In Focus: Online refraction in the US stalled by legal challenges

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After years of speculation, optometry finally has its Uber, its Airbnb. Opternative, a Food & Drug Administration (FDA)–registered class 1 device and website in the US, offers online refraction for spectacle and contact lens prescriptions through a combination of a computer and a smartphone-based remote system. Whether or not it is the intention of the developers, the site has shaken up optometry.

It launched in the summer of 2015 and its existence since then has been turbulent. The company was founded in 2012 by optometrist Steven Lee and entrepreneur Aaron Dallek. The disruptive potential of the at-home 25-minute exam has seen the company, which has 19 members of staff, draw investment of over $9.5m in the early stages of funding.