| Type of Grant: Competitive funding , United states
Grant code: NASA NNX16AO69A
Awardee Organization: Plenoptika Inc
Project Start Date: 29-March-2019
Project End Date: 29-March-2020
Total Funding: $250,000
MEDIC Personnel included in the grant / Role:
Dr. Eduardo Lage / Consultant
MsC Carlos Hernandez / Consultant
Abstract Text: This proposal seeks to support the innovation to upgrade PlenOptika’s flagship technology – the
QuickSee – to further enhance its adoption to address disparity in eye care in wider range of populations (children and elderly) by improving the usability and enabling self-operation. At the same time, these enhancements meet the stringent requirements needed for objective refraction testing and monitoring in long-duration space flight conditions.
Over one billion people worldwide are impaired by poor vision, including 239 million children, because they do not have access to eye care professionals and/or prescription eyeglasses. A major barrier prolonging this major correctable health disparity, is the critical need for tools that increase the accessibility of eye care globally. PlenOptika is commercializing QuickSee – a low-cost, portable autorefractor that accurately measures refractive errors binocularly in 10 seconds.
While the current form factor and design offers a portable and low-cost, robust technology for objective refraction, there is potential to improve upon these features in order to directly address feedback from clinical partners and paying customers. The feedback has been (1) to reduce the weight of the device (currently, 1.1 kg or 3.3 lbs.) to make it easier to hold and use for children and elderly patients, and (2) to speed up the overall time-to-measurement (currently 30 seconds for alignment and measurement) by providing feedback during the alignment step.
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