EaseVision.com – News and gossips of vision care and optical industry

Online eyeglasses sphere now never lacks exciting news. A German online eyeglasses company, MisterSpex.de, just received another 7 million Euro from capitals including DN capital(DN led this cash injection),  Team Europe Ventures, Astutia Ventures, Grazia Equity, and High-Tech Gunderfunds and Xange, as the series B funding.

Presently MisterSpex mainly focus on the German and European market, selling branded eyeglasses, sunglasses and contacts lenses at much-discounted prices comparing with the local optical stores. In 2009, MisterSpex’s revenue reached 4.5 million Euro, and will likely reach 10 million in 2010. Brands include RayBan, Oakley, Prada, D&G, Tom Ford and all other named ones in the world.

It is reported that MisterSpex is the biggest online optical store in Germany. The recent funding is for expanding awareness of its practice, and increase the market share quickly. It now has 90 employees, and 50 are permanent employees. FramesDirect.com in Texas is its counterpart, selling similar glasses in USA and throughout the world.

Based on the retail prices on the website and its total 2009 revenue, and its prospective 2010 sales, the daily order quantity is guesstimated at 50-100 pairs a day. This is really a trivial quantity.  But with MisterSpex receiving its series B funding from so many Venture Capitals, it means the capital market accepts the business model of selling eyeglasses online.

A group of scientists from Sweden and Canada has successfully developed a kind of bioartificial cornea for implanting onto the eyes of people with damaged natural cornea. This new finding will help restore sight or part of the sight for those patients, with the help of eyeglasses.

Ten people in Sweden who received a bioartificial cornea were able to regrow their own corneal cells and restore their vision. Corneas are naturally made of collagen, so researchers grew it in yeast and molded it into a lens shape so it would act as a scaffolding. The damaged layer was removed and the bioartificial one implanted. Not only did a line of healthy corneal cells grew in the implanted collagen, but corneal nerves regrew and tear production went back to normal in these individuals. No one rejected the transplant. Patients were followed for two years and six had improved vision with eyeglasses and two were stable. One challenge for future research is to address the 90 percent of corneal problems that are full thickness and not just in the upper layer as they were in this study.

Source is here.

As I wrote about before about TruFocals and PixelOptics, NASA is testing the above two types of adjustable bifocal lenses during training, and possibly will choose one to be used on the mission to the space.

Just like any other people over 40s, most of the astronauts who are sent to the space are over 40, therefore they also develop vision problem called presbyopia, not to say that more other non-astronaut people such as scientists and even tourists will be sent to the space. So the demand of bifocal lenses are pretty high in the space. Before NASA considers to use TruFocals and PixelOptics’ adjustable lenses, people in the space used to wear normal bifocals and progressive lenses if they have additional vision error other that presbyopia. Experiences show these types of eyeglasses do not fulfill a successful job in offering vision correction in the space environment and in heavy space gear. In addition, the vision of the people in the space will suffer degeneration thanks to microgravity.  In this case, the original bifocals with fixed lenses could not address the further vision problems that have deteriorated recently during the space mission. Under these circumstances, it seems the only choice is to resort to lenses like TruFocals which are fully adjustable within some range.

NASA’s primary interest in adjustable eyeglasses has been as a replacement for the normal reading glasses, bifocals or progressive lenses that astronauts take with them into space. The small corrective zone on these conventional eyeglasses is fine for the normal reading posture (with the eyes looking through the lower portion of the lens) but is much less helpful when monitoring overhead readouts, for example. The agency is also studying the long-term effects of time spent in microgravity, which causes bodily fluids to gravitate to the upper body and has been known to cause degradation of vision in some astronauts. Once more is understood about how prolonged space travel affects vision and why, NASA will be in a better position to address the problem, either with the help of adjustable-lens glasses or some other means, according to Gibson.

If the test goes on smoothly, NASA will soon annouce which lenses will be deployed for astronauts and other space people who may need presbyopic correction.

Oakley.com just launches a model of Split Thump MP3 Sunglasses to attract people with hectic life styles.

MP3 sunglasses are not new in the industry. This new Oakley sunglasses have a built-in MP3 on the temples, with two removable ear buds near the ears. Wearers can control the music on the frames, and the music can be downloaded from computer just the same like iPod or other MP3 players.

