Rehabilitating low vision with technology

In medicine’s ongoing efforts to enhance low vision, technology plays an essential role. Some of the advances seem like the stuff of flying cars and cities in the sky but they are not – they are very real and in our hands today. Implantable micro lenses and telescopic lenses are incredibly important to the restoration of functional sight and they are just two types of the advanced technology that we use frequently in our practice.

Medical devices that enhance low vision are continually evolving and include microscopic eyeglasses, lenses that actually shift the observed image to a different part of the eye so it can be seen, and highly specialized prisms that allow the two eyes to work together as one. It is indeed futuristic technology and it is in the palm of our hands today.

These eyeglasses and implants will not restore vision to the level it was before you suffered significant eye disease and they will not correct vision loss. However, they can improve near and distance vision at varying levels according to the individual and they can improve functional sight.

Tiny, implantable telescopes: Called CentraSight® , this treatment program implants a tiny telescope that is about the size of a pea, approved by the FDA, inside the eye to improve vision and quality of life for individuals affected by End-Stage AMD, a disease of the retina. The telescope implant is surgically placed inside one eye. The implanted eye provides central vision; the other eye provides peripheral vision.

Telescopic Lenses: Miniature Binoculars inserted into eyeglasses are called Telescopic Spectacles. The person’s eyeglasses prescription as well as the highest quality optics must be used in the system for maximum clarity. Telescopic spectacles can be for one eye (monocular) or two eyes (binocular).

Microscopic Eyeglasses: These are double lens systems that combine the patient’s eyeglass prescription with the amount of magnification needed. The amount of magnification depends upon the level of remaining vision and the size of the material to be seen.

Lenses that shift the observed image: E-Scoop® glasses are highly sophisticated spectacle glasses for people suffering from Macular Degeneration (AMD). E-Scoop® can improve vision significantly by enhancing and shifting the image that the eye sees to a different part of the macular (the center of the retina). Whether you have difficulty with night time driving, bright light, sunlight, or simply seeing clearly in the distance, the E-Scoop® lens placed over a standard eyeglass prescription will help you see better.

Highly specialized prisms: Prismatic eyeglasses can be single or double lens systems and incorporate prism to allow the two eyes to work together.  They are useful for patients whose two eyes are approximately equal in vision and do not require high magnification.

You can read about these technologies in detail on our website. We believe that every patient has the right to enhanced vision, even when they have been told that nothing more can be done to achieve that end. Advanced technologies provide hope, and in the majority of patients they improve functional eyesight.  That is our mission and our goal in our daily practice.