TUCSON, Ariz.—Researchers in Arizona report that they have developed a compact device that uses a laser to determine a patient’s refractive error and eyeglass prescription. The hand-held device was developed by iCrx, a spinoff from the University of Arizona’s Wyant College of Optical Sciences. It can produce an objective and accurate eyeglass prescription in approximately 20 seconds without any subjective input from the viewer, according to the UAVenture Capital Fund (UAVC), a Tucson-based venture capital fund dedicated to the University of Arizona commercialization of discovery products, technology and services that has invested in iCrx.

UAVC did not specify the amount of its investment. However, it said the funds will be utilized to further develop and miniaturize the technology into a commercial product to be used in kiosks and/or in rapid screening of large patient populations especially in developing countries that lack sufficient facilities and specialist doctors.

Dr. Gholam Peyman, an ophthalmologist, retinal surgeon, and professor of both clinical ophthalmology and basic medical sciences at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona invented the original iCrx technology. Dr. Peyman is also the research director for the department of ophthalmology and is best known for his invention of LASIK eye surgery. University of Arizona Wyant College of Optical Sciences faculty Dr. Nasser Peyghambarian and Dr. James Schweigerling, co-inventors of the technology, have been designing the compact phoropter prototype. Several students at the University of Arizona are also working on the project.