DarkRoom
DarkRoom · TeachMeMedical, Inc.

A retina exam in a dark headset.

An eye doctor's picture of the back of the eye, taken by a headset almost anyone can wear. The darkness inside opens the pupil, so no drops. Software reads the picture and says who needs a doctor.

US patent allowed 2026 NSF SBIR Phase I invited Target cost under $100
Rendered in Blender from DPK's design
Watch · 1½ minutes

The idea, from the retina specialist who started it.

Narrated by Paul J. Lee, MD. Animation and prototype photos. Captions on by default.

The problem

Blindness from diabetes and macular degeneration is caught too late.

Both are leading causes of preventable blindness, and both show up on a picture of the retina years before sight is lost. The cameras that take that picture are expensive, stay in eye clinics and need a trained person to run them. Most people at risk are never photographed.

Clinic retina camera$15k–$30kFixed in the clinic. Trained operator. Often dilating drops.
DarkRoom headset< $100Target cost at volume. Wear it in a pharmacy, a clinic or a village.
Who runs itNo oneTarget lights and one focus knob replace the operator's hand skill.
In use

Sit down, put it on, look at the light.

Clay-style patient seated in an exam chair wearing the white headset
Rendered in Unreal Engine 5.8
Close view of the patient's head in the headset with its strap
Rendered in Unreal Engine 5.8

The goal for the first year: 8 in 10 untrained people get a usable picture in under two minutes.

Next twelve months · NSF SBIR Phase I

Six goals, each with a number that passes or fails.

  1. M1

    Version 2 build with parts costing $100 or less at 1,000 units.

  2. M2

    Even, eye-safe light with no dark spot, inside ISO 15004-2 limits.

  3. M3

    Focus on real eyes: 90% usable pictures from −6 to +4 glasses strength.

  4. M4

    No training needed: 80% usable pictures in under 2 minutes, 50 people.

  5. M5

    The AI read holds up: catches 90% of diabetic eye disease in 150 eyes against a full exam.

  6. M6

    Out in the field: 100 screenings at 2 sites outside the clinic.

For partners and reviewers

The full project file is for approved partners.

  • How it works: the optical design, the seven parts and five years of prototypes
  • The NSF SBIR application and task list
  • Patent filings, US 18/386,175
  • Five years of build photos and full-size renders
  • Contacts and registrations
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Inventor
Paul J. Lee, MD, retina specialist
Engineering
DPK Technology, Western New York
Patent
US 18/386,175, allowed June 2026
Company
TeachMeMedical, Inc.