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Yesterday’s post featured a video that demonstrated the capabilities of the iOptik contact lens. Specifically, it showed the ability of a lens to simultaneously focus on both extreme distance and near objects. The idea is to use such a lens to allow wearers to view multimedia displays inside their eyewear.
Today’s video features contact lenses used in a slightly different way. It’s no surprise that contacts with embedded circuitry are being developed, and the video shows a few uses already in the works. One type of lens can monitor the eye pressure of people with glaucoma. Another can monitor the blood sugar of people with diabetes. Still others can slowly dispense medicine and even allow wearers to view multimedia displays right before their eyes.
The eye doctors and staff at LaFollette Eye Clinic look forward to the day when contact lenses do so much more for the vision and health of our patients. Thanks to the Pittsburgh affiliate of CBS for the video. There’s a commercial, but the video’s worth the wait:
Here’s an interesting video by Innovega, the makers of the iOptik contact lens. The demo shows how it is possible for a single lens to simultaneously focus at a far distance and an extremely close distance.
So what’s the point? This technology is being developed so wearers of the contact lenses can put on electronic eyewear that contains multimedia screens and enjoy hands free operation. Obviously you would not use this system while driving as it would obscure vision. But we highly discourage using any multimedia while driving anyway.
Of the many proposed uses of electronic glasses this is one the eye doctors and staff at LaFollette Eye Clinic feel has many potential uses. Enjoy the video:
Laser Treatment to Change Eye Color in Development
Permanent eye color change may soon be a reality
A BBC News article reported that a laser system is being developed to permanently change eye color from brown to blue. In a simple procedure, a scan is taken of the patient’s iris and a laser is applied for 20 seconds. After an initial period of iris darkening, the pigment cells in the iris disappear leaving a bright blue iris. The color change is complete after three weeks, and the result is permanent, since pigment cells do not regenerate.
The eye doctors at LaFollette Eye Clinic were initially concerned about creating pigmentary glaucoma with the procedure, but the article revealed the mechanism behind the color change. The laser treatment changes the physical structure of the pigment cells, causing the body’s natural repair proteins to digest the damaged cells at a molecular level. Other concerns remain, such as post operative light sensitivity, glare, and double vision.
Still in the developmental stages, the procedure is expected to be available in Europe in about 18 months; the US can expect availability in about three years. Currently 17 patients have undergone the procedure.
Click here to read the entire article and decide for yourself. Is this something you would consider having done to your own eyes?
Sony Pictures to Stop Providing Free 3D Glasses to Movie Studios
You may soon pay for standard 3D glasses
A September USA Today article revealed Sony Pictures plans to stop providing free 3D glasses to movie studios in May 2012. Instead, movie studios are encouraged to adopt a “guest ownership” business model where moviegoers pay for their own 3D glasses. Common in Europe, this model costs overseas movie patrons an additional $1.36, but they get to keep the glasses. Sony stands to save millions of dollars per 3D movie with the move.
Theater groups are not taking the announcement lightly. Regal Entertainment Group has threatened to cut the number of screens devoted to 3D movies if theater owners or moviegoers have to pay more for Sony’s 3D glasses. Other theater groups are upset that the move ends a 6-year practice of splitting costs between studios and theaters. Studios counter that their profit margins are eroding due to declining DVD sales and online movie downloads.
Theater groups are worried other studios will follow suit, although Warner Brothers indicated it had no plans to change their business model. Other studios, such as Paramount, universal, and Disney declined to comment. 20th Century Fox offered a vague “we’re evaluating the situation.”
Time will tell whether studios, theaters, or moviegoers will eventually foot the bill for 3D technology and 3D glasses. At LaFollette Eye Clinic, we wonder whether Sony’s announcement is worth the uproar. Movie patrons already pay increased prices for 3D movies, under the assumption that both equipment and glasses cost more. That doesn’t seem to have slowed the 3D business. In 2009, only 4% of movies were released in 3D, but they brought in 11% of movie dollars. In 2008, only 8 3D movies were released, and in 2009 20 were released. 2010 saw 49 3D movies released.
Premium 3D eyewear will enhance your 3D experience
Unfortunately for moviegoers, the optical quality of free (or cheap) 3D glasses leaves much to be desired. In a world that offers optically correct, clear, and comfortable 3D eyewear, why settle for freebies that negate any mind-blowing 3D effects you paid extra to see? If you are a movie buff, we suggest investing in a high quality pair of 3D eyewear you can call your own. You know no one else has worn them, they are custom fit to you and you alone, and your 3D experience will be markedly improved due to enhanced optical quality.
The makers of the Z Kamra Presbyopia Implant claim they’ve found a cure for presbyopia
The Z Kamra Presbyopia Implant
According to a report by the UK’s The Telegraph, the Z Kamra Presbyopia Implant is a revolutionary new alternative to presbyopia, the natural aging process of the eyes that causes most people to require reading glasses or bifocals as they age. The procedure involves placing a permanent implant in the layers of the cornea, or front surface of the eye.
The report states that as many as four million people in the UK alone will opt for the over $6,000 procedure. The procedure is still in testing phases here in the US.
What has LaFollette Eye Clinic doctors concerned is the implant’s mechanism of action. It works like a pinhole camera, reducing the amount of light entering the eye. There is no doubt this mechanism works. But so do pinhole glasses, and you don’t see millions of people wearing those. While a pinhole mechanism works in theory, it still does not provide quality optics. If it did, why do the nearly 100 million digital cameras sold in the US each year use lenses instead of pinholes?
