The optometry kit bag built by a locum who got tired of Tupperware

Optometry equipment is expensive. Seriously expensive. A retinoscope, trial lens set, ophthalmoscope, tonometer, pupillometer — the clinical kit a locum carries between practices can represent thousands of pounds of investment. And until now, the profession's solution was a pencil case. Or a makeup bag. Or, in some cases, a Tupperware box.

That is not a joke. That is the reality that Berkshire-based locum optometrist Aaminah Khan lived when she moved into locum work after stepping back from a senior optometrist role at a major high-street chain.

So she built something better. OptoKit by AK launched in 2026 as an IPO-registered optometry equipment case — designed by an optometrist, for optometrists, with an explicit brief: protect serious equipment seriously.

The problem no one had bothered to solve

Khan qualified in 2019 after completing her BSc in Optometry across City University and Aston University. She served as a senior optometrist, sat on her Local Optical Committee, and ran pre-registration training for a major high-street chain. She was close to completing a store directorship programme when she became pregnant with her first child.

The move to locuming exposed a gap that had been hiding in plain sight.

Locum optometrists are expected to carry their own clinical equipment between practices. That equipment is often purchased with a lifetime guarantee and represents a significant upfront investment — particularly for pre-registration and newly qualified practitioners who have spent heavily on kit before they have started earning. What they are not given is anything adequate to transport it in.

Khan's experience of makeshift solutions — pencil cases, stethoscope cases, borrowed bags — sits alongside a wider profession-wide feeling of being undervalued. Students invest heavily in equipment. Locums carry that equipment daily. Nobody had addressed the transport problem with anything close to the same seriousness the profession brings to its clinical standards.

What OptoKit by AK actually is

The product is the 6:36 Case — currently available in two colourways: Phantom and Forest (limited edition). Price: £159.99.

It is a semi-structured optometry kit bag with a sleek silhouette and stitched detailing, built specifically around the dimensions and protection requirements of clinical optometry equipment. The IPO (Intellectual Property Office) registration means the design is legally protected — this is not a rebadged camera case or repurposed medical bag. It was designed from the ground up for this specific purpose.

Khan describes it as a statement as much as a product. The case is designed to signal that the person carrying it takes their profession seriously — and that the profession deserves to be taken seriously in return.

Who it is built for

OptoKit by AK is explicitly positioned for every stage of an optometric career — students, pre-registration practitioners on the CLiP scheme, fully qualified optometrists working in practice, and locums. The use cases are clinic-based work, domiciliary visits, and locum days.

That breadth is deliberate. The problem of transporting clinical equipment well is not unique to locums — it is a profession-wide issue that starts at university and continues throughout a career. An independent practice owner sending a newly qualified optometrist out on a domiciliary round faces the same question as a locum packing their car.

The independent practice angle

For independent practice owners, the OptoKit conversation surfaces in two places.

First, locum relationships. Independent practices rely on locums far more flexibly than corporate chains, which have centralised equipment and staffing infrastructure. When you book a locum, the quality of their equipment — and their ability to arrive with it intact and organised — directly affects clinic performance. A locum who travels with well-protected, easily accessible kit is a locum who can start on time.

Second, team investment. An independent practice that equips its pre-registration optometrist or newly qualified associate with a professional kit bag sends a clear message about how it values its people. The cost — £159.99 — is marginal relative to the equipment it protects and the signal it sends. Corporate multiples standardise equipment provision. An independent practice that goes further, proactively providing premium kit organisation, creates a different kind of employer relationship.

Khan herself worked closely within the independent and high-street space throughout her career — on local optical committees, in pre-reg supervision, and now in hospital glaucoma and injection clinics alongside community locuming. She also contributes to Optometry Today and has worked fitting contact lenses on TV and film sets. OptoKit by AK is a product built by someone who understands the profession's clinical demands and its gaps.

The broader point about equipment dignity

There is something worth naming directly here. Independent practice owners think carefully about everything that touches their patient experience — the frame wall, the testing room equipment, the consultation environment. The OptoKit question is really the same question applied to professional self-presentation.

When a locum or associate arrives at your practice, what they carry their equipment in is part of how the practice reads professionally. When a domiciliary optometrist visits a patient's home, what they place on the table is part of how optometry reads as a profession.

Khan built OptoKit by AK precisely because she believed optometrists deserve better than makeshift solutions. The profession spends years training clinicians to a high standard. The infrastructure around those clinicians — including something as practical as how they transport their kit — should reflect that standard.

The 6:36 Case is available now at optokitbyak.com. Both colourways are priced at £159.99.

If you are building or growing an independent practice and thinking carefully about how you invest in your team and clinical infrastructure, this is exactly the kind of conversation our Grow Independent service is designed for. Book a Free 20-Minute Practice Growth Call