When indigenous health worker Paul Christian began training to use new eye-technology equipment for remote communities, he had no idea he'd become a patient.
But through the training, his eyes were tested and he was able to be treated when found to have problems with his blood vessels.
He's one of more than 1000 indigenous and older non-indigenous people from the Torres Strait Island and southern Western Australia who took part in a trial involving a free eye screening at a remote local community health centre.
The trial of the CSIRO-developed remote telehealth system, called Remote-i, identified 68 patients at risk of going blind.
A special camera captures full high-resolution images of a patient's retina, which are then forwarded to a city-based ophthalmologist via a broadband satellite connection.
Releasing the results on Tuesday, the CSIRO's Professor Yogi Kanagasingam said eight of the 68 had severe eye disease and could have gone blind if they hadn't been screened and received immediate treatment in the city.
The other 60 were at risk of developing disease and now needed to have their eyes monitored regularly.
He hoped the trial would lead to an expansion of the screening to other remote areas, noting the major cost benefit to the health system as well as to the individuals.
NBN will launch its first satellite later this year which will help facilitate such services to rural and remote areas.
The release of the results follows a Medical Journal of Australia article describing the progress made in closing the gap for vision between indigenous and non-indigenous patients.
Dr Marian Abouzeid, Mitchell Anjou and Professor Hugh Taylor from the University of Melbourne, wrote that while gains had been made, much needed to be done and increased government support was required.
"Up to 94 per cent of vision loss in indigenous adults is avoidable or amenable to treatment," they wrote.
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