Sightsavers partners with AI tech company to improve rural eye care

Sightsavers has teamed up with OptikosPrime to help develop an app that could enable people living in remote areas to access vision testing via smartphones.

The Denmark-based startup is working with Sightsavers to test its innovative artificial intelligence (AI) technology that uses images taken by a smartphone to assess someone’s eyesight. The tool mimics the evaluations usually carried out by an optometrist or optician.

Sightsavers is connecting OptikosPrime with in-country eye health partners across Africa and Asia to ensure the app is suitable for low-resource settings. The partnerships will enable the company to assess the tool’s performance, adapt it for varied environments and improve its ability to deliver accurate, accessible vision testing for those who need it.

Around 1.1 billion people have an untreated or preventable visual impairment, primarily because they are unable to access basic eye care services. In low and middle income countries, particularly remote areas, there is a lack of trained eye health staff and diagnostic equipment. An eye test can be life-changing, offering people a pathway to inclusion, education and economic opportunity.

Anders Kofod-Petersen, OptikosPrime’s CEO, said: “The core challenge with technologies like ours is that they are only as effective as the data they’re trained on. This collaboration with in-country eye health partners, thanks to support and connections from Sightsavers, will allow us to refine our tool with real-world data from the regions we aim to serve. Our goal is to make vision testing accessible to everyone with a smartphone, and this partnership marks a crucial step towards realising that mission.”

Sumrana Yasmin, Sightsavers’ deputy technical director for eye health and uncorrected refractive error, said: “More than 85% of people with visual impairment live in low to middle income countries, and eye health services are often less accessible in rural and remote communities. We’re supporting OptikosPrime because we see the value in its development. It has the potential to improve access to eye health services and make it more cost-effective and efficient, which will benefit the health sector and the people requiring eye health services and vision correction.”

Sightsavers and AI

Sightsavers is committed to using AI ethically and responsibly, with a focus on inclusion and safeguarding, particularly for people with disabilities. Real people and their stories will always be at the heart of Sightsavers’ work.

Sightsavers recognises the huge opportunities that AI can present and is exploring how to use it effectively across its programmes. We will never use content generated by AI to prove the impact of our work, and will always be transparent about when AI has been used.