有了这款设备，用户可以在家配眼镜

智能手机改变了我们监控健康的方式，手机APP可以记录我们每天行走的步数，优化饮食，分析睡眠模式。但讽刺的是，这个我们每天都要盯着看好几个小时的设备却没怎么帮我们提高视力。

一家名为EyeQue的初创公司希望生产一种可以让用户在家里用手机自行检测视力的设备，来填补这一空白；不久之前，视力测试还只能由验光师完成。用户只需把设备连接到智能手机上，透过该设备看手机，即可完成视力测试，这样他们就能在网上配眼镜了。

用户必须要移动他们从设备里看到的红线和黄线，直到它们重合形成黄条。线条达到重合所需的移动量和用户屈光不正的度数相对应（屈光不正指患者的眼睛形状无法正确弯曲光线，导致视力模糊）。

根据EyeQue的说法，目前用户已经用该设备进行了大约5万次检测。

EyeQue的计算在云端完成，数据也同样储存在云端。该公司建议至少要在不同日期的不同时间测三次。EyeQue表示，用它们的设备测视力需要的时间很短，但往往比眼科医生当面测出的结果更准确。

“这是因为你看眼科医生是一次性的。”EyeQue的首席运营官兼首席技术官约翰·塞里说：“你那天可能情绪不佳。你可能会紧张。医生可能很赶时间。我们的做法是在不同时间进行多次测试。通过取平均值，能得出更准确的结果。”

尽管如此，赛里强调EyeQue不是要取代验光师，因为验光师还可以检查青光眼、黄斑变性、白内障等其它问题。虽然EyeQue的检测结果包括配镜所需的球镜、柱镜和轴位等三个关键参数，但显然不能称为处方，因为处方（严格来说）只能由医生开具，不过配镜参数仍然可以供线上眼镜商使用。

然而一些了解EyeQue的验光师表示，他们认为该设备其实能促进人们更多地咨询专业医疗人员。

“我认为正确使用、经常使用EyeQue实际上可以让患者更早查明病因、接受治疗，因为患者在家里就可以经常做检查。”了解EyeQue的英国验光师保罗·吉普森说。

他认为该服务以后会加入人工智能等工具，可以提醒用户注意潜在的问题，测量用户的反应速度。还可以提醒用户向验光师寻求治疗，并帮他们预约。

该设备还有其他优点，比如价格。个人视力测量跟踪仪的售价是30美元; 预计今年推出的新版本可能会卖50到70美元。这比很多人找验光师花的钱要少。

用户还必须注册EyeQue账户（第二年起每年需支付4.99美元），他们可以在云端存储个人数据以及和视力有关的各类定制报告。这样便于他们向验光师提供相关信息。

吉普森表示，如果有这些数据，就无需再让验光师做评估，可以少花10分钟。他说，EyeQue或Visibly、Lensabl等同类产品提供的服务可以减少购买眼镜或隐形眼镜验光时可能出现的“巨大摩擦”，这只是其中一个例子。

然而并非每个验光师都准备好完全接受这项技术了。美国眼科学会（American Academy of Ophthalmology）的临床发言人迈克尔·雷普卡医生表示，他知道有几家公司提供视力测试，但还没听说过任何用手机查视力的公司。虽然对于行业而言，这一发展看起来肯定大受欢迎，但也有其局限性。

“消费者显然想要这些服务——能够看到自己的信息，然后用这些信息寻求专业护理。”雷普卡说。“但这显然不适合小孩，他们也不是[EyeQue]的推广目标。我[也]不知道这些系统对有视网膜问题或白内障的老年患者效果如何。”

EyeQue的赛里表示，他也知道刚刚起步的家用眼科检查行业——进一步说就是EyeQue——要想赢得信任，需要迎接诸多挑战。他表示，这就是为什么该公司的关注重点并非营销，而是拓展与专业领域的关系，包括成为符合医疗行业隐私规则《健康保险流通与责任法案》（HIPAA）合规性的应用程序，目前还没有成功。

“眼睛保健业务在远程医疗方面并没有太多进展。”塞里说。“但我们和一部分人谈过，他们都表现出极大的兴趣……[虽然]这是一个全新的市场。我们正在推出一些能够改变消费者行为的东西……我们不着急。我们目前主要集中精力进行技术开发，而非大规模的营销推广。”（财富中文网）

译者：Agatha

Smartphones have revolutionized how we monitor our health by giving us apps that do things like tracking the number of steps we take, helping us eat better, and analyzing our sleep patterns. But ironically, the device we stare at— hours daily, for many people—hasn’t done much in terms of helping us see better.

