A new app has been launched to facilitate at-home eye screening for children and adults in Cambridgeshire.
A collaboration between Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Healthy Child programme screening team, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council has resulted in the launch of an app for people who may have missed eye screenings during the COVID-19 restrictions.
How does it work?
Dubbed DigiVis, the app allows children and adults to measure their vision from a distance of two metres, right from their homes. It works in a similar way to a traditional test in a clinic, only instead of reading the letters to a clinician, the app allows the user to enter the letters into a separate device which then measures vision.
Andrea Graves, Head of Service at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Healthy Child Programme, highlighted the importance of the app, explaining how the team sharing resources and expertise ensures that children do not miss out on “a vital check at the beginning of their development”.
Indeed, as Dr Louise Allen, Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist, CUH, explains, it can be difficult for parents to detect poor vision in children, yet early diagnosis and treatment is essential to combat eye disorders at an early stage of development.
DigiVis is currently being developed and clinically tested by Addenbrooke’s paediatric ophthalmology team and has recently been CE marked, making it compliant with all European health and safety requirements.