SOLIDWORKS Entrepreneur: PlenOptika Assists Optometrist in the Process to Prescribe Eyeglasses

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Over a billion people worldwide suffer from poor vision because they do not have the eyeglasses they need. While there are affordable eyeglasses that can be bought for less than $4, there are not enough eye care professionals to prescribe eyeglasses. PlenOptika created QuickSee to increase the throughput of optometrists, allowing them to prescribe more eyeglasses and make more money.

QuickSee is an innovative, handheld auto-refractor that provides highly accurate measurements at the push of a button. The increase accuracy comes from the custom hardware and software which have been test designed and iterated with various prototypes. After multiple clinical studies, PlenOptika has created an easy to use device that has been tested by many thoughtful users.

PlenOptika has worked with over 1300 patients and in 5 countries. It has come a long way from the Madrid-MIT M+Vision Consortium back in the spring of 2012. PlenOptika has participated in and been supported by the MIT $100k Entrepreneurship Competition, MassChallenge, MIT-MISTI India Technology Innovation Fund, Harvard Innovation Launch Lab, SPIE Startup Challenge, Hult Prize, Indo-US Science Technology Forum Endowment fund, and National Institutes of Health SBIR program.

I met with the Co-Founder and CEO, Shivang Dave, Ph.D., at PlenOptika’s office at the Harvard Innovation Launch Lab. We sat down and had a great conversation. I asked what it is like starting and working at PlenOptika. Shivang laughed, “You are hungry and tired a lot. But, we remain hopeful and driven by optimism. The team has put in a lot of years. We have been redesigning QuickSee in preparation for manufacturing. For our later-stage prototypes and design for manufacturing we used SOLIDWORKS. The SOLIDWORKS Entrepreneurs program has been incredibly crucial for our progress over the last year and the SOLIDWORKS team has be genuinely helpful. Everyone on the team knows it and, it is compatible, familiar to, and preferred by our design and manufacturing partners.”

Shivang let me test out QuickSee. I inquired if he would be able to tell me my prescription from the results. “QuickSee does not give prescriptions. It is a tool to help doctors speed up the process to get people the correct eye glass prescription by measuring the refracture errors in the eye.”

PlenOptika is preparing to bring QuickSee to market this fall and open a warehouse in October.

Thank you to Shivang Dave, Ph.D. and PlenOptika for being SOLIDWORKS Entrepreneurs and sharing with our community.

Isabelle Smith

Education and Early Engagement Intern at SOLIDWORKS at Dassault Systems SOLIDWORKS
Isabelle Smith is the Education and Early Engagement Intern for SOLIDWORKS. Focused on helping Startups and Entrepreneurs reach their highest potential, Isabelle strives to continually increase her knowledge on the Startup world. She has worked with Entrepreneurs at numerous startup events, competitions, workshops and accelerators. Isabelle looks forward to continuing her career with startups world wide.