After six years in development, eight product iterations and clinical studies involving 1,500 patients across five countries, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spinout, PlenOptika has developed a highly accurate, portable autorefractor called QuickSee.

Costing about a third of the price for a binocular version and a sixth of the price for a monocular version compared with traditional autorefractors, the device is ideal for developing countries and hard to reach areas, said Shivang Dave, a bioengineer with a background in global health and one of the four project initiators the company. “People at the bottom of the pyramid have poor vision, because they don’t have glasses or aren’t aware of how to get glasses. It’s a big unmet medical need we’re trying to address.”

The QuickSee device resembles a pair of large binoculars. Users peer into the viewing end and stare at an object in the distance. A technician taps a green arrow on a digital screen on the device to start the measurement. In about 10 seconds, the device displays a prescription estimate on the digital screen.