Report from Kenya states that Sight Savers international charity led by a Medical Doctor from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Andrew Bastrawrous is in the country to test a smart-phone app device designed to scan the lens of the eye for cataracts, CEOAFRICA.com gathered.

The device which has the ability to take a clear image of the back of the eye in just few seconds has received praises from Kenyans.

Dr. Bastawrous said,”They are absolutely loving it. They are all asking to have a go and get their vision tested.  So it is certainly very user friendly.”

Sources said about 2,000 Kenyans have been given eye test, with 10 percent of them having cataracts and needed treatment.
So far about 2,000 Kenyans have been given eye tests.  The developers estimate about 10 percent of those had cataracts and needed treatment.

According to Stewart Jordan, an independent application designer who helped develops the app called PEEK, or Portable Eye Examination Kit, PEEK includes a clip-on camera, which works with the app to check glasses prescription, diagnose cataracts or examine the back of the eye for diseases, from glaucoma to diabetes.

“I can then take that image, capture it, e-mail it, and upload it to our back-end system.  People at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital can review it and anyone can send me feedback. So if I was actually trying to diagnose a patient in the field, I could get remote assistance on exactly what conditions we were dealing with and advise on how to treat it.” He said.

CEOAFRICA.com also gathered that the team is testing PEEK on 5,000 Kenyans, as well as paying for the treatment of every patient with cataracts, including the cost of a driver to deliver the patient to the hospital, overnight accommodation and food.

Stewart Jordan said, “We are talking about $40 on a cataract operation.  And that can literally take someone who cannot even tell if you are shining a torch in their eyes and give them 20/20 vision.  It is remarkable.”

The device, according to Jordan and Bastawrous was developed to reach the “poorest of the poor.”

An estimated 39 million people around the world are blind, with 90 percent living in low-income countries where there is little or no access to eye specialists.