In August 2023, Mr. Nakayama of OUI Inc. visited India. A huge population of the country lives in rural areas, and that creates a massive challenge of accessing quality eye care. In fact, the global blindness population is 43 million, of which 12 million are said to be in India. 200 million Indians alone are in need of eye care, but unfortunately only 20% of them have access to treatment.
First, Mr. Nakayama visited the Aravind Eye Hospital in the South Indian city of Madurai. This hospital was founded in 1976 with the goal of bringing medical care to the poor. Today, it performs over 16000 examinations and 1700 surgeries per day. According to a local ophthalmologist, patients mostly suffer from cataract and diabetic retinopathy. The doctors were looking forward to seeing
the Smart Eye Camera in action, especially in screening at eye camps. With our Smart Eye Camera, they were able to capture video of the anterior segment of the eye with ease.
Next, he visited the All Indian Institute for Medical Services (AIIMS) in the capital city of Delhi. At AIIMS, every morning, optometrists travel to rural areas for community outreach programs, where now our Smart Eye Camera will be used for screening. We also had a fruitful meeting regarding collaboration on the development of medical devices for more inclusive eye care!
Through this visit, we were able to see the potential of Smart Eye Camera for the people of the most populous country in the world! OUI Inc. will continue to work with local ophthalmologists and medical professionals to overcome preventable blindness and visual impairment in India and around the world.
