In Pictures: 10 examples of mobile health around the world

Detecting Cataracts to Prevent Blindness

Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness in many countries. Properly identifying a patient who has a cataract usually requires expensive diagnostic equipment and skilled operators. However, the a simple device attached to a mobile phone may change the way cataracts are diagnosed in the developing nations. The MIT Media Lab has been developing a mobile phone attachment called CATRA that can accurately diagnose and measure cataracts—and can do it at a fraction of the normal cost of diagnosing a cataract. The CATRA project made the Popular Science Best of What's New 2011 list and received two $5,000 awards during the MIT Global Challenge 2011.