Telescopic contact lenses could magnified vision - July 3, 2013

Researchers have developed contact lenses that could potentially help the elderly who suffer from macular degeneration.

 

The switchable telescopic contact lenscan toggle between normal and magnified vision, the researchers said on Optics Express.

 

"The magnified optical path incorporates a telescopic arrangement of positive and negative annular concentric reflectors to achieve 2.8x magnification on the eye, while light passing through a central clear aperture provides unmagnified vision," said researchers Eric. Tremblay, Igor Stamenov, R. Dirk Beer, Ashkan Arianpour, and Joseph Ford.

 

Also, they demonstrated the contact lens mounted on a life-sized optomechanical model eye.

 

Using a pair of modified commercial 3D television glasses, they showed "electrically operated polarization switching between normal and magnified vision."

 

Tech site CNET said the lens experiment stemmed from DARPA-funded research into vision enhancement devices for soldiers.

 

"What the researchers developed could become a solution for people suffering from age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness for older adults. The goal is to improve vision with an unobtrusive device," it said.

 

It said the lens, just over 1 mm thick, has tiny mirrors that act as magnifiers.

 

But the lens will not work on its own, and has to be paired with a modified set of 3D television glasses.

 

"A polarizing filter allows the switch between telescopic and regular vision. The researchers tested the experiment through computer modeling and by attaching a prototype lens to a optomechanical model eye