This might be an X-Prize level challenge, but doesn't seem like it really should be. The idea is for some kind of device that would allow an opthamalogist to do microscopic eye surgeries in remote, non-sterile locations.
That's a a large load of challenges in one little sentence, but taken separately, they ought to be doable. Either by the mad tinkerer in a garage or by a driven team at a giant medical equipment company. I hope somebody picks it up. Here you go!
Blindness from surgically repairable issues is rife in the developing world and even in the back-road parts of first-world countries. In many cases, such as with lens replacement for cataracts, the procedures are nearly as routine as having a tooth filled. But an eye is, of course, quite a bit more delicate than a tooth; needing both more delicacy and more caution on the side of sterility.
The objective here is to make a device that allows a very small surgical team, transplanted to some remote area of the earth, to execute delicate, sterile and safe operations on human eyes.
Naturally it must have all of the features and tools necessary to a proper opthalmic surgical system -- stability, minute and accurate manipulability, and so on -- but it also needs to be totally portable. Maybe fixed into a small van or container, but it must be easily transportable to rural locations. If it was small enough to pack into a few cases, that would be even better.
With so many people in the world dealing with surgically correctable vision issues, this is very much an urgent need. I hope somebody has picked up the challenge already, but, if not, take this idea and run with it.
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