Every year, Americans spend more than $40 billion caring for their vision. However, it’s somewhat remarkable that in this age of the quantified self, there are very few high-tech vision trackers for consumers. Newark, California based EyeQue is a company that has designed a pair of devices specially designed for smartphone users to monitor their vision. We had an opportunity to try out their first device, the EyeQue Personal Vision Tracker.
The $30 EyeQue Personal Vision Tracker is an FDA-approved miniscope device somewhat resembling a small plastic monocular. One end of the device is non-destructively secured to a smartphone’s display using a silicon strap. The user looks through the other end at the screen as the iOS or Android app guides them through the vision test. It’s a nice, compact design that doesn’t damage your phone and is compatible with a wide variety of smartphones.
The actual view from inside the PVT
The test itself is extremely simple: simply look through the miniscope with the appropriate eye, press the “+” or “-” buttons until the green and red bars overlap each other, twist the device clockwise to the next position, and repeat. Though the test takes only about 15 minutes for both eyes, you’ll need to repeat the test several times in order for EyeQue’s cloud-based analytics to generate accurate measurements, so it does get a bit tedious after a while.
Once you finally complete enough tests, you’re given an EyeGlass Numbers report that shows your refractive error. This can be used to track changes in your vision over time and can also be used to order prescription glasses. The report also shows a visual graph of your spherical and cylindrical diopter measurements.
It’s important to understand that your refractive error is just one indicator of your eye health; these vision tests aren’t meant to replace visits to an optometrist, but should rather be used to monitor your vision in between professional eye exams.
While the test is ridiculously easy to self-administer and the device is inexpensive, interpreting the results can be a little more of a challenge. There’s a lot of numbers involved that aren’t exactly intuitive to the average patient. While the EyeQue reports use industry-standard measurements and terminology, it’ll likely still be a bit of a learning curve to understand what all the numbers and jargon mean and what direction they should or shouldn’t trend.
Overall, we’re impressed by the amount of detail one can get about their vision using just this simple device and a smartphone. As technology causes our “screen time” to continue to increase, it’s uncertain how our devices will affect our vision long-term. Why not use these same devices to actually help care for our vision?
More info and link to purchase the EyeQue Personal Vision Tracker: Product info page…