A team from London has invented a new smartphone app that lets healthcare professionals remotely examine the eyes of patients all over the world.

The app named "Peek" just needs a smartphone and a low-cost adaptor to enable the tests to be made anywhere and anytime in the world.

Like Us on Facebook

The adaptor is clipped over a smartphone camera to examine the inside of a person's eye and capture high-quality images for diagnosis. Other conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure can also be detected by the app.

The creator of Peek, Dr. Andrew Bastawrous, said there are over 39 million blind persons. He believes 80 percent of blindness is avoidable but victims had no access to eye care.

The kit works only with Samsung S3 so the group needs funding to make it universal. It also doesn't have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration so it's only available in London.

The team that made the examination kit has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise more money for the innovation, which is to be used to help people in far-flung areas.

The team has allowed pledgers to buy the kit for US$95 or pay for it to be sent to health workers. They've partnered with Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

The team received funding from The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in 2013 and they will use the funds to test the kit for five years. The target communities are Botswana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and the UK.

The team that developed the innovation consists of eye care specialists, software developers and product designers aiming to deliver high-quality eye care all over the world.

Team member are from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Strathclyde and the NHS Glasgow Centre for Ophthalmic Research.

Tagssmartphone app, PEEK, London, eye testing, KIT, health care workers, test anywhere, anytime, portable