An example of pinhole glasses
The article does concede that this procedure is not likely acceptable for airline pilots. The doctors at LaFollette Eye Clinic would like to add their concern that anyone active after dark may be negatively affected by the reduced light entering the pupil after a procedure like this.
And here’s another interesting note: the article describes patients as people “suffering” from presbyopia. Another article described “victims” of presbyopia. Suffering? Victims? Granted, presbyopia is inconvenient. But do we really suffer from it? Are we victims? Certainly, it depends on an individual’s point of view. Those terms seem a bit strong though, and may be used intentionally by the company manufacturing and selling the implants.
Time will tell if this procedure takes hold and survives, or if it goes the way of a number of refractive procedures that just did not provide patients the natural, crisp vision they were hoping for. You’ll see updates to this story here as more details become available.
The bionic eye, or retinal prosthesis, is clinically approved in Europe
This past Spring the technology review blog published by MIT reported that a bionic eye has been approved for commercial use in Europe. Now, at least partial restoration of vision is available for some people with blindness related to retinal degeneration and disease.
The system is called the Argus II and was developed by a California company called Second Sight. The devices are now available through a limited number of clinics in Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom. Second Sight hopes to have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve the Argus II for use in America by next year.
The device, which costs $115,000, works with a camera mounted on a pair of glasses. The glasses wirelessly transmit images to a chip implanted in the wearer’s retina. The wireless signal stimulates remaining retinal cells which then send the image to the brain, creating limited vision the patient can perceive. So far only 60 electrodes are contained in the retinal implant, allowing for limited light and shape perception, but future designs will include more electrodes for better visual restoration. A German company, Retinal Implants AG, is developing in implant with 1,500 electrodes as well as photodiodes to eliminate the need for external glasses or a camera.
The Argus II is notable, though, because it has already been implanted in at least 30 patients with success. Take a look at the video below to see how the Argus II retinal prosthesis works.
An Electronic Tattoo May Replace Current Health Monitoring Technology
The electronic tattoo monitors health information
Last Thursday the journal Science released an article describing the invention of an electronic temporary tattoo that is capable of monitoring heart, brain, and muscle function. The wireless device is thin enough to be applied to the skin, sticks without adhesives, and is powered by miniature solar cells. It was invented to answer the great demand by doctors for wireless health monitoring technology.
Currently, hospital patients must be connected to a combination of needles, wires, and conductive gels and adhesives to provide doctors with essential heart, brain, and muscle information. This is inconvenient for doctors and can beupsetting to patients. The electronic tattoo (dubbed the Epidermal Electronic System), on the other hand, can wirelessly transmit the needed information without additional bulky equipment. It can even be worn by heart patients outside the hospital, for long term heart monitoring that until now required bulky equipment worn around the clock.
The electronic tattoo is thin and flexible
Designing a chip flexible enough to move with skin was a challenge, since silicon circuitry is inflexible. The problem was solved using extremely thin components; the tattoo is thinner than a human hair. In testing, researchers discovered the tattoo was as accurate as current diode-based monitoring equipment.
Other medical applications are sure to develop. As eye doctors, we’d be interested in applying the technology to eye disease. For example, would it be possible to monitor a glaucoma patient’s eye pressure throughout the day and night? Or would it be possible to monitor the visual cortex of the brain for changes related to macular degeneration? With both diseases, early intervention is the key to preserving vision. Many times, even with current monitoring technology, we can detect changes in the eye’s function before the patient can. The new technology could be valuable in that changes might actually be detected in real time, as they happen.
The technology has many potential applications
Naturally, other sectors are keenly interested in the technology. The gaming industry is watching the technology closely, as it has already been proven 90% accurate in recognizing voice commands for video games when applied to the throat. The technology is so discreet that the US military and CIA have also shown interest. And, it would not be unthinkable that more questionable organizations are also planning uses for electronic tattoos. As such, there is some controversy surrounding the device: could it be used for tracking? Is it subject to medical identity theft? Could it be applied without a person’s knowledge?
In spite of these and other unanswered questions, we now have game-changing medical technology that has the potential to dramatically affect patients’ lives for the better.
We’re very excited to announce the addition of a new Patient Education Center. And, we’ve added Eyemaginations patient education software to our arsenal of patient education tools. At LaFollette Eye Clinic we understand many people learn visually; our new Patient Education Center and Eyemaginations have the potential to fill the possible gap between a doctor’s explanation and a patient’s understanding.
Part of the experience we strive to provide our patients is a thorough understanding of what just happened during an eye exam, as well as what it means for the future of a patient’s eye health, vision, and visual lifestyle. Without that understanding, questions may remain. Problems may go unsolved. And the eye care experience is compromised, if for no other reason than simple misunderstanding.
We intend to change all that, and we’ve partnered with the Eyemaginations company to do so. Here’s a quote from their website: “At Eyemaginations, we are focused on helping to facilitate the conversations that occur thousands of times each day among doctors, patients, and family members. Our goal is to help the healthcare community simplify complex topics. These topics might range from disease summaries to treatment options to post-op instructions. Regardless of the medical specialty, we know one thing is clear. Better patient education leads to better patient experiences.”
We couldn’t agree more. That’s why we built the new Patient Education Center. We’ve also installed Eyemaginations on every exam room computer (nine and counting) and in the lobby. We’ve even added a sample of the educational videos to the “learn about your eyes” section of our website. Click here for a demo. We want our patients to fully understand everything we know about their eye health, vision, and visual lifestyles.
We love to answer your questions. It’s why we’re here. So come with as many as you like and we’ll help you sort them out. With the new Patient Education Center and Eyemaginations, we have hundreds of slides, videos, and charts from which to choose personalized answers just for you.