This fancy gadget is not expensive. According to Oakley.com, it is only $175. Comparing with a normal MP3 player, the MP3 sunglasses from Oakley eliminate the annoyance of the wires wobbling around your arms and chest, which brings some extent of conveniences. But other concerns arise. With the inherent music players on the temples the total weight of sunglasses will be greatly increased, though it is claimed that the sunglasses have firm grip on the ears. The second concern will be the inconvenient control of the buttons on the frames which can not be seen by the wearers. The third concern will the possible audio quality of such a cheap 2 in 1 gadget. For most of the music fans, the audio quality is considered as the top priority.

I guess most people won’t like this gadget, though it sounds like cool! People still love stand-alone iPod and a pair of Oakley sunglasses!

Do you ever think of the two temples of your eyeglasses storing a pair of chopsticks? Yes, it is here! See the picture.

Those fancy inventor did this! The concept was reported about two years ago, so this is actually not news. The reason why I think it worth mentioning now is that 2010 is the time every state in the world is talking about green energy and low carbon life. This reusable chopsticks for travelers help reduce the consumption of forest wood, and this Stix Glasses are especially good in the countries where people mainly use chopsticks to eat.

One thing to concern is that by holding the one such bold stick inside the temple, the aesthetics of the eyeglasses as fashion accessory will be greatly tarnished, are there really any people who will use such glasses for all day wear?

Story idea from EOH, Thanks EOH

Here are some of the comments from netizens:

1. As a glasses wearer, this idea stinks.

2. As a glasses enthusiast, this idea stinks.. of old ramen seasoning. But with proper cleaning, this idea = WIN

3. Why not just carry chopsticks in your bag, pocket etc. etc. You can get disposable ones so you don’t have to carry the dirty ones. How about glasses with a knife and fork in each of the stems so when you travel in the orient you don’t have to worry if the place only has chopsticks

Eyeglasses are not only the devices of vision correction. Prismatic eyeglasses are considered to be able of treating sleeping disorder like insomnia. In addition to this, recent researches show a special prismatic glasses can also treat the traumatic brain injury caused by different types of reasons. It can even help treat soldiers from warfields.

New studies are showing that prismatic eyeglasses should be included in the overall therapy of certain Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients. Treatments include physical and occupational therapy, and medication(s).

Headaches, dizziness, neck pain and anxiety are common symptoms for many suffering from TBI including those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The study estimates that approximately 15 – 20% of men and women returning from war had these symptoms simply due to being near explosions. Another two million U.S. citizens suffer from TBI due to auto accidents, sports and falls.

This study brought to light the symptom of Visual Image Misalignment or Vertical Heterophoria. The eye muscles try to correct this misalignment causing them to become fatigued. The use of prismatic lenses showed a 71.8% reduction in symptoms of headaches, dizziness, neck pain and anxiety in about 3.5 months. This is a very significant percentage!

Mark S. Rosner, M.D.emergency department staff physician at Saint Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor and adjunct clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at The University of Michigan Medical School (also in Ann Arbor), was quoted in an article as saying: “Vision was known to be affected by TBI, but now it appears that the vision abnormalities caused by the TBI are causing the other post-concussive symptoms.” He also stated that, “This (prismatic eyeglasses) represents a new approach to the treatment of post-concussive symptoms.”

This new way of treatment using eyeglasses shows shocking breakthrough for many who suffer from TBI. This seems an easy therapy, yet effective.

From: Source

141eyewear.com, as its name says, meaning “One for One Eyewear”—- Any buyer buys one pair from them, 141eyewear.com will give one pair to the people in need, which is exactly as what their slogan of  ” You Buy, We Give, 141″.

According to WHO, 153 million people around the globe do not have adequate access to all types of vision correction devices. As the sight is considered to be the most inseparable sense of human body, choosing eyewear is incontestably the most meaningful decision.

141 is co-founded by Kyle Yamaguchi, who used to be a designer at Nike, and Shu-Chu Wu, who is an optician. “Starting a business that creates a sustainable model for providing eyewear to those in need just felt like the right thing to do,” Yamaguchi tells reoprter. “We chose eyewear because your sight is arguably your most important sense, and we know that prescription eyewear happens to be one of those things many of us take for granted.”

In my opinion, 141 is really a good idea. By being attributive of charity features, people will spread it in a viral manner. The really good part is 141 does help people in vision needs in the world, especially the poor countries.

