Innovative OCR solution enhances eyewear retail efficiency, automating RX transcription for improved customer experience and operational streamlining.
This U.S.-based client produces at-home vision-testing hardware that attaches to a user's smartphone, allowing users to measure their refractive error and other vision metrics in a short, guided test without an in-person clinic visit.
The hardware is offered in a consumer bundle that includes the device, a doctor-reviewed prescription, custom try-on glasses mailed to the user before they commit to frames, and a retesting period so changes in vision can be tracked over time. Results sync to a companion app, where they can be routed to a licensed eye care professional, who can issue a prescription based on the at-home results. Because remote vision testing is governed by state telehealth rules, eligibility is not uniform, and the platform has to apply logic on a per-user basis
Coherent's engagement began after the client brought in a new CTO who inherited a mobile and backend platform built by a previous vendor. Part of the mandate was simply figuring out what that platform actually was: the mobile app existed across four separate code repositories, and none of them matched the version live in the app stores. The team ended up sourcing old laptops from the previous development team just to track down the most recent working code.
At a glance
Client: A consumer vision-testing company
Industry: Fitness & Wellness, Healthcare & Biotech
Challenge: The client inherited a fragmented, undocumented mobile and backend codebase from a previous vendor, and needed it stabilized, restructured, and extended to support a new vision-testing hardware device while keeping cloud costs in check.
Outcome: A rebuilt platform running with three new environments — development, QA, and production. Creation of a new backend API to support the client's newest hardware device while cutting monthly cloud costs by roughly 81%. Continued support from Coherent Solutions as an ongoing support and enhancement partner.
Coherent's role: Full-stack delivery across mobile, backend, DevOps, QA, and project management, from the initial codebase rebuild through ongoing enhancement.
Building connected digital ecosystems that power great fitness brands
Coherent Solutions has spent years helping clients in the fitness and wellness industry navigate digitization and connected ecosystems. Now, we’ve created a specialized practice, AKTIV, to concentrate that experience and keep pushing our digital fitness capabilities further. AKTIV comprises hundreds of engineers worldwide, hyper-focused on building intelligent digital platforms that power the world's leading fitness brands.
AKTIV’s client work spans mobile apps, e-commerce, DevOps, data platforms, and device integration, but the common thread is technology that must work at scale for members, operators, and equipment manufacturers who demand world-class fitness experiences.
The challenge
An undocumented, fragmented codebase
Before building the API or writing new code, Coherent needed to identify the code currently driving the client’s companion app. With no product requirements documentation and four mismatched repositories to sort through, they had to cross-reference what was on old developer laptops against the live versions in the app stores.
No environment separation and rising cloud costs
The client’s systems and software were running in a single environment — without a clear separation between development, QA, and production — which increased the likelihood of issues like cascading errors. Additionally, cloud infrastructure spend was disproportionate to the size of the product, running close to $8,000 per month.
New hardware, new math
The client was bringing a new device to market that paired with the user’s smartphone and measured refractive error using patented optical technology. Coherent needed to build the backend logic that would take the client's proprietary formula, apply it to raw device measurements, and return an accurate, prescription-ready result.
Our approach
With little formal documentation to lean on, Coherent’s team relied on frequent, direct conversations with the client’s technical staff to confirm new features as they completed each step of the project:
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Codebase archaeology and consolidation: engineers worked through the four mismatched mobile repositories, cross-referenced them against the live app store build, and reconstructed the most current working codebase before making any changes.
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Environment separation: introduced dedicated development, QA, and production environments in place of the single, undifferentiated setup the client had been running.
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Cloud infrastructure cleanup: rebuilt cloud build pipelines and restructured infrastructure, improving reliability, while bringing monthly cloud costs down from roughly $8,000 to about $1,500, an 81% reduction.
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New device API: built a new backend API, on a Grails and Java/Spring stack, that takes raw measurements from the client's new refraction-testing hardware, applies the client's formula, and returns validated results ready for review by a licensed doctor.
The solution
Today, the platform supports a complete at-home vision-testing workflow. Users complete a guided assessment with the client's hardware, results are processed through Coherent-built backend logic, and outcomes are routed to a licensed eye care professional for a prescription. The underlying infrastructure now runs across separate dev, QA, and production environments at a fraction of its previous cloud cost, giving the client a stable foundation to build on as it brings new devices to market.
The impact
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81% reduction in monthly cloud costs, from about $8,000 to about $1,500
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New device API delivered in about 9 months, supporting the client's newest hardware line
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New development, QA, and production environments to replace the client’s single setup, consolidating four mismatched mobile repositories into one working codebase
What's next
Through AKTIV, Coherent’s dedicated fitness and wellness practice, the company will continue to support the client’s ongoing platform enhancements across mobile, backend, DevOps, QA, and project management. Using the same consumer healthtech context that shaped the client’s rebuild, AKTIV's engineers will also ensure the client’s hardware, app, and backend continue to evolve together as the device line matures.
