Countess of Wessex using Peek Retina in Malawi.
Credit: QEDJT
Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex took a photo of the back of an eye using Peek Retina during a visit to eye health programmes in Malawi last week.
She tried out the latest version of the cutting-edge smartphone camera adapter with the help of Peek’s Evidence Lead Nigel Bolster.
Nigel showed the Countess how Peek Retina, which will shortly go on general release as a fully certified medical device, has been developed and improved since she last saw a prototype in 2015.
The Countess was in Malawi to see the impact of activities funded by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trustto end avoidable blindness and champion young leaders.
Peek carries out research in a number of countries as part of the Commonwealth Eye Health Consortiumcoordinated by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and funded by the Trust.
The Countess, who is Vice Patron of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, visited Lilongwe’s Kamuzu Hospital and Mchesi Primary school to see how the Consortium is building long term capacity to deliver quality eye care service. After meeting Malawian scholars and fellows, she watched patients and schoolchildren having their eyes examined with Peek. As well as using Peek Retina, she also tried out the Peek Acuity app on a pupil as part of a demonstration of the Peek school screening app to test pupils’ vision and enable easy and efficient collection of data for referrals and follow-up treatment.
Nigel, who helped design Peek Retina, said: “The Countess was really interested to hear how far Peek has come and to see for herself how easy Peek Retina makes it for people to take very accurate pictures of the back of the eye.
“We are grateful for her and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust’s support and feel optimistic that creating the right tools and knowledge will enable healthcare providers in Malawi and elsewhere to provide quality, sustainable eye and health care to everyone.”