EyeSite kiosk at Discover Mills encourages preventive care

Deanna Williams and Keith Rozier spotted a small kiosk in the food court at Discover Mills near Duluth.

It looked like a photo booth, with a seat and a screen. But the snap shots would be of Rozier’s vision.

The kiosk offers free eye exams to all comers, telling folks which eye works better, whether they need to see a doctor and where they can go for an exam.

The bespectacled Rozier, 20, gets regular eye exams. But routine eye exams are something people don’t bother about.

Not until there’s a problem do they visit an eye professional, said Barbara Myers, with Prevent Blindness Georgia.

Her organization hopes the EyeSite kiosk changes people’s behavior.

The EyeSite at Discover Mills will be there 90 days, and others will be at other locations in metro Atlanta, including North Point Mall in Alpharetta.

SoloHealth, a Duluth company, spent four years developing the EyeSite, founder Bart Foster said. It uses proprietary software that mimics a real-life eye exam.

But Foster is quick to stress that it doesn’t replace an office visit.

“What we want to do is drive consumers to get eye exams,” he said. “And educate them about eye health in general.”