VISION PROBLEMS should now be detected at an early age to stop severe problems later in life, thanks to a new device.

The Pediavision Assessment Solution (PVS) is a new portable device which conducts a non-evasive eye exam which should be able to detect vision problems from the age of six months.

The PVS setup, which uses an infrared camera to take digital images of the eye, consists of a small hand-held unit, a printer and a laptop with pre-installed software.

The PVS projects the infrared light into the eye, through the pupil onto the retina, which can be done from a distance of three feet - which is great for smaller children who don't like people breathing halitosis on them when inches away from their face.

Depending of whether there is a problem or not, the reflected light forms a specific brightness pattern which can be deciphered once the results are printed - which takes about five seconds.

The best feature of this device is that it can be used by those who are not vision specialists to detect eye conditions such as blurred vision, near-sightedness, long-sightedness, and even irregular corneas or lenses.

Bad Breath? No problem.

Pediavision's CEO, David Melnik says that, "Parents look to their pediatrician for early health assessments and trust their physician to thoroughly evaluate and identify any problems from birth. The PVS can now help them to asses eye problems alongside the usual checks."

Many children's vision problems go undetected as children don't know they view the world in a different way to others. This isn't helped by the fact that eye conditions rarely cause pain. This device can help in detecting problems in children when they are at their most curable age.

The PVS is scheduled to be demonstrated at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting in Boston this week, and will presumably go on to be tested by doctors after this - what remains is to see what the doctors will make of the new technology and whether they will adopt it. µ

L'Inq
Cnet