LOW VISION GLASSES

 
                      
By Denise Dador

Monday, June 16, 2014

LOS ANGELES (KABC) --

Thirteen-million Americans over the age of 45 suffer from some type of "low vision." That includes those who've lost their sight due to diabetes, macular degeneration or glaucoma. But low vision can affect younger people too. Now there's a new high-tech pair of glasses helping young students keep up in class.

Last year, Dr. Adam Esbenshade diagnosed Alexis London with an inoperable brain tumor along her optic pathway.

"If we're not able to stop the growth of this tumor, it will be a life-threatening situation," said Esbenshade.

Alexis's mom says a year's worth of chemotherapy stopped the growth, but it hasn't been easy.

"Chemo was a really hard road. And watching her lose her eyesight," she said.

"My sight is pretty much like 20 percent in this eye and pretty much blind in that eye," said Alexis.

Now new technology is giving Alexis hope. A special pair of glasses that allows Alexis to do her homework without a magnifying glass.

"It's a lot easier too than making it big and everything. I can actually read the small print," said Alexis.

Dr. Jeffrey Sonsino created the illuminated Low Vision Readers. LED lights and prism correction help people who aren't helped by traditional lenses.

"This came about because we couldn't get people reading the way we wanted them to," said Sonsino.

For Alexis, it's a reason to cheer.

The Low Vision Readers cost less than $400 and allow Alexis to return to using textbooks at school instead of highly enlarged text on her iPad.

Rules for your glasses

This is my sister's sweet grandson who got his first pair of glasses. His mother wrote this cute post and I wanted to share insight about his first pair plus she's a school teacher. I've worn glasses since I was 2 so I'm sure I told some of these rules.

And yes, he is sporting his new glasses. They came in within two weeks instead of the expected four to six weeks. He was excited the first day, but not so much anymore. We are reminding him constantly to keep them on. And we have also come up with quite the list of rules. For instance:

1. Do not put your glasses on the floor.

2. Do not put your glasses where anyone will sit.

3. Do not hang your glasses from a tree branch.

4. Do not bury your glasses in a pile of leaves and then forget where you put them so that all three of us have to go on a twenty minute search for them.

5. In fact, do not take your glasses off outside at all.

6. Do not touch the lenses.

7. Do not wear them upside down.

8. Do not stretch the ear pieces.

More to come, I'm sure. And I do realize that, as much as possible, you are supposed to state rules for children in the positive manner rather than a list of don'ts, so I guess I better get to work restating this list. :)

PROTOTYPE GLASSES IN THE WORKS

Prototype glasses use video cameras, face recognition to help people with limited vision

By Dana Wollman posted Jul 6th 2011 10:32AM

We won't lie: we love us a heartwarming story about scientists using run-of-the-mill tech to help people with disabilities, especially when the results are decidedly bionic. Today's tale centers on a team of Oxford researchers developing sensor-laden glasses capable of displaying key information to people with poor (read: nearly eroded) vision. The frames, on display at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, have cameras mounted on the edges, while the lenses are studded with lights -- a setup that allows people suffering from macular degeneration and other conditions to see a simplified version of their surroundings, up close. And the best part, really, is that the glasses cull that data using garden-variety technology such as face detection, tracking software, position detectors, and depth sensors -- precisely the kind of tech you'd expect to find in handsets and gaming systems. Meanwhile, all of the processing required to recognize objects happens in a smartphone-esque computer that could easily fit inside a pocket. And while those frames won't exactly look like normal glasses, they'd still be see-through, allowing for eye contact. Team leader Stephen Hicks admits that vision-impaired people will have to get used to receiving all these flashes of information, but when they do, they might be able to assign different colors to people and objects, and read barcodes and newspaper headlines. It'll be awhile before scientists cross that bridge, though -- while the researchers estimate the glasses could one day cost £500 ($800), they're only beginning to build prototypes.

LOW VISION GLASSES

 Low Vision Glasses

Posted by: Thomas Hendrick, News Editor

POSTED: 4:28 pm MDT September 10, 2009

BACKGROUND: Low Vision is a visual impairment unable to be corrected by standard vision treatments such as regular eyeglasses, contact lenses, or optical surgery. It interferes with one's ability to perform simple, everyday tasks.According to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, low vision is defined as vision that is 20/70 or worse. A person with low vision is not blind; you are legally blind when your best vision is 20/200 in your better eye.Blind people may be able to make out very limited vision but less than those declared to have low vision. People with low vision may not recognize images from a distance or differentiate between colors in the same color range.Nationally, there are about 13 million people with low vision, according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The World Health Organization estimates that number to be 124 million worldwide and expects it to double by 2020.Low vision often develops because of eye diseases, which are typically found in older generations. Common causes of low vision in the elderly include macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, according to the Kellogg Eye Center.When caught early, vision impairment is more treatable. The Kellogg Center estimates that approximately 17 percent of people over the age of 65 are either blind or have low vision.SYMPTOMS: Warning signs to look out for include trouble reading, cooking, or sewing, trouble seeing because lights don't seem as bright as usual, trouble recognizing familiar faces, and trouble crossing the street or reading street signs.If you have symptoms, experts recommend you see your eye doctor. Tests for low vision are more complex and time-consuming than your typical examination.Low vision tests may include refraction to assess your vision and determine the prescription for your glasses. To assess your peripheral vision, your doctor will conduct a visual field test. He or she may use ocular motility to assess how well your eyes move.TREATMENT: Jeffrey Sonsino, O.D., an optometrist from the Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, Tenn., has implemented new technological methods to make reading possible for low vision patients.He recommends patients buy a goose neck lamp, use high-powered reading glasses, and select a designated reading spot. He believed the existing reading glasses were too pricey and bulky and did not provide illumination.He created illuminated low vision glasses. These glasses have a built-in, high-powered LED light in the frame of the glasses. The lenses are magnifying and have prism correction. They will be inexpensive, convenient to carry and will be available without prescriptions.

For More information, Contact:

Craig Boerner, Media Relations
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN
Craig.boerner@vanderbilt.edu

LIGHTSPECS BY FOSTER GRANT

LightSpecs by Foster Grant provide powerful LED lights along with the magnification of reading glasses.



Foster Grant LightSpecs, lighted reading glasses giving you light where you need it. Perfect for reading or close up work, indoors, outdoors or on the move.

* Our patented design focuses light right where you are looking

* LightSpecs are lightweight and comfortable

* Available in a stylish black or tortoise frame design

* Equipped with replaceable batteries that last up to 50 hours

* Offered in a range of diopter powers from weak to strong, depending on your magnification needs

Avaialible in 1.00 , 1.25 , 1.50 , 1.75 , 2.00 , 2.25 , 2.50 , 2.75 , 3.00 in Black or Tortoise color.

LightSpecs are available at retail at CVS, Walgreens and Barnes & Noble or at  www.forstergrant.mwrc.net priced at 24.95 per pair.

EYE APPOINTMENT

I went for my four month check up for my eyes. I was so ready to throw my glasses in the trash. I can't see out of them. The wonderful staff in the glasses shop helped me out. They said to wash my lens with cloth and rubbing alcohol. They gave them a tune-up too. When I saw the doctor he said all the fancy films they put on glasses now are more trouble to see with, at least in my case. I have 20/150 corrected. I can't see much past 20 feet. They also had a great selection of reading glasses. I wear a 3.00 and the have up to a 3.50 which I have never seen in person before. Thank you so much to the staff at Eye Physician & Surgeons of Augusta.