NETRA: Smartphone Add-On for Eye Tests

Can a person look at a portable display, click on a few buttons, and recover his refractive condition? Our optometry solution combines inexpensive optical elements and interactive software components to create a new optometry device suitable for developing countries. The technology allows for early, extremely low-cost, mobile, fast, and automated diagnosis of the most common refractive eye disorders: myopia (nearsightedness), hypermetropia (farsightedness), astigmatism, and presbyopia (age-related visual impairment). The patient overlaps lines in up to eight meridians and the Android app computes the prescription. The average accuracy is comparable to the prior art—and in some cases, even better. We propose the use of our technology as a self-evaluation tool for use in homes, schools, and at health centers in developing countries, and in places where an optometrist is not available or is too expensive.