Google has taken their new Google Glass technology a step further with an idea that could have significant benefits for the blind. The company has applied for a patent for a contact lens containing a built-in camera. With this, a blind person would be able, for example, to receive an audible signal warning of an [Read More]
News
Blindness and Visual Impairment Rates Have Fallen
234 out of 15,000 studies between 1980 and 2012 have shown that rates of blindness and visual impairment have decreased significantly in developed countries during the past two decades. Macular degeneration now appears to be the leading cause of chronic vision loss, surpassing cataracts and glaucoma. The most common cause of partial vision impairment continues [Read More]
Effects of AREDS Supplements Up In Smoke
Canadian researchers recently conducted a telephone survey to evaluate patients’ understanding of the importance and adherence to various lifestyle and Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) supplement recommendations. Tobacco smoking was one of the lifestyle choices looked at. Of the 92 patients contacted, 98% knew about the AREDS formula, with 74% agreeing that high doses of [Read More]
What Is Low Vision?
By Dan Roberts An estimated fourteen million Americans have low vision, also called visual impairment. It is generally any interference with sight that hinders the performance of daily activities. More specifically, low vision describes varying degrees of sight loss caused by disease, trauma, or a congenital disorder. Low vision may appear as one or more of [Read More]
Low Vision: What to Do When “There’s Nothing More That Can be Done”
Reprinted with permission from Outlook, the electronic newsletter of the National Eye Health Education Program (Winter 2014) “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more that can be done. There is no cure for your eye condition.” It’s likely you’ve been on the receiving end of this devastating news. When an eye care provider says, “There’s nothing more [Read More]