May 26, 2009 -- Usually, a telescope ends up inside someone's eye after a tragic accident. A new telescope, surgically implanted into a patient's eye, helps alleviate a tragic accident. Used to treat advanced macular degeneration, the implantable telescope can magnify images three times to restore partial vision to those who have lost nearly all their sight. "The implantable telescope is like Galileo's original telescope," said Allen Hill, CEO of VisionCare Inc., the company making the implantable telescope. "It works with the cornea as a fixed telephoto lens, projecting images onto a wider area of the retina to allow the individual to recognize and respond to what they see in detail." The implantable telescope is used to treat macular degeneration, a form of progressive blindness that can develop in a few months or take decades to fully manifest itself. There is no known cause for the disease, which can occur in wet and dry forms. Drugs can slow or even stop the disease, but there is no treatment to remove the scar tissue that develops inside the eye. More than one million people in the United States have some stage of macular degeneration, and only a small percentage of that number has advanced macular degeneration. Related Content:
Patients with advanced macular degeneration lose the ability to focus on details but keep their peripheral vision. The implantable telescope takes advantage of that fact. Smaller than a pencil eraser, the glass implantable telescope is placed into one pupil only, ideally the eye with the best vision, during a one-hour, outpatient procedure using local anesthesia. Once nestled inside the eye, the telescope magnifies incoming images up to three times their normal size, making it easier for patients to see specific details. Since only one eye is equipped with the implantable telescope, two different images are sent to the brain. Sorting out the two signals can take some getting used to, said Hill. "It's like you are listening to the news and your wife is trying to tell you something; you just tune one out," said Hill. If you can't tune one image out, there are other ways for your brain to deal with two separate images, says Eli Peli, a scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. For patients who can't switch images by will alone, winking can work. Others put a slice of tape over part of their glasses to help their brain choose which image to focus on. But eventually the brain chooses one image over the other. "There is no persistent double vision," said Peli. Get More NewsMouse Cloned From Long-Frozen CellResearchers create a mouse from a long-frozen cell. Will the mammoth be next?'Bubble' Could Protect AstronautsScientists say a "bubble" around a Mars-bound spaceship could protect astronauts.Big Reduction of Snowmobiles in Yellowstone ProposedA new plan would cut snowmobile use by 40 percent in Yellowstone.Microbes: Fuel of the Future?A reddish South American microbe is literally breathing fuel, say scientists.DNA Links Remains to Steve FossetDNA tests on two bones found in California confirm they are those of Steve Fossett.Women Carry More Bacteria Than MenSome bacteria prefer women, suggests a new study. But why?Ancient 'Water Monster' Facing ExtinctionA foot-long salamander that was a key part of Aztec legend is threatened by extinction.Grand Canyon's Youth ConfirmedThe Grand Canyon is millions of years younger than previously thought, argue geologists.My Take: E-Voting Not User FriendlyOpinion: Electronic voting machines don't always capture the intent of voters.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.At 40, Brain and Body SlowThe part of the brain in charge of motion starts a gradual slide in middle age.Spiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates. |
advertisement
|
