The first vision screening app to receive patent

EyeXam is a vision screening app for iOS and Android devices that has recently been issued a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to representatives from EyeXam, this makes it the first and only patented method for accurate self-guided mobile vision screening tests.

“We are excited to receive our patent for EyeXam and believe patent protection is timed perfectly in light of the explosion in mHealth apps. The ‘medicalized smartphone’ is impacting every aspect of health care, and eye care cannot lag behind,” says Dr. Nikki Iravani, founder and CEO of EyeXam.

The tests including visual acuity, colour vision, astigmatism and amsler grid have proved popular with consumers with the app downloaded more than 1 million times from the iTunes App store and Google Play to date. The app also allows patients to find a qualified eye care provider in their local area, exchange messages with the practice, schedule appointments, and search for eye-related information and articles using EyeWiki.

EyeXam asserts that the primary purpose of the app is to enable consumers to learn about their vision, understand the importance of professional eye examinations and connect with eye care providers.

The app is currently free to download on iTunes and Google Play.

By: Dr Joanne Teong

Source and image: www.eyexam.com

Be My Eyes app – You can make a difference in a blind person’s life

Be My Eyes is a new app for iOS devices that allows sighted volunteers to help blind people complete everyday tasks.

The app uses live video chat to enable a blind person to ask a sighted volunteer for help with simple tasks such as reading the expiration date of a milk carton, to more complex tasks such as navigating new surroundings. Through the iphone or ipad’s video camera, the sighted volunteer is able to describe what they see to help the blind person solve the problem or complete the task.

The app is an easy and flexible way to make a difference in the everyday lives of blind people. The app sends push notifications to sighted volunteers when a blind person is requesting assistance. If the volunteer is unavailable, another volunteer will be notified.

The app was developed by a Copenhagen based company and is currently free to download on the App Store.

http://www.bemyeyes.org

By: Dr Joanne Teong

How do you try and stop Ebola? There might be an app for that…

The spread of Ebola has been a constant fear among the international community. In a bid to try and abate the spread of the disease, health officials are launching the #isurvivedebola app as part of a wider media campaign called #TackleEbola. The app allows survivors of the Ebola outbreak to share stories about the challenges and hardships they faced while combating this deadly disease and aims to put a human face on the condition. Survivors in the past have been stigmatized, which the campaign hopes to eliminate and cast these figures as heroes who may allow for better leadership in the community to fight the spread.

As well as sharing stories, the app would also collect data to allow health personnel to better treat this condition. It is hoped that by spreading key information about the condition via various channels, the campaign can achieve the critical task of stopping the outbreak from spreading further.  “As the global UN lead for the Social Mobilization Pillar of the Ebola response in West Africa, UNICEF is at the helm of efforts to stop transmission by working with national governments and partners to educate the public in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea about how to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from the virus. #ISurvivedEbola is reinforcing our efforts by providing this information in multiple, highly entertaining forms, including through the testimonies of actual survivors,” commented an UNICEF spokesperson in the media release 

Source & photo: http://isurvivedebola.org/

Using a “selfie” as a medical screening tool: Eyenaemia

A company founded by two medical students at Monash University in Melbourne have found an interesting use of taking a photograph of yourself, which is otherwise colloquially known as a ‘selfie’. The team used the data from the image to analyse the conjunctiva of the subject via an app and compare against a database to assess the risk of anaemia.

The team hopes that their solution will help in the diagnosis and treatment of the 2 billion people in the world that suffer from anaemia.

Their ingenious application of this modern trend has caught the attention of many people, including that of Bill Gates, who recently wrote about the project on his blog. The pair have also won numerous awards for their innovation.

So the next time you are at your medical clinic, you may have to take a selfie for medical reasons!

Source: http://www.eyenaemia.com/presskit.html