LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- The New Mexico Department of Health and the University of New Mexico are teaming up to deliver technology to Las Crucens living with diabetes and the threat of blindness.

A high resolution camera placed in Las Cruces will allow low income residents to take pictures of their retinas and transmit those images to UNM for analysis and possible treatment.

Jesus Garcia found out he had diabetes just 6 months ago, and he got glasses just 2 years ago. Both are reasons he wants a check-up with the machine called EyePACS.

“It's a good program to get into. It can check in the back of my eyes especially since I'm diabetic. I believe that what diabetes attacks is the vision,” Garcia said.

Doctors hope to make the technology more available to lower income residents who otherwise have no access to screening.

“It's the number one cause of blindness in the middle aged adults between 20 to 64 years of age,” said Dr. Arup Das, chief of ophthalmology at the UNM.

The health department said 30 to 40 percent of diabetic adults do not have this exam each year.

“The vessels that become affected, they become leaky, leak plasma. The patient has macular adema or vision loss. In the advanced stage there is some growth, new vessels that are fragile and cause hemorrhage.

High resolution pictures of the retina are transmitted to UNM. Las Cruces is the first telemedicine site for this type of screening for the program.

“We have about 150,000 diabetics and about 38,000 of them have some sort of changes in the retina,” said Das.

Garcia said he's being proactive, so he doesn't lose more of something precious.

“Without my glasses it's kind of hard to see so i hope good things come out of that,” Garcia said.

Doctors say they plan to expand the project to other cities because diabetes is spreading quickly.

For more information about getting screened call the Department of Health’s Community Wellness Program in Las Cruces at 575-528-5063.