Warby Parker will pilot a mobile app-based eye test over the summer. It's called Prescription Check, and it uses unique technology to make sure the user is the correct distance away from the screen during the test, Inc. reports. The test requires a smartphone and another computer. According to Inc.: "The team considered everything from tape measures to sonar before hitting on a clever hack in which a phone's camera determines distance by measuring the size of objects on the computer screen, a solution for which Warby was granted a patent last year." The test will put Warby Parker at odds with regulators and, to a greater extent than ever, optometrists, the magazine notes. Some states already restrict mobile eye tests such as those offered by Opternative. Maryland optometrist Alan Glazier tells Inc.: "You could have glaucoma or diabetes, and only a doctor is going to check for that. [These apps] want to eliminate doctors from the process, and that's horrible." Warby Parker's website states that the app "isn’t meant to replace a comprehensive eye exam." The company explains that after the test, "An eye doctor will assess whether your vision has changed since your last prescription. If it hasn’t changed, the doctor will write you an updated prescription that you can use anywhere! If it has, the doctor may recommend that you get a comprehensive eye exam. You can expect to hear back from us within 24 hours either way." Read more at Inc. reports Warby Parker to Pilot a Mobile App It uses 'a clever hack' The Stomach-Churning Truth About Counterfeit Contact Lenses Written by INVISION Staff 25 May 2017 They're a 'considerable threat to consumer health and safety.' Counterfeit contact lenses are just as gross as you thought, if not grosser, new research has found. Scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Forensic Chemistry Center "examined over 300 decorative, noncorrective contact lenses obtained without a prescription," according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Those are the type that some people wear as part of a Halloween costume. Popular Science reports that most of the contacts studied came from the internet and places such as novelty stores, while others came from approved manufacturers. The researchers noted that by law, contact lenses of any type can only be obtained with a prescription. The researchers checked the lenses for microbes. They stated: "Our observations indicate that 60% of the counterfeit lenses and 27% of the unapproved lenses examined were positive for microbial contamination. Twenty-nine different brands of noncorrective contact lenses were examined, and 48% of them had at least one sample positive for microbial contamination." Popular Science noted that among the group of approved contact lenses, less than 3 percent had contamination. "These results support the contention that acquiring contact lenses without a prescription is a considerable threat to consumer health and safety," the scientists wrote. Contaminated contact lenses, they explained, "are associated with numerous health risks, including ocular infections and conjunctivitis leading to permanent visual impairment or blindness." Read more at Popular Science Page 7