awarded to PlenOptika in the United States for their QuickSee handheld autorefractor

[Chris Ryser]

PR Newswire March 2, 2017

Essilor Announces Finalists in See Change Challenge to Improve Access to Vision Care in Underserved Populations

CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France and CLEVELAND, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Essilor, world leader in ophthalmic optics, and NineSigma, global innovation firm, announced today that three innovators have been chosen to move to the final phase in the Essilor See Change Challenge. The purpose of this worldwide initiative is to discover solutions that can improve lives by providing better access to vision care. The three finalists will each be awarded €25,000 in cash. They include:

· Adaptive EyeWorks Bvba, Belgium
· IPSELIOS SAS, France
· TEAMS Design USA, Inc., USA

A special Grand Jury Prize will also be awarded to PlenOptika in the United States for their QuickSee handheld autorefractor unit solution.

"Poor vision is a global public health issue and Essilor is committed to improving the lives of people everywhere by improving their sight," said Hubert Sagnières,Chairman and CEO, Essilor. "We are excited that the See Change Challenge Has helped us uncover new scalable approaches that can help improve access toprimary vision care in underserved communities."
GrandChallenges like the See Change Challenge are a form of Open Innovation, which helps organizations to address global social issues by leveraging new technologies through a crowd sourcing approach. These public challenges tap into a worldwide community of scientific and technical experts with actionable solutions. Solution providers are able to earn prize money, achieve visibility for their solutions, and create new channels to further their work.


Solution providers in fifteen countries submitted proposals that included apps that run on smartphones, separate devices that work with smart phones, and devices that do not require computing power. These innovators had backgrounds in areas such as optical engineering, software development, public health and design.
"We are pleased to be working with Essilor on this important challenge. These innovators have risen to the top with their creative, portable solutions that have the ability to change the way people gain access to eye care. It is exciting to see solution providers apply their technologies to our increasingly mobile world," said Andy Zynga, CEO, NineSigma.

Upto two winners will be selected and announced by Essilor in July 2017. For more information and updates on the challenge, please visit https://ninesights.ninesigma.com/web/essilor.

[Chris Ryser]

A special Grand Jury Prize will also be awarded to PlenOptika in the United States for their QuickSee handheld autorefractor unit solution.

I wondered what this was all about, and found their website, and one can see what it is all about, and who is involved:

The QuickSee was born from the Madrid-MIT M+VisioThe QuickSee was born from the Madrid-MIT Vision Consortium. The four founders of PlenOptika were in the inaugural cohort of M+Vision Fellows and have led the project from conception, through clinical trials, to product development.

· Spring 2012: The founders of PlenOptika invent a new technique to perform accurate and low-cost wavefront aberrometry. They establish collaborations with Professor Susana Marcos and Professor Frank Thorn.


· Summer 2012: PlenOptika implement their inventions in a low-cost, handheld device called the QuickSee.



see at:============>
http://plenoptika.com/project