Auto-Focus
Glasses on the Horizon
|
Last week my friend and colleague, Dr. Natty Bumpo called me and insisted that we meet for lunch.
“You're in for a big surprise,” he said. His voice was peculiarly excited and there was a definite sense of urgency in his message. We decided to meet at Ponzio's Diner in Cherry Hill, NJ.
I arrived a few minutes late and was escorted to the table where Natty was already seated. Two observations immediately struck me with equal force. First was the mile wide grin on his face, like he just won the lottery, and the second equally disarming fact was the extraordinary glasses he was wearing. The glasses reminded me of a glorified trial frame, but modernized with a futuristic look that captured the attention of all whose gaze was directed towards him.
New Jerseyites, who are famous for their blasé attitude regarding the unusual and rare, were staring and pointing in our direction as Natty reveled in my stunned look. I was speechless. Finally, I uttered, “What's with your extreme, outside the box spectacles?” He leaned forward and with obvious relish delivered his story over a cup of Italian Wedding Soup and a serving of lasagna.
He began, “These spectacles are overwhelming. They enable me to see clearly at all distances without constant changing of head positions,” said Natty. “Furthermore, the entire field of vision is in focus without distortions or interruptions. I love the fact that I only need one pair of glasses instead of multiple pairs for multiple reasons. My tennis and golf vision tasks have been easily addressed. Until TruFocals I thought I was satisfied with the use of bifocals or progressive lenses. The occasional awkward problems I had with bifocals have been negated with this new lens,” he continued. “Trying to position my progressives while engaged with the computer was a real pain in the neck. Now, I just set the focus for the computer distance and, at last, I'm free. I also think that the diabetic patient who experiences fluctuation in visual acuity might well be served with a variable control for prescription change that the TruFocals provide.”
I interrupted his rapture by asking him to describe how they work. Natty replied with perfect confidence. “Each lens is actually two lenses. The ocular lens is flexible and the other is hard. The ocular consists of a transparent flexible membrane attached to the rigid lens. The pocket that is formed between them contains a crystal clear silicon liquid.”
Natty pointed to a sort of lever atop the bridge piece and continued, “When I move this slider it pushes the fluid and alters the radius of curvature of this flexible lens thereby changing the correction at will. I can choose the correction that works best for me at any distance, under any lighting conditions. The hard lens may be fabricated to include astigmatic or prismatic corrections. The surface may be treated for UVA and UVB protection. The rigid lens can be removed for cleaning or interchanged for a sunglass prescription or exchanged for any prescription changes. Scratch resistant and anti reflective coatings are available.” Natty concluded, “The only thing left to make it perfect is to arrange for an auto focus just as we have available in our modern cameras. No more need to adjust the slider. We'll just point our nose at what we need to focus and voila, automatic focus.”
I noted that the weight of the glasses seemed to demand his attention as he readjusted them on occasion. He sheepishly admitted that he was aware of this but it was no problem to him. The advantages far outweighed the disadvantages. I learned via internet information that this new, functional eye glass was developed by Stephen Kurtin, a physicist and an inventor. He is responsible for more than 30 patents in various fields with his most recent endeavor culminating in the birth of TruFocals. Dr. Kurtin, 64 years of age, has spent twenty years attempting to create a solution for presbyopic patients. It has been his driving force since 1992. He founded TruFocals in 1996 and began selling to small groups of optometrists and now utilizes online sales to continue to build his commercial infrastructure.
The idea of Kurtin's type of lens goes back to a patent by D.A. Woodward, a Baltimore inventor. Since then there have been other attempts to advance the technology but none met the needed criteria. Dr. Kurtin's breakthrough came by developing a magnetically attached front lens that offered a more efficient design. In 1964, Luis W. Alvarez, a Nobel Prize winner, designed a two part lens that changed focus by sliding two glass lenses across each other in a “saddle back” position. As a result, several international efforts are being studied to combine the Kurtin and Alvarez concepts in order to help over a billion needy people around the world who do not have access to vision corrective eyewear. They hope to produce eye glasses at a fraction of the cost being purveyed in the developed world. The cost in the U.S. is $895 per pair.
Dr. Joshua Silver designed a $19 pair that have an adjustable focus by injecting silicone oil between two sheets of plastic. There is no commercial version of this but 30,000 pairs have been distributed in Africa and Eastern Europe since 1996. The wearer tunes each lens for the best focus and then removes the filling syringe. It has been reported that PixelOptics in Roanoke, VA is working on an electro-optical approach which uses an LCD display to change the refractive index of a transparent component that will be embedded in a conventional lens. One area that seems to need some thought will be in the realm of competitive styling to increase public interest. Some have compared the present style of TruFocals with a Harry Potter look or a fashion suggesting “Revenge of the Nerds”.
While researching this article, I came across certain blogs with comments that were not addressed in the body of information which I gleaned. One blogger, for example asks: “If this technology promises large scale benefits to the poor, why do they cost so much in the U.S.?” Blogger Jim writes, “The beauty of this system is that one does not need to go see an eye doctor or use expensive measures to get glasses that work. I understand the underdeveloped world can buy them at $20 per pair. I guess I may just have to wait for the knock-offs.” M.J. says, “My system is to scoot my single vision glasses down my nose to see at near, midway on my nose to see the computer and all the way up my nose for driving and distance vision. I haven't patented the process, yet.” B.C writes, “I suspect that there are state rulings that optometrists and ophthalmologists only may be licensed to provide these corrective glasses.”
This general idea of adjustable lenses appears to have some potential even though it is currently in a crude, heavy and expensive form. Where this technology may go, if anywhere, remains to be seen. However, it is an interesting concept and one that needs to be watched for developments. One never knows what the future might hold – this could be the next model T or it could be the next Edsel!
|
