Vision is valuable, and Pr3vent's mission is to protect it - especially in newborns. Screening and early intervention are powerful tools, and hospitals working with Pr3vent make this available to parents. Even babies who appear healthy may suffer from conditions which carry the risk of serious and potentially permanent vision deficits. Most pathologies are associated with the back of the eye - the retina - and trained experts can identify them in images.
Vision screening is well tolerated and very effective. Pr3vent's screen relies on images covering the entire back of the eye (retina). The images are sent to Pr3vent so that professional graders at Stanford University identify the newborns who have referrable abnormality. The result is immediately delivered to the ordering physician who will determine further examination by a suitable ophthalmologist.
Retina imaging in newborns has been performed in more than 300,000 babies across the world without any adverse event; it is even used on premature babies. Pr3vent’s imaging is performed by specially trained nurses, is faster (5 minutes), and more comfortable for the baby than direct ophthalmoscopy performed by a doctor over the course of an hour.
The only formalized newborn eye screening is the Red Reflex Exam (RRE), recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This test should be performed at every well child exam until age 18. Even though the RRE detects media opacities such as corneal scars, cataracts, pupillary seclusion, vitreous hemorrhage and retinoblastoma, it misses retina pathologies and has very low sensitivity.