Today’s eye exam is characterized by the autorefractor – a $20,000 diagnostic device that bounces an infrared beam off the retina to determine the correction needed for an image to come into focus. Smart Vision Labs (New York, USA) has devised a $3,950 handheld replacement, the SVOne, that utilizes an iPhone’s camera, processor, and wireless connection to examine patients anywhere and manage their cases online. The 0.9-pound unit is about the size and shape of a paperback book, with an eyepiece on one end and an iPhone, included, on the other. The SVOne also functions as a wavefront aberrometer – the technology that guides a laser during Lasik surgery, projecting a grid of about 100 red dots on to the patient’s retina to measure any change in the pattern that is reflected back. Not only is the SVOne convenient for eye doctors to use in their offices, it can bring eye exams to residents of lesser developed countries who do not have access to an eye doctor.
