New Laser Eye Scanner Beats Existing Technology Detecting "Lazy Eye" in Preschool Children

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - Jul 10, 2014) - A new clinical study published in today's issue of JAMA Ophthalmology has identified REBIScan's Pediatric Vision Scanner (PVS) as the superior approach to testing preschool children for eye problems. The study tested for amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye," and strabismus (misaligned eyes), which, combined, are the leading causes of preventable vision loss in the United States and globally.

Study author Reed Jost, senior author Dr. Eileen Birch, and their colleagues from the Retina Foundation of the Southwest tested 300 children using the PVS (and also using Welch Allyn's SureSight Autorefractor), then conducted eye examinations in all children. In an independent study supported by the Thrasher Research Fund, they found that the PVS significantly outperformed the SureSight in sensitivity, identifying 97% of children affected by the targeted conditions, and made significantly fewer unnecessary referrals of healthy children (better specificity). The authors noted that "The failure to detect amblyopia during early childhood... is a serious health problem" and that "The PVS (which assesses alignment of the two eyes) is quick and simple to use... and is more accurate than risk factor assessment."

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Jonathan Holmes, Professor of Ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic, stated, "Perhaps the PVS should be used as more than a screener... and should be incorporated into routine clinical assessment by eye care providers..."

The PVS was co-developed by REBIScan co-founder Dr. David Hunter, Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Boston Children's Hospital. REBIScan CEO Justin Shaka stated, "The PVS is an enormous innovation in how vision screening will be performed in the future. As Dr. Holmes noted, these studies are redefining amblyopia and its treatment, and this is resonating with providers across the globe."

Each year, hundreds of thousands of children permanently lose sight due to lack of detection, yet with early detection the condition can be treated with glasses or an eye patch. REBIScan, Inc. is a medical device and data analytics firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working to achieve FDA clearance for the device; Shaka anticipates that following regulatory approval commercial sales of the device will begin in 2015.