A California eighth grader turned his own eye condition into an invention that just won top honours at a major science fair.

Aaryan Balani, 14, of Cerritos created an AI-powered device called EYEVA to help detect, and potentially treat, strabismus, commonly known as crossed eyes.

Balani said he decided to build the device because he has strabismus himself. He developed the condition after hitting his head when he was five years old.

“My head hit, like, the corner of the bathroom sink,” Balani told ABC 7.

He said people often notice the condition and tell him, “You have a broken eye.”

Like many people with strabismus, Balani can bring his eye back into alignment when he notices it drifting. If he does not notice it, it can drift and stay there.

He designed EYEVA as a visor-like device that alerts the wearer when their eye begins to wander.

“It will beep … and you’re like, ‘Okay, now I need to be aware of my face,” Balani explained, adding that, in theory, it could help the wearer permanently retrain their eyes.

Balani said he built the device using a 3D printer, small cameras and AI. He developed five different prototypes and spent four months tweaking the invention.

He said he hopes EYEVA could one day help people with strabismus on a large scale and possibly prevent many from needing invasive corrective surgery.

“It’s not just like a few hundred people in the world that have this condition. It’s around 100 million people,” he said.

The invention won top honours at the Orange County Science & Engineering Fair in March.

Balani said he now wants to work towards clinical trials and eventually get approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

“The moment you get an idea, start working on it. See if it’s a viable idea and try to continue with it as long as you can,” he told ABC 7.

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