‎High-tech glasses to treat lazy eyes

‎High-tech glasses to treat lazy eyes

Researchers have developed high-tech glasses, called Amblyz, which can be programmed to treat lazy eye. The results of the first clinical trial assessing their efficacy were presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

For the 2 to 3 percent of children with amblyopia, or lazy eye, treatment options aren’t great. Since the characteristic poor vision is usually a result of weakened signals from the eye to the brain, kids have to wear patches for several hours per day or take drops to strengthen the weaker eye.

That can stress kids out or alienate them from their peers—as one organization’s web site notes, “Patching during school hours gives the class an opportunity to learn valuable lessons about accepting differences between children.”

Read also: The car of the future looks nothing like a car

Amblyz works because its lenses contain programmable LCDs. If a doctor suggested that a child wear a patch for two hours per day, for example, the lens over the lazy eye would go dark for a few seconds out of every 30 seconds during that time, effectively working as a patch. And since children with amblyopia often have other vision problems such as astigmatism or nearsightedness, Amblyz corrects their vision when not occluding it.

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now