Lion's Club MTI equipment detects U.P. children's vision
REPUBLIC -- They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
For hundreds of children in the U.P., these pictures may be worth much more than that...they could protect their ability to see.
The Lion's Club is using cameras, called MTI photo screeners, at schools and events across the U.P., free of charge, to detect eight types of visual impairments.
Up to five percent of children, ages one through five, have some type of visual impairment. Through Project Kidsight, the Lion's Club is hoping to clear up these problems.
It works like this: parents register children under the age of six for the test, and a trained Lion's Club volunteer snaps two pictures of the child's eyes with the MTI equipment. The photos are sent to the University of Michigan Hospital and assessed by specialists; the results are sent back to the parents. If a potential problem is found, the parents are referred to an eye specialist.
The Lion's Club says they know their work is helping; they've got letters from grateful parents to prove it.
"It feels like being a lion. This is what we want to do, help the community," says Don Conners of the Crystal Falls Lion's Club.
A new digital form of the MTI camera, producing immediate results, is now available, but for now, funding is a problem.
"The Lion's Club truly needs community support, really, really strong community support, so we can continue to help the children," says Karen Stroobants of the Republic Lion's Club.
Several U.P. optometrists say this screening can be effective at finding potential problems in some young children but recommend bringing kids in for a full testing at a licensed doctor's office.
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