Vision

Access to clear vision shouldn’t depend on geography or resources.

Innovations like Argus have the potential to transform how communities worldwide receive eye care by bringing accuracy, efficiency, and opportunity to millions who are currently underserved. This breakthrough shows what’s possible when innovation is guided by equity and a commitment to reaching the hardest-to-reach communities. If validated at scale, this approach could fundamentally reshape how we deliver refractive services by making them faster, more portable, and dramatically more accessible.

Sumrana Yasmin, Deputy Technical Director for Eye Health and Uncorrected Refractive Error, Sightsavers

At least 2.2 billion people worldwide live with vision impairment or blindness, and more than 1 billion people have vision loss that is preventable or remains unaddressed. The leading causes are uncorrected refractive error and delayed detection of eye disease.

Poor vision limits educational achievement, employment opportunities, road safety, productivity, independence, and quality of life. Yet the majority of vision impairment can be prevented or corrected with timely diagnosis and treatment.

OptikosPrime exists to make high-quality vision screening and refractive testing accessible to everyone, everywhere, using only a smartphone.

The Problem

The challenge facing global eye health is not a lack of treatments. Glasses, contact lenses, cataract surgery, and clinical care already exist.

The challenge is access.

Traditional vision assessment depends on expensive diagnostic equipment, trained specialists, and physical clinics. This leaves billions of people without timely access to even a basic eye examination. Rural communities, low-income populations, and countries with limited healthcare infrastructure are disproportionately affected, but delayed diagnosis also remains common in developed healthcare systems.

Without accessible vision assessment, people never enter the eye care system. Problems remain undetected until they begin affecting learning, employment, independence, or safety.

Our Solution

OptikosPrime has developed AI-powered smartphone technology that transforms compatible smartphones into scalable vision assessment platforms.

Our platform consists of two complementary solutions.

• VisionCheck enables rapid vision screening to identify individuals who should be referred for a comprehensive eye examination.
• Argus estimates refractive error directly from smartphone images, making refractive testing dramatically more accessible for consumers, healthcare providers, optical retailers, NGOs, and governments.

Instead of requiring people to travel to expensive equipment, our technology brings vision assessment directly to them.

The scientific foundation of Argus has been developed in collaboration with leading researchers and clinicians.

As Professor Tony Pansell, St. Erik Eye Hospital and the Karolinska Institute, explains:

Argus advances objective refraction by leveraging mobile technology to minimise environmental interference. Using a hybrid of analytical models and machine learning, it currently achieves accuracy within ±0.5D, with a trajectory toward ±0.25D.

This combination of scientific rigour and smartphone accessibility allows OptikosPrime to fundamentally rethink how vision services are delivered.

Our Theory of Change

Our belief is simple.

No one should lose educational opportunities, employment, independence, or quality of life simply because they could not access a basic vision assessment.

If high-quality vision screening and refractive testing become as accessible as taking a smartphone photo, billions more people can enter the eye care system.

Earlier identification leads to earlier intervention. Earlier intervention leads to better vision.

Better vision leads to improved educational outcomes, increased workforce participation, safer driving, greater productivity, improved independence, and healthier communities.

By dramatically lowering the cost and complexity of delivering vision assessment, smartphones become a platform for universal access to eye care.

Why Our Business Model Creates Impact

At OptikosPrime, commercial success and social impact are inseparable.

Every additional vision assessment performed:

• dentifies another person who may need treatment,
• increases access to eye care,
• generates referrals into the healthcare system,
• strengthens our AI through diverse real-world clinical data,
• improves future accuracy,
• lowers the cost of deployment,
• and expands access for underserved communities.

As adoption increases, our technology becomes more accurate, more affordable, and more widely available.

This creates a virtuous cycle where commercial growth directly increases social impact.

As our partners at Sightsavers describe:

As an innovative technology, Argus has the potential to significantly expand access to vision and eye care services in underserved communities, accelerating progress toward universal eye health.

Inputs

• AI and computer vision technology
• Clinical research and scientific validation
• Smartphone software platform
• Partnerships with NGOs, healthcare providers, optical retailers, governments, and academic institutions
• Diverse real-world clinical datasets collected globally

Activities

• Deploy smartphone-based vision screening worldwide
• Deliver AI-powered refractive testing
• Support community-based vision screening initiatives
• Integrate with healthcare providers and optical retailers
• Generate referrals into existing eye care systems
• Continuously improve AI through real-world clinical validation

Outputs

• Increased number of people screened
• Increased access to refractive testing
• Earlier identification of vision problems
• Increased referrals for professional eye care
• Lower cost per vision assessment
• Expanded access in underserved communities

Short-Term Outcomes

• Earlier diagnosis of refractive errors
• Increased access to professional eye care
• Higher rates of prescription correction
• Reduced inequalities in access to vision services
• Improved efficiency for healthcare providers

Long-Term Impact

Our ambition is to ensure that geography, income, infrastructure, or the availability of specialists no longer determine whether someone can access vision assessment.

By making high-quality vision screening and refractive testing universally accessible through smartphones, OptikosPrime contributes directly to universal health coverage and the reduction of avoidable vision impairment.

Children can learn because they can see clearly. Adults can work, drive safely, and participate fully in society. Healthcare systems can focus specialist resources where they are needed most. Communities become healthier, more productive, and more economically resilient.

Every person who gains access to clear vision represents not only a better health outcome, but also greater opportunity for education, employment, and participation in society.

Measuring Success

We measure our impact through health, access, and equity indicators, including:

• Number of vision screenings completed
• Number of refractive tests performed
• Number of referrals generated
• Percentage of referred individuals receiving follow-up care
• Reduction in the cost of delivering vision assessment
• Geographic expansion into underserved communities
• Improvement in AI performance across diverse populations
• Partnerships established with NGOs, healthcare providers, governments, and commercial partners

Our ultimate measure of success is simple:

Every additional person who gains access to vision care because of OptikosPrime represents both measurable social impact and sustainable business growth.

Join us

Whether you’re an investor, healthcare organisation, NGO, optical retailer, or research partner, we’re always looking to collaborate with organisations that believe access to clear vision shouldn’t depend on geography or resources.

Together, we can build a future where every smartphone becomes a gateway to better vision.

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