OptiCare wins Rep. James P. McGovern’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Massachusetts’ Second District

When asked what inspired the creation of OptiCare, the student said, “I was inspired to create OptICare after visiting India the summer going into my junior year of high school. One day, we decided to visit my uncle’s house, and I vividly remember what a few of our family friends said to us on the ride there: ‘He owns one of the best eye clinics in the area.’. Once we got there, I was expecting to see something similar to the clinic I go to in the US, but was surprised to see that it wasn’t as advanced or had as many resources.

At that point, I realized just how severe the lack of eye care was in rural populations. One of the best clinics in an underserved community couldn’t compare to a normal clinic in my hometown. After learning more about his clinic, I was determined to increase the accessibility to eye care in rural populations. As a result, when we had the opportunity to complete a research project in whatever we wanted to in school, I decided to create OptiCare.

Through working under researchers at Harvard Medical School and also talking to my uncle throughout the process of developing OptiCare, I focused my efforts on creating a mobile application for cataracts and glaucoma diagnosis that would truly be accessible to everyone.  Research has shown me that diagnostic tools such as fundus cameras and tonometers can often reach tens of thousands of dollars. Even the at-home type is often in the thousands. By using 3D printing and truly learning the science behind the diagnosis of glaucoma/cataracts, I made a prototype of OptiCare that uses technology that can be assembled at home. If there is access to a 3D printer, OptiCare only requires cents to build, and the mobile application (when published) will be free.

Through building OptiCare, I learned about the importance of accessibility in healthcare. I will continue building OptiCare to help prevent millions of people from severe vision loss. ”