Proposed smartphone application can help developing countries

A new smartphone application being designed by researchers at MIT may help doctors in developing countries provide eye care. DigitalJournal.com reports that the new application, and a one dollar attachment, can effectively give patients an eye exam.

The eye exam is administered when patients peer into the attachment and see parallel red and green lines. The user will then use the arrow keys on the phone to overlap the lines, and the application will recommend the best prescription.

According to the news source, the device was showcased this week at the SIGGRAPH Exhibition and Conference, and will primarily be used to aid organizations such as Doctors Without Boarders who assist countries in Asia and Africa.

This advancement in technology is good news for sufferers of vision impairments across the globe. Unite For Sight, which provides eye care for communities around the globe, says that eye health issues are especially prevalent in the developing world. The group added that 90 percent of the 45 million people worldwide who are blind live in developing countries. Similarly, around 70 percent of childhood blindness is preventable.