Contributor Rebecca Banovic writes at Forbes (4/20, Banovic) about “a smart glove prototype called Anora” developed by Nikola Krstic, a graduate from the Electrical Engineering School in Belgrade, to help “the blind and visually impaired move unaided without a service dog or white cane.” The glove has “ultrasonic sensors that explore the surroundings: it provides vibrotactile feedback on the position of the closest obstacles in range and lets users know by a vibrating motor and voice app.” It also includes a “Panic Button” that allows the user to “send the location via text message to a guardian or friend.” So far, it “has been tested on 30 blind individuals in Serbia- and the reception has been positive.”

Vision Services at Petrou Eye Care

Comprehensive Eye and Vision Exam with Routine Eye Health Screenings:

• All Ages – First Annual Routine Exam at age 3
• Glasses for near, computer, and far 
• Contact Lenses for driving, middle, or reading
• Myopia, Hyperopia, Astigmatism, Presbyopia
• Computer Vision and Ergonomic Consultation
• Eye Nutrition Consultation
• Eye Disease Preventive Care and Education
• Eye Strain
• Red Eye
• Dry Eye
• Eye Irritation
• Blurry Vision
• Pupil Testing
• Eye Muscle Movements
• Strabismus and Amblyopia
• Visual Field Testing 
• Dilated Pupil Fundus Viewing
• Glaucoma – Eye Pressure, Optic Nerve
• Cataracts 
• Macular Degeneration 
• Retinal Holes, Tears, or Detachment

Medical Eye Services at Petrou Eye Care

Comprehensive Medical Eye Exam with Management, Evaluation, Referral, and/or Treatments:

• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Macular Degeneration
• Auto-Immune Related Eye Problems
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Retinal Detachment, Holes, or Tears
• Vitreous Eye Floaters
• Loss of Vision
• Blurry Vision
• Itchy Eyes
• Swollen Eyes
• Painful Eye
• Red Eye 
• Pink Eye
• Allergic Conjunctivitis
• Dry Eye – Rx and OTC Drops, Punctal Plugs
• Eye Strain
• Double Vision – Prism 
• Foreign Body Removal
• Eye Injury 
• Concussion Syndrome 
• Headache – Brain Tumor
• Visual Field Testing – Threshold
• Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography 
• Strabismus – Crossed Eye
• Amblyopia – Lazy Eye

Contact Lens Services at Petrou Eye Care

• Contact Lens Evaluation and Fittings
• Contact Lens Prescription Update
• Adults and Children of All Ages
• Soft, Rigid, Multifocal, Monovision, All Brands
• Contact Lens Insertion and Removal Training Classes or Refreshers
• For Full Time, Part Time, or Occasional Wear

Optical Consultation at Petrou Eye Care

Complimentary Consultations and Optician Services:

• Eyewear Styling
• Sunglass Lenses
• Image Consulting
• Contact Lens Insertion and Removal
• Sports Protective Eyewear
• Eyewear Repair 

Medscape  (7/23, Brown, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that people who eat “at least one orange per day have a 60% lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) 15 years later compared with those who do not eat oranges.” The findings  were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

They “report independent associations between dietary intakes of total flavonoids, and some of the common flavonoid classes (e.g., flavonols and flavanones), and AMD among older adults. Furthermore, the consumption of oranges and orange juice, one of the main foods and beverages contributing to total flavanone intake, is also likely to independently influence the risk of AMD,” the authors write.

“Bamini Gopinath, PhD, from the Center for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Australia, and colleagues published their findings online July 6 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”

“The researchers conducted a population-based cohort study of data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study. They included 2856 adults aged 49 years or older at baseline who provided dietary information for prevalence analyses, 2037 of whom were followed up 15 years later and were included in incidence analyses.”

“The study also may have been underpowered to detect modest associations between flavonoid intake and the development of incident AMD, as the number of participants who developed incident AMD was small.”

The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

OrCam is an intuitive wearable device with a smart camera designed to assist people who are visually impaired. OrCam gives independence and enhances quality of life. It’s a powerful low vision tool when all other options are exhausted.

OrCam is a smart camera mounted on your eye glasses and process visual input in real time. Orcam reads text on signs, books and your phone instantly. You can enter products you use everyday and it will recognize and read aloud what it is you are looking at. It even recognizes faces and announces people you know.

Inside the home, it allows users to read their morning papers and books without asking for assistance or searching for audiobooks. It reads text on computer and smartphone screens without needing to learn new software or use new tools.

This ingenious device is appropriate for all ages, and can be used with external speakers or earphones. Outside the home, it enables independence by reading at restaurants and other public places, identifying money note denominations and products pre-entered in it’s memory for shopping, and it does much more!

For a free demonstration contact:

Gabe DeLeon, Technology Sales Consultant and Training
Toll Free 1-800-770-8474 x 108
Email: gabe@adaptivetr.com

What can a person with low vision really see? That question is not an easy one to answer because every person with a visual impairment truly has a unique pattern of vision loss.  No two people have the same exact vision loss!

Macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and congenital eye disease, among the hundreds of other conditions that can cause us to lose some of our vision, all result in slightly different ways for a person to see.

Macular Degeneration Progression

Some eye diseases cause us to lose our central vision fibers, creating a sort of ‘Swiss cheese’ pattern of blindspots. People experience this type of sight loss as things looking dim, wavy, distorted, blurry, or irregular. When our central retinal vision is damaged, it’s hard to see faces and small details, or even to read printed words like mail, street signs, and TV captions.

Other eye problems, like retinal detachment and glaucoma can affect our side vision, or peripheral vision. Blind spots in our peripheral vision make getting around more difficult. People with loss of side vision, like after a brain stroke or serious head trauma, are more likely to trip over things, loose balance, feel disorientated, and have more confusion with regards to motion in their environment.

Vision is our primary and most important sense, so losing any vision can be frightening. Knowing how our amazing eyes work and how we actually see and what can be done, can reduce the stress of vision loss.  Acceptance, understanding and moving forward allows benefits from low vision rehabilitation.

Here’s a very brief overview of our basic vision function: each of our eyes has over one million vision fibers coming down