Ground-breaking technology has brought us from the Big Dipper to the mobile phone.
The vision test in ancient times was based on the identification of constellations in the night sky. A common basic test used the double star of the Big Dipper — the second star from the end of the “handle” is an optical double star. The ability to perceive the separation of those two stars, Mizar and Alcor, was one of the first visual acuity tests, now known as the Arab Eye Test.1
Coming forward through the centuries, vision exams have benefitted from the advent of the Snellen chart (the traditional eye chart with letters progressively getting smaller) for visual acuity testing, the phoropter and autorefractor for refraction… and now the smartphone.
Online vision tests
It is becoming common for eyewear retailers to offer a “virtual vision test” — most commonly resulting in a renewal of their current prescription. These exams often use only a mobile phone and are usually based on a visual acuity test conducted with the user wearing their current glasses or contacts.
Simply put, a visual acuity test measures how clearly a user sees. If this type of acuity check using current eyewear verifies that the user can still well with their current prescription, a prescription renewal can be issued upon review by an eye care professional (ECP).
Other visual acuity tests (like myRx™ Acuity Check) provide a pass/fail result, prompting one of the following:
- Pass: giving customers confidence to shop online with their current prescription
- Fail: recommendation to schedule an appointment for an eye exam to get a new prescription
The world’s first online refraction exam
Determining if a patient has a refractive error — and therefore a need for vision adjustment — has been much more difficult to translate to a digital experience. However, there is now a solution available for established single-vision glasses and contact lens wearers to obtain a new prescription… using only their smartphone.
Earlier this year, Luna was thrilled to unveil myRx™ Refraction Exam — the first online subjective refraction exam that enables users to get a new ECP-approved prescription using only a mobile phone. This ground-breaking technology combines deep knowledge of optic physics and eye biology with the latest in device technology to create a clinically accurate online solution.
Creating convenience by unblocking the challenges of working hours and geography, myRx™ Refraction Exam is positioned to change not only how patients obtain new prescriptions, but also how ECPs can prescribe them.
Of course, online acuity tests and vision exams are no substitute for regular eye health visits with a doctor. They are vision-specific and cannot check for health conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, infections, or injuries.
To learn more about myRx™ Refraction Exam, myRx™ Acuity Check, or Luna’s other myRx™ prescription products, please contact us.
Sources
1 Bohigian GM. An ancient eye test—using the stars. Surv Ophthalmol. 2008 Sep-Oct;53(5):536-9. doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2008.06.009. PMID: 18929764.