A startup called EyeQue is hoping to change that with a device that lets people use their phones to test their visual acuity at home, something that not long ago could only be done by optometrists. Users attach the device to their smartphones and then look through it to measure their vision so that they can order glasses online.

Users must move red and yellow lines they see through the device until those lines overlap to form a yellow bar. The amount of movement necessary for the lines to overlap corresponds to their refractive error (the shape of their eye that doesn’t bend light correctly, resulting in blurred vision).

To date, the devices have run roughly 50,000 tests, says EyeQue.

The calculations are done—and stored—in the cloud. And the company suggests users take at least three readings at different times on different days. The process, which takes just moments to complete, is more accurate than what is typically provided by an in-person appointment with a local eye doctor, the company says.

“The reason for that is when you go to the eye doctor, it’s one moment in time,” says John Serri, chief operating officer and chief technical officer of EyeQue. “You may be having a bad day. You may be nervous. The doctor may be in a hurry. What we do is different measures over time. We’re able to average it out. and we get a better result.”

That said, Serri emphasizes that EyeQue isn’t meant as a replacement for optometrists, who also check for problems like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and cataracts. And the results given for sphere, cylinder and axis—the three key readings required to get the proper lenses—are explicitly not called prescriptions, since those (technically) can only be written by a doctor, but they can still be used with some online eyeglass vendors.

Still, some optometrists who are familiar with EyeQue, say they believe the tool could actually encourage people to visit medical professionals more than they otherwise would.

“I think that the EyeQue, used correctly and regularly, could actually speed up identification and treatment of pathology due to more frequent screening at home,” says Paul Gibson, an optometrist in the UK who is familiar with EyeQue.

He expects that the service will add tools like artificial intelligence that could alert users to potential problems and measure reaction speed. Users could then be alerted to seek care from an optometrist and get help booking the appointment.

There are other advantages, like price. A personal vision tracker sells for $30; an updated version expected this year will likely cost $50 to $70. That’s less than what many people fork over as co-payments for their optometrist visits.

Users must also register for an EyeQue account ($4.99 per year after the first year), which lets them store their data and any customized reports about their vision in the cloud. In that way, they can more easily share that information with their optometrist.

Gibson said that users who have their data can avoid a 10-minute evaluation with their optometrist. It’s just one example of how services like EyeQue, or competitors like Visibly or Lensabl, reduces “the massive friction” in getting vision measurements for buying glasses or contact lenses, he said.

Not every optometrist is yet ready to sign on fully to the technology. Dr. Michael Repka, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, says there are several companies offering refraction testing, though he hasn’t heard of any that use mobile phones. And while it certainly seems to be a welcome evolution to the industry, there are limitations.

“This is what consumers clearly want—the ability to see this themselves, then use that information to go seek professional care,” says Repka. “It’s certainly not something that’s appropriate for young children, though—and [EyeQue is] not marketing it to them. I [also] don’t know how well these systems will do for older patients who have retinal issues or cataract issues.”

Serri, from EyeQue, says he’s also aware of the challenges in terms of trust surrounding the start-up at-home eye exam industry, and by extension EyeQue. That’s why, he says, the company is focusing less on marketing and more on developing professional relationships, including becoming complaint with HIPAA, the healthcare industry’s privacy rules—something it currently is not.

“There’s not much happening in the eye care business in telemedicine,” Serri says. “But the people we’ve talked to show a lot of interest in it. … This is a brand new market [though]. We’re bringing out something that changes behavior in consumers. … We’re not in a rush. We’re putting more effort in defining our technology rather than pushing large scale marketing efforts.”