Ocunetra wins Rep. John Carter’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’s 31st District

When asked what inspired the creation of Ocunetra, the students said, “In the 1980s, life in rural India was unbearably hard. Every day was a battle to put food on the table, leaving little room for anything else. Amartya’s grandfather, who had glaucoma, a complication of diabetic retinopathy, could barely see, making life especially difficult for his mother as a child. The nearest place for surgery was hours away, and his grandfather couldn’t leave his family for that long, for he feared what would become of them if he did. Slowly, his vision faded, worsening to near blindness, leaving him helpless with even the most basic of tasks. Yet he never stopped working, carrying the weight of his family on hands that he could no longer see clearly. Hearing the stories from his mother of his grandfather struggling but powerless to fix his situation left an ache in all of our hearts.

“Inspired by stories like his around the globe, we wanted to develop an app that could help bring eye care accessibility around the world and never allow anyone to struggle like that again. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.1 billion people live with undiagnosed but reversible eye conditions around the world, often in remote or underserved areas with little to no access to specialists. In fact, there are only 31 ophthalmologists per million people worldwide, and in rural South Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa, that number falls to fewer than 4 per million. By contrast, smartphone ownership in these regions now exceeds 70-80 percent, meaning phones are hundreds of times more available than trained eye-care providers.

“Globally, preventable or treatable conditions like cataracts and diabetic retinopathy account for nearly 80% of all blindness, meaning timely diagnosis could save millions of people by allowing them to seek out treatment. Many of these individuals lose their independence, struggle with daily tasks, or even face life-threatening consequences due to delayed or unavailable treatment. With our app, we can provide a way for people to diagnose themselves, so they can receive further care accordingly. We strive to diagnose ocular diseases globally and ensure that no one has to face the helplessness that Amartya’s grandfather did – struggling in the dark.”