Oxford Researchers Developing Smartphone-like Glasses

The glasses utilize technology such as video cameras, face recognition, tracking software, depth sensors and position detectors

Oxford University researchers have started developing a set of bionic glasses that contain technology commonly found in game consoles and smartphones.

Dr. Stephen Hicks, study leader from the Department of Clinical Neurology at Oxford University, and a team of Oxford researchers, are creating glasses packed with technology that could help those with age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
The glasses utilize technology such as video cameras, face recognition, tracking software, depth sensors and position detectors. All of this technology is now available at a reasonable cost, and Oxford researchers see this as an opportunity to combine such helpful mechanisms with a normal pair of glasses.

“We want to be able to enhance vision in those who’ve lost it or who have little left or almost none,” said Hicks. “The glasses should allow people to be more independent — finding their own directions and signposts, and spotting warning signal.”

At the corners of the glasses are cameras that capture what the person is looking at. While the person is looking in a certain direction with the glasses on, tiny lights hidden in the transparent lenses offer extra information about the person’s surroundings such as objects, obstacles and people. These lights are driven by a smartphone-like computer that stays in the person’s pocket, relaying information about the surroundings based on the video images from the cameras.

The lights display different colors to the wearer in order to let them know what is around them. For instance, there are different colors for people and objects when they come into view of the cameras. Also, the brightness could tell the wearer how close something is.

In addition, optical character recognition could be used in these glasses, which would allow the computer to read a newspaper headline through the cameras and read the headline back to the wearer through a pair of earphones.

Hicks added that it will take people some time to get used to this type of technology, but believes it will be worth it. Once produced, he estimates that the glasses will cost around £500, but mentions that training a guide dog costs around £25-30,000.

The glasses are only a concept for now, but scientists are in the midst of building prototypes. This technology is being displayed on large screens with video images at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. In addition, ski goggles with a small display as well as an early prototype with a transparent LED array will be on display.

http://www.dailytech.com/Oxford+Researchers+Developing+Smartphonelike+Glasses/article22080.htm

 

Lucentis May Treat Diabetes-Related Vision Loss

Studies Show Drug May Help Treat Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema

By Charlene Laino
WebMD Health News

June 29, 2011 (San Diego) – Lucentis, a drug used to treat people with vision problems from age-related macular degeneration, may help to restore vision among people with eye complications caused bydiabetes, two studies suggest.

The studies involved 759 patients with diabetic macular edema, a swelling in an area of the retina that sometimes leads to vision loss.

Two to three times as many patients given Lucentis could read an additional three lines on the eye chart, compared with patients given a placebo, says David S. Boyer, MD, of Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group in Los Angeles.

Vision improved from 20/80 to 20/40 (required to drive legally) in about two-thirds of people on Lucentis, he says. Most of the patients started with 20/80 vision, meaning their eyesight at 20 feet was the same as that of an average person at 80 feet.

For details, see:

http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20110629/lucentis-may-treat-diabetes-related-vision-loss

Free Text-to-Speech Readers

Here  are four Text-to-Speech Readers for your PC.

They are free for the trial version; extra voices can be purchased for about $30.

They work with text, Word doc, HTML and PDF formats.

Some even read e-mail.

You can open the files to be read from within each program.

Balabolka

http://download.cnet.com/Balabolka/3000-7239_4-75182534.html

TextAloud

http://download.cnet.com/TextAloud/3000-7239_4-10046551.html

Text Speaker

http://download.cnet.com/Text-Speaker/3000-7239_4-10877963.html?tag=rb_content;contentMain

Speakonia

http://download.cnet.com/Speakonia/3000-7239_4-10125328.html?tag=rb_content;contentMain

The price is  right. These are free.  JAWS costs $895.

Top 10 Tips to Save Your Vision

From the American Academy of Ophthalmology:

1. Wear sunglasses.

2. Eat properly, including Vit C, E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.

3. Don’t Smoke.

4. Get a baseline eye exam

5. Wear eye protection during sports.

6. Know your family history

7. Intervene early

8. Know your eye care provider

9. Care for contact lenses properly

10. Be aware of eye fatigue

http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart

Retinitis Pigmentosa Videos

Retinitis Pigmentosa and Diabetic Retinopathy

This health video will give an in-depth insight into the two new breakthroughs for patients at risk of going blind.

Finding the Cause of Retinal Disease

Learn about research focusing on the cause, prevention, treatment, and cure of retinal disease in this medical report

http://www.mdjunction.com/retinitis-pigmentosa/videos

 

Lucentis Helps Diabetics’ Vision, Study Finds

Lucentis, a drug that is used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration, also helps diabetics’ vision, according to a late-stage study.

The study examines the effectiveness of Lucentis in treating diabetic macular edema (DME), the buildup of fluid and swelling in the retina. DME is a condition that can lead to blindness.

The study found that 44.8 percent of patients who were being treated with 0.3 mg of Lucentis showed dramatic improvement after 24 months – they were able to read at least 15 additional letters on an eye chart, according to Reuters.

These patients fared much better than the 39.2 percent of patients given 0.5 mg of Lucentis and the 18.1 percent of patients who received a placebo injection, according to the drug’s manufacturer Roche.

Read more: http://www.thirdage.com/news/lucentis-helps-diabetics-vision-study-finds_3-10-2011#ixzz1GP7xPrTs

Univ of Mich device can predict diabetes & macular degeneration through eyes

A vision testing device developed by two University of Michigan researchers is showing promise in the detection of diabetes, both in its early and potentially blinding stages.

It also may help diagnose changes that occur in the eye as early as 10 years before a person is diagnosed with macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

Eventually, eye doctors may use the device to determine if vitamins and drug injections taken by patients with macular degeneration actually stop progression of the disease, said Dr. Victor Elner, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at U-M’s Kellogg Eye Center.

http://www.freep.com/article/20080715/BUSINESS06/807150319/0/MULTI/U-M-device-can-predict-diabetes-through-eyes?odyssey=nav|head

 

Macular Edema and Vision Loss Could Be Drug Side Effect

Macular edema is swelling or thickening of the center of the retina (called the macula). It affects the center of your vision with symptoms that can include blurry vision, wavy vision, color distortions, changes in the apparent size of objects or letters, or a blind spot. Macular Edema and Vision Loss Are Symptoms Of Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy.

But they could also be a drug side effect.

Avandia is used to treat diabetes. It helps lower blood sugar by making your cells more receptive to insulin. Side effects can include heart failure, heart attack, chest pains, weight gain, water retention, bone fractures, anemia, hypoglycemia, liver problems, macular edema, and vision loss.

Advair is used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It contains a steroid and a bronchial dilator. There is a high correlation between the use of steroid medications and CSR which causes macular edema and vision loss. Other side effects of Advair include wheezing, difficulty breathing, tremors, rapid heart rate, chest pain, fever, chills, blurred vision, eye pain, and mouth and lip sores.

Hydrocortisone Cream are used to treat skin conditions, such as eczema and other rashes. They reduce inflammation. Hydrocortisone is a corticosteroid and, therefore, may cause CSR. Other side effects can include atrophy of the skin, loss of pigmentation, and damage to the adrenal system.

Latanoprost (Xalatan) is used to treat glaucoma by increasing the outflow of fluid from the eye to decrease intraocular pressure. Side effects can include macular edema, vision loss, blurred vision, eye irritation, thicker eyelashes, darker eyelashes, eye pain, cold or flu-like symptoms, muscle pain, joint pain, and back pain.

http://www.usrecallnews.com/2010/11/macular-edema-and-vision-loss-what-are-causing-your-symptoms-or-side-effects.html

New Radiation Treatment to Save Macular Degeneration Being Tested

Causes of and Treatments for Retinal Bleeding

Sometimes this is caused by high blood pressure or diabetes. In addition to the direct treatment of the bleeding, these should be checked for and controlled. Sometimes it can be caused by a fall or head injury. Another cause is high-stress.

Laser treatment is the commonest treatment. It works but might leave small local blind spots.

The eye injections are called anti-VEGF drugs, such as Lucentis, Avastin and the earlier Macugen. They usually require repeat injections. Recent studies show they can sometimes have side effects. So they should be watched for these side effects.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/seri-adf110308.php

Avastin is very similar to Lucentis. However Avastin costs $50 per shot and Lucentis costs $1,500 per shot. They are both made by Genentech (Hoffman La Roche)

Retinal Disease Treatments for Elders Doubled Over 10 Years

MONDAY, Oct. 11, 2010 (HealthDay News) — The number of older Americans undergoing treatment for retinal conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy nearly doubled between 1997 and 2007, with a significant shift in the types of procedures being performed, a new study has found.

The largest increase in volume was seen in treatments for neovascular, or “wet,” AMD. New treatments for this condition include intravitreal therapy — drug injections directly into the eye — of antibodies that block the formation of new blood vessels. Between 1997 and 2001, fewer than 5,000 such injections were performed each year, but rates more than doubled each year through 2006. In 2007, there were 812,413 such injections, the study authors noted in a news release from the journal’s publisher.

The use of photodynamic therapy — a laser treatment for neovascular AMD — peaked at 133,565 procedures in 2004 and then decreased 83 percent to 22,675 procedures in 2007. Laser treatment of potentially cancerous eye tumors and the “wet” form of AMD decreased from a peak of 82,089 in 1999 to 13,821 in 2007 (another 83 percent decrease), the researchers found.

Among the other findings:

• Use of vitrectomy — surgery to remove the gel inside the eye in order to treat retinal detachment — increased 72 percent between 1997 and 2007.
• The use of scleral buckling — placement of a silicon buckle around the eye — to treat retinal detachment decreased 69 percent between 1997 and 2007.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=120747