A suite of clinically valid eye tests that work on smartphones

"Increasing rates of eye disease and loss of sight is a major healthcare issue and costs the UK 28 billion a year (Deloitte / RNIB, 2014). Delays in ophthalmic treatment in the NHS are directly causing sight loss (Foot and MacEwen, 2017). In developing countries lack of access to medical professionals is causing sight loss.

This project will develop a series of clinically valid digital eye tests that work on common digital devices such as smartphones. These tests would enable robust home monitoring and repeat testing over time.

The Agency of Design (AoD) and Queen Mary's University London (QMUL) have completed a small project part developing the first two tests with positive results in a small user trial. On completing the project AoD and QMUL realised the business model to commercialise the service is complicated. Whole Earth Futures (WEF) have been bought into the consortium to provide business model development and testing expertise.

The project is structured around three key areas:

* Market risk (is there a demand and is it scalable?)
* Product/technology risk (can we build a clinically valid product?)
* Business model risk (can we make money?)

A 2015 report 'Digital Health in the UK' by Deloitte and the Office of Life Sciences states: ""Currently, mobile Health is being used more commonly by consumers to make decisions about wellness, but the potential lies in supporting higher-impact clinical decision-making and developing the interaction between clinicians and patients."" This neatly summarises the focus of our project, we believe it has significant potential to impact eye care both in the UK and internationally."