MIT Media Lab recently organised an innovation workshop on ‘Engineering The Eye’ jointly with L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) as the ophthalmology partner in Hyderabad. The main aim was to perceive a new education process and see how eye health can be addressed by engineers and doctors.

This workshop brought together students from across India to work meticulously with clinicians over seven days to develop fully functional prototypes which address both prevention of blindness and enable people with existing vision damage to lead fuller, productive lives.

The event was partnered with MIT Tata Centre for Technology and Design, BITS Pilani: Hyderabad, and Perkins School for the Blind.

“The event was part of a broader initiative, with the MIT - Tata Centre for Technology and Design which helped advanced propagation of design concepts and technologies which are pertinent to global societal challenges and needs,” said Dr Anthony Vipin Das, clinical associate, Cornea and Anterior Segment Services at L V Prasad Eye Institute.

This workshop is part of the Design Innovation Series organised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to share the institute’s interdisciplinary research, design and development cultures and inculcate an attitude of hands-on creative learning, and the students conducted usability testing for their prototypes at LVPEI.

“The event ended will full fervor leaving participants and volunteers appreciate and comprehend how complex ideas and challenging problems can be deciphered, discussed through prototyping and applicative demonstrations,” said Ramesh Raskar, associate professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab.

All the students engaged in a comprehensive pipeline of device designs: from ideation, to project definition, to prototyping, to user testing, and finally to presentation and demonstration of their achievements in an exhibition. All the participants interacted with the world’s most renowned scientists and doctors in a continuing cooperative development process that enabled not only free-flowing exchange of ideas but also conception of the future of industry. They also accessed to rapid prototyping technology, including 3D scanners, 3D printers, cutting edge microcontroller circuitry, and state of the art optics, imagers, and electronics. Volunteers present at the event were exposed to the same expertise and technologies as the participants and received certificates of participation.