Eyesight-Testing App 'Peek' Found as Accurate as Paper Eye Charts

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A smart phone app that can test eyesight is found to be as accurate as paper eye charts in optician clinics, a research has found.

The Portable Eye Examination Kit (PEEK) is a comprehensive eye testing app developed by the University of Strathclyde, the NHS Glasgow Centre for Ophthalmic Research and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

PEEK uses the smart phone's camera to scan the eyes for cataracts, uses the camera flash to check disease at the back of the eye, and it has an "Acuity App" that can be used for basic vision test, reports BBC News.

The research, which was published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, shows that the app trials conducted on 233 Kenyan adult citizens, age 55 and above, has the same reliability with standard eye chart tests and vision boxes.  

Lead researcher Dr. Andew Bastawrous, an ophthalmologist and co-founder of PEEK, got the idea of creating the kit when he wanted to get a more compact and reliable alternative for bulky and heavy eye-testing equipment in Kenya.

Coming from London with his family, a team of people and $150,000 of equipment, he wanted to find out what made people go blind in Africa, according to NPR.

"For most people, it's an accepted consequence of old age that as you get older, you lose your sight," Bastawrous said. "If we can create a freely downloadable app with high-quality results, it means that hopefully more people with vision problems can be identified, particularly the most vulnerable groups."

Eye treatment is scarce in developing countries because of the lack of access to services either logistically or cost-wise, according to Dr. Bastawrous.

"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," he said.

"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," Dr. Bastawrous added. "So something as simple as a vision test can be part of that journey."

Dr. Bastawrous, who is also an International Eye Health lecturer at London's School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, noted that a cheaper alternative for eye testing using a new approach was necessary.

"With most of the world's blind people living in low-income countries, it is vital we develop new tools to increase early detection and appropriate referral for treatment. Mobile phone use is now so widespread that it seemed to be an ideal platform," he explained.

"In this study we aimed to develop and validate a smartphone-based visual acuity test for eyesight which would work in challenging circumstances, such as rural Africa, but also provide reliable enough results to use in routine clinical practice in well-established healthcare systems," he added.

"Our ultimate hope is that the accuracy and easy to use features of Peek will lead to more people receiving timely and appropriate treatment and be given the chance to see clearly again," Dr. Bastawrous finally said, reports Medical Xpress.