Around 500 million people worldwide suffer from untreated near-vision impairment, which can impair people’s ability to live and work. ICEH’s close partner Peek Vision, which works to create tools to improve eye care, has now completed validation of a smartphone-based near vision test.

A study carried out by Peek Vision, ICEH and Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh, the largest eye care provider in Nepal, compared the Peek Near Vision Test to a conventional chart used for vision testing. The findings showed that the near vision test is valid for identifying people with near visual impairment and as a quantitative assessment of the score of near visual acuity.

Peek Vision has been using a validated distance vision test for nearly a decade, which is used across their programmes worldwide. The next steps for the near vision test will be incorporation into tools and programmes, and for population data studies.

Additional results from the study found high levels of repeatability among independent examiners, further proving the accuracy and reliability of this test.

Lead Researcher and Peek team member, Dr Marzieh Katibeh, said on the benefits of the study:

“The original Peek Acuity app, which tests distance vision only, has been successfully validated and embedded across numerous programmes worldwide. Combining this with digital near vision testing, particularly in populations at risk of presbyopia who can be identified in the same visit, will facilitate the identification and management of both near and distance visual impairments. It may also make vision measurement more appealing to organisers of community health surveys and surveillance who are already using digital devices for data collection. The Peek Near Vision test we have validated in this study could serve this purpose.”