A University of Auckland bio engineer has received $1 million in funding to follow his dream of curing the disease that left his father blind for 60 years.

Dr Ehsan Vaghefi received the funding from the 2018 round of the Endeavour Fund, New Zealand's largest contestable research fund, for a laser-based imaging device called MyIScope that will be capable of screening for early signs of blindness.

MyIScope was designed to detect eye diseases such as cataracts, pathological myopia and glaucoma in children. Vaghefi believed a device like this would have saved his father from going blind when he was a child.

Speaking with Newstalk ZB's Mike Yardley, He said the current devices are expensive and immobile.

Vaghefi said they want to be able to help children in lower socio-economic areas around New Zealand.

"Our technology is more affordable and will be mobile so we can get them to schools and get them to where these children will be located."

LISTEN ABOVE AS EHSAN VAGHEFI SPEAKS WITH MIKE YARDLEY