Since PixelOptics and Transitions Optical, Inc. announced their partnership for atLast! lenses in 2009,  PixelOptics announced today to release its atLast!™ Composite 59 Transitions® lenses which is the first multifocals of its kind in the market, under the brand name of Transitions.

Utilizing PixelOptics’ patented composite technology, atLast! Composite 59 Transitions features a unique combination of Trivex on the front surface of the lens and 1.59 index polycarbonate on the back. Both are widely-used lens materials that provide wearers with a thin, lightweight, impact-resistant photochromic lens. atLast! Composite 59 Transitions will be available in gray and brown.

Composite 59 Transitions are part of PixelOptics’ atLast! Enhanced Multifocals line which, using the company’s patented composite lens design technology, combine a progressive surface with an embedded power segment to provide continuous, clear intermediate vision from close-up to five feet away, with a soft power jump at 70 percent less than that of equivalent bifocal add power. Unique in providing Far-Intermediate vision, atLast! lenses offer a broader range for bifocal wearers who often miss the intermediate range of vision where many daily activities occur.

“atLast! Composite 59 Transitions are a perfect marriage of lens technologies that will greatly benefit wearers’ overall vision experience. Enhanced Multifocals improve optical performance for bifocal and trifocal wearers, while Transitions lenses help wearers easily shift between indoor and outdoor environments. Creating a lens that features both technical innovations is a logical next step in eye care which we believe wearers will truly value,” says Ronald Blum, O.D., Chairman, CEO, and Founder of PixelOptics.

Since 2009, both companies have announced they will continue their partnership to market PixelOptics’ emPower! electronic eyewear which is expected to be introduced to consumers in a national rollout in 2011.

A new high-tech gadget concerning eyeglasses has been seen in its prototype in Japan. This time, the device is a combination of a pair of eyeglasses and a GPS system.

This new gadget is developed by the Nakajima Laboratory at the University of Electro-Communications in Japan, with the LED lights built into the eyeglass frame to help the wearer moving in the correct direction.

In the specially-made eyeglass frame, a mini micro-processor is built in. Just like the one we are using in the car, the glasses wearer needs to input the final destination he is going to reach, then the GPS eyeglasses will tell the wearer whether he is in walking in the right direction by seeing the LED light pattern. If the LED tells you that you are in the wrong way, you can just simply try other directions.

The spokesman of the project said, “With most current navigation systems, you have to look at a handset display as you walk. Looking at the screen while walking can be dangerous. But with this system, all you need to do is be aware of the LED light while you walk.”

As it is still in the stage of prototype, no one knows when this device will be in the market and in which form. High-tech does help make our life easier, but how about this GPS glasses?

According to the report of American Academy of Ophthalmology, the tiny, translucent contact lenses, and the eyeglasses on kids’ noses, they’re a potential source and cause for incidents that happen in their eyes.

Contact lenses are the most common cause of medical-device associated injuries among children over the age of 11, according to research published this week in Pediatrics.  The article reviewing medical records from 100 hospital emergency departments between 2004 and 2005, estimated that nearly 34,000 (or 23 percent) of annual cases were due to contact lens injuries in children and teens.

Contact lenses and eye glasses accounted for 40 percent of all medical device associated injuries. The lenses were associated with corneal abrasions, ulcerations and conjunctivitis (swelling or infection of the membrane lining the eyelids).  Eyeglasses were reported to cause lacerations to the eyes or face.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a statement reiterating that contact lenses are medical devices that require a prescription, proper fitting by an eye care professional and proper care by the consumer.

Experts suggest if children experience pain, burning, redness, tearing or sensitivity to light while wearing any type of contact lenses, the organization advises checking with your eye doctor.

In the released study, researchers advised parents and guardians of children to “determine” the maturity level of their children before purchasing contact lenses for them. The study advised the usual procedures for hygiene in order to reduce the amount of contact lens-related injuries: washing the hands, keeping proper contact with lenses, kept in a clean case in a clean place, and replacing them promptly if there are problems such as itchiness after wearing the lenses.

Other medical devices involved in many emergency room visits for America’s youth are typically wheelchairs, powered scooters, eyeglasses, crutches, and hypodermic needles. Ear tubes, heart devices, catheters and other such medical instruments are also of concern for the safety of children.

This is a serious warning to the youth with refraction errors. Both the parents and kids themselves should keep a special eye on this issue.

Source: CNN blog