Human relies on his pair of eyes than any other senses; this is evident in our day to day living. Just being in the dark incapacitates us that even a simple task like finding our way around becomes an overwhelming activity. Like any other anatomical parts of our body, our eyes are prone to diseases and disorders that may limit if not totally impair its function. One such medical condition is macular degeneration, where a blind spot develops in the eye’s central vision.
To help people with advanced and irreversible form of macular degeneration, a special minuscule glass telescope implant, comparable to a size of a pea, was developed by VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies. The miniature telescope is almost like a pair of bionic eyes but not like those we see in cyborg movie flicks. The implants are inserted in place of one of the eye’s natural lens by a corneal specialist during an outpatient procedure. According to the creator of the device, Allen W. Hill, the implanted telescope works by magnifying images to the part of the retina where there are healthy cells outside the damaged macula.
The implant and procedure will be beneficial especially to the elderly, as they are the usual victim of age related macular degeneration. Although the device cannot reverse the disease, it can at least restore vision to an acceptable and functional level enough to recognize familiar faces. And keep in mind, evil red glow and laser beams are not included.
No comments:
Post a Comment