Goodbye, Lazy Eye! Dr. David Hunter's New Instrument to Help Kids Nationwide
New device tests young children for eye conditions with higher accuracy than ever before.
BOSTON, MA, July 29, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, affects 2-3 per 100 children. What is less commonly known is that, left unchecked, amblyopia can impair one’s vision to the point of blindness. The test used to detect it, however, requires a child to be verbal and literate, which excludes kids younger than 4 or 5. While devices known as photoscreeners can be used to help detect the impairment in children younger than this, even they cannot diagnose every case.
This is where David Hunter comes in. Dr. Hunter, chief of ophthalmology at Boston Children’s Hospital, founded his company REBIScan, LLC, in order to produce Pediatric Vision Scanners. The scanners use retinal birefringence scanning, or RBS, to test eye orientation at the retinal level. In doing this, the machine is able to detect cases of amblyopia and strabismus with much more accuracy than a photoscreener. Every parent wants their child to be healthy, and thanks to this non-invasive, seconds-long test, pediatricians will soon be able to provide mothers and fathers with more reliable knowledge of their son or daughter’s eyesight.
The prototypes of the Pediatric Vision Scanner will go through worldwide clinical testing before it is available to pediatricians. Look out for the PVS in your doctor’s office!
Rhonda Fischer
WP News