Forget bifocals, glasses auto-focus
There`s a new high-tech eyeglass solution for dealing with the increased difficulty of focusing on up-close objects that comes with aging.
PixelOptics` emPower! eyeglasses — billed as the world`s only electronically focusing prescription glasses — will be available this fall in the Boston area for people with the condition known as presbyopia.
The glasses provide an alternative to bifocals or progressive lens (no-line bifocals), giving the wearer control over turning on and off the near-focus or reading area zone of their lenses. Wearers tap the right stem of their glasses to manually turn on the near-focus zone and give another tap to turn it off.
A swipe of the finger on the right stem puts the glasses in automatic mode to respond to head movements. When the wearer`s head tilts downward to read, the near-focus zone automatically turns on; when the head tilts back up to talk to a friend or watch TV, the near-focus zone turns off.
“Traditional progressive (bifocals) have the reading area on all the time,” said Richard Abel, regional sales director for the Roanoke, Va.-based PixelOptics. “The problem this creates is distortion or `swim` in the reading area as well as being forced to use the reading area to look at distance. Blur in progressive lens are people`s number one complaint when they`re using them to look at stuff in the distance — the floor, a golf ball, stairs, going down the escalator to the T. It`s very distracting.”
Technology in the emPower! eyeglasses is the result of $100 million in research and development over 11 years that`s yielded more than 300 patents. The company joined with Panasonic Healthcare to manufacture the lenses.
A microchip in the glasses` right stem sends an electronic signal to the composite lens, where transparent layers of liquid crystals change their molecular structure and how they refract light to activate and deactivate the near-focus mode. An accelerometer detects head motions. The glasses` mini-batteries require recharging after two to three days using a portable charger.
All that technology comes at a $1,250 suggested retail price that includes a choice of 36 frames, lenses with anti-scratch and anti-reflective coatings, the charger, and carrying cases for the glasses and charger. The cost is about 20 percent to 30 percent higher than other progressive-lens glasses, according to the company.
Jeffrey Mann of Highland Opticians in Newton attended a PixelOptics training session this week in Boston with about 70 area optical professionals who plan to sell the emPower! glasses.
“There is nothing else like it,” Mann said. “It`s very cutting edge for a new type of eyewear. Pricing is a little expensive for the average person but, then again, people who like electronic gadgets and new products will pay that price.”
Other news in this section
