patient, which allows traveling eye care professionals to follow up with patients as necessary.
In locations where infrastructure, literacy, and addresses are at times uncommon, the Peek Vision app can make a huge difference in the lives of the people.
Peek is currently being tested in Kenya and has so far been trialed on over 1,000 participants as part of a comprehensive study comparing Peek to state-of-the-art hospital equipment operated by an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) and a team of trained staff. We plan to publish these results on completion of the trial.
Peek is not designed for self use but certain components are suitable for self-examination. Peek does not replace an examination by a trained healthcare professional.
Video courtesy BBC.
