Peek Vision has developed a smartphone application and camera adapter offering simple, low-cost and high-quality eye examinations to patients in rural communities.

Peek – the Portable Eye Examination Kit – is an affordable and portable solution helping to prevent blindness in low-income countries. Health care workers equipped with a mobile phone and a solar backpack – for easy charging of their devices – can access remote households to eliminate the need for patients to travel to clinics.

The app displays shrinking letters on mobile phones or tablets, providing a simple yet elegant vision test suitable for people speaking any language. Using a specifically engineered low-cost camera adapter, smartphones are also used to capture images of the retina. Examination results and images of retinas are stored and can be shared with experts internationally. Locations of patients are also stored on GPS, helping to coordinate future treatment.

People working together solve blindness. Our technology is designed to help them.

Dr Andrew Bastawrous – Co-Founder and CEO, Peek Vision.

Why you should care

According to the World Health Organization, there are 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, around 90% of whom live in developing countries. At the same time, it is estimated that 80% of blindness can be avoided or cured. Peek Vision smartphone software is free, and the hardware manufacturing costs are under $170, compared to conventional eye examination equipment which costs over $170,000, according to the organization. This solution, recently tested in several studies, is an extremely promising technology for blindness prevention in rural communities.

How the Global Goals are addressed

Good health and well-being
This solution helps to prevent blindness and manage vision-impairment in low-income communities that do not have access to adequate health services.

Decent work and economic growth
By helping to prevent visual impairment and blindness that can leave people without the ability to work, this solution ensures that more people will continue to be eligible for full and productive employment.

Reduced inequalities
Peek Vision delivers eye examinations with minimal need for expensive resources or equipment and reduced need for visually impaired patients to travel to health clinics, helping to reduce inequalities in health care access.

About Peek Vision

Peek Vision is a social enterprise which works to bring better vision and health to everyone. We develop technology and partnerships to create sustainable access to eye care.  Peek solutions are cost-effective and portable, so they can reach people in remote and rural areas.

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Global Goals addressed

Deployed in: Worldwide
Developed in: United Kingdom
Stage: Early implementation