Peek - Portable Eye Examination Kit

Impact: Impact - for External Portal › Health and welfare - new products, guidelines and services

Who is affected

Peek was formed after co-founder Dr Andrew Bastawrous experienced a logistical nightmare trying to transport bulky eye equipment to remote areas in Kenya during a community study as part of his PhD at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He was convinced there must be a better way and turned his attention to the potential power of smartphones, teaming up with his fellow Peek co-founders, Stewart Jordan, Dr Mario Giardini and Dr Iain Livingstone, to make the idea a reality.In 2013, Peek received funding from The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust towards the research and development of Peek and, thanks to the Trust’s support, the team are conducting a pioneering series of trials over the next five years to test the technology in various settings and communities including Kenya, Mali, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi, India and the UK.Further investment from the public will enable Peek to increase the scope and reach of its work by getting the tools manufactured and distributed.

Narrative

Peek consists of smartphone apps and an adapter, engineered at the University of Strathclyde and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which can be used by health workers anywhere in the world to test eyes easily and affordably in the community. This is especially important as millions of people around the world are not able to get to clinics or hospitals to seek help. The tools are being developed as a collaboration between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Strathclyde and the NHS Glasgow Centre for Ophthalmic Research, pooling their complementary expertise in international eye health, biomedical engineering and ophthalmic research.
Impact statusOpen
Category of impactHealth and welfare - new products, guidelines and services

Keywords

  • smartphone
  • retina
  • blindness

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