Reading From A Wall Chart Could Become A Thing Of The Past

Testing your vision by reading tiny letters on a distant wall chart could become a thing of the past thanks to a revolutionary eye-testing gadget.

The ‘Personal Vision Tracker’ (PVT) is a £24 ($29.99) device invented by California-based firm EyeQue and can tell users if they need glasses from the comfort of their armchair.

A microscope accessory attaches to a smartphone to complete the test and connects to the EyeQue smartphone app which also tracks the user’s results.

It performs a 15-minute long test to determine the quality of a person’s sight and if they need glasses or not.

It then provides guidance on which glasses to purchase.

Through a smartphone or tablet the user can then orchestrate their own eye test which does away with the traditional test which has been used by opticians since 1862.

The app tests the user’s eyesight using a red and green line that they view through the microscope.

Users tap the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ buttons on the smartphone to move the two lines together until they overlap and form a yellow line.

The amount of movement needed to get the lines to completely overlap calculate the strength of the user’s eyes.

After completing the first test, the user rotates the microscope to move on to the remaining eight tests.

Results from the test are provided using the same spherical, cylindrical and axis numbers that are used in a standard eyeglasses prescription.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHORT AND LONG-SIGHTEDNESS?

Both short-sightedness and long-sightedness are common conditions which diminish a person’s eyesight.

Short-sighted people (myopic) have difficulty seeing objects at a distance.

They favour objects that are closer to them.

Their vision is clear when looking at things up close, but further away objects become out of focus or blurred.

Short-sightedness (myopia) occurs when the distance from the front to the back of the cornea’s curve is too steep.

This forces the light to focus in front of the retina, making objects in the distance appear blurred.

Long-sightedness (hyperopic) is the opposite of this and allows people to see  objects clearly at a distance but find it hard to focus on things close to them.

This makes day-to-day activities such as working, reading or watching TV difficult and can result in eye strain. This then produces fatigue and headaches.

Long-sightedness (hyperopic) occurs when the distance from the front to the back of the cornea’s curve is too steep.

The user can enter these figures online and purchase the required glasses.

EyeQue recently launched a crowdfunding appeal for £20,000 of extra investment and have already received more than £100,000 of commitments.

Marketing strategist at the company Gloria Consola revealed the PVT has received ‘amazing’ feedback and people in the UK have shown ‘a lot of interest’ in the product.

She said: ‘We require you to take three tests before the first set of EyeGlass Numbers are generated.

‘The technology evaluates the tester’s consistency and precision. By taking several tests, in a relaxed environment and at different points in time, the results are a better reflection of your vision – as compared to a single point in time.

‘The founders Tibor Laczay and John Serri envision this technology will have a great global impact given the millions of people afflicted with myopia, many of which lack access to traditional eye care.’