portable eye examination kit peek retina wins 2015 INDEX: award

portable eye examination kit peek retina wins 2015 INDEX: award 
all images courtesy of peek retina

it’s hard to imagine a simple indiegogo can spark so much great change in the world. that’s why the 13 person jury have award the 2015 INDEX award to peek retina, a portable eye examination kit that uses apps and simple adapters to allow almost anyone to perform high quality eye examinations. surprisingly in kenya more people have access to a mobile phone than to clean running water, therefor the peek taps into an existing channel to reach a significantly larger group than currently health care distribution methods. by adding the adapter onto any smartphone, the app then shows a high quality image of the retina, which can then be examined for irregularities, compared to a normal retina. 

the INDEX award believes the project represents a new generation of smartphone diagnostics. jury member simona rock, senior director design for sustainability at philips says, ‘it’s one of most promising applications for smartphones and is changing the paradigms for diagnostics.’ looking at the retina is an absolutely essential for eye care, as retinal diseases are one of the main causes of visual impairment. the current methods for retina exams simply do not work in remote locations. the problem lies in the inability to transport expensive, fragile equipment to remote areas where no facilities exist to perform eye exams. 

‘peek retina creates an opportunity for anyone to leverage the knowledge of experts anywhere in the world, in an incredibly smart and low cost way – in other words the device is a great connector’, explains veronica d’souza, INDEX award jury member and cofounder of ruby cup. 

the app shows a high quality image of the retina, which can then be examined for irregularities, compared to a normal retina 

the device upholds the crucial principle that emphasis should be placed on prevention, rather than treatment. with a broad application, peek retina will have a huge impact with the potential to reduce global blindness by 80 percent. the portable, user friendly, low cost design solution is one significant step towards achieving the 66th world health assembly action plan, which aims to achieve a global reduction of avoidable visual impairments of 25 percent by 2019. with a €100,000 price, peek vision will continue with research and development, as well as help with manufacturing costs and marketing. check out the rest of winners of the 2015 INDEX: award here! 

peek retina could have a huge impact with the potential to reduce global blindness by 80%

in combination with the adapter, the apps can simulate the patient’s compromised vision and contrast it with normal, healthy vision

the team carries out rigorous testing of the device in kenya 

peek retina is much easier to use than traditional ophthalmoscopes making it suitable for a wider group of health care workers