Test your vision at home

Meet Blink. Blink is a new vision testing service which you can use from your home. Blink will bring the tools to your doorstep to get glasses on prescription. Doesn’t that sound great?

Blink launched in New York City and make it possible to make on-demand appointments for a vision exam. A “visioneer” will arrive with a kit developed by the MIT Media Lab so that you can take the test from anywhere. Healthcare in combination with technology is changing the way we consume healthcare services. Is this new? Well we already know Opternative which also brings you eye exams to your home. This by using your web cam. So this eye test is not as far fetched as Blink. But Opternative is also an example of location independent healthcare service.

The test is divided into several (3) parts: the first part is to go through a consultation with a visioneer. This is to discuss possible vision problems. The next step is to run through several digital games. This is done by attaching a binocular-like device to a smart phone. The last test is a standard vision test we all know. A test for reading the alphabet.

One of the main objective of Blink is to make eye exams more accessible. A single in-home/office test costs $75 without insurance, and multiple tests enjoy economy of scale. For us it is an example of technology making healthcare more accessible.