Initiative to increase access to eyeglass prescriptions in vulnerable and underserved communities

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS—PlenOptika announced a new grant program to increase access by mission- and faith-based nonprofit organizations in the US to QuickSee, the world’s most accurate handheld autorefractor. 10 grants worth $1,500 toward the purchase of a QuickSee device will be made available to 501(c)(3) organizations that deliver care services to underserved and marginalized communities domestically or internationally.

“Our founding mission is to increase access to excellent vision care to everyone in need, whether they are in emerging nations around the world or right here in our backyard,” said Shivang Dave, PhD, CEO and co-founder of PlenOptika. “With these grants, we hope to support the work of nonprofit organizations to transform the quality of life in vulnerable populations with better vision.”

Peer-reviewed research shows QuickSee produces measurements that agree strongly with subjective refraction, the gold standard for quality, helping vision care professionals to achieve clinical quality refraction anywhere, for almost anyone. A recent study published in Ophthalmology found that eyeglasses made from QuickSee measurements were accepted equally to those made from subjective refraction, suggesting that the device can help caregivers grapple with the pressing need for vision correction.

Uncorrected refractive error is a matter of major global concern, including wealthy nations. A report published by The Lancet in February 2021, “The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020,” estimated that over 1 billion people worldwide had distance- or near-vision impairment, resulting in at least $410 billion in productivity loss annually, not to mention negative impact on quality of life, education, and work opportunities.

A shortage of trained vision care professionals, concentration of clinical equipment in urban centers, and the time it takes to render prescriptions contribute to the unmet need. By enabling fast, accurate, portable autorefraction, QuickSee can help to break this bottleneck and vastly increase access to prescriptions.

“Mission- and faith-based organizations play a major role in closing the gap between vision care needs and delivery of effective exams and eyeglasses in the United States, and American missions perform critical services abroad,” noted Oscar Lazaro, PlenOptika’s Vice President of Strategic Growth Initiatives. “We’ve already supported initiatives from Texas to Uganda, where missions have given clear vision to thousands of children and adults, often for the first time in their lives. We’re excited to expand our impact by making QuickSee more accessible to the organizations doing this crucial, life-changing work.”

To learn more about the program and apply, visit https://plenoptika.com/grants/

About PlenOptika

PlenOptika designs and produces tools to help vision professionals perform their best care anywhere. Inspired to solve the global burden of poor vision, we developed QuickSee™, the world’s most accurate handheld autorefractor. Vision professionals and NGOs have used QuickSee on over 3 million patients in 45 countries to transform their lives with clear vision.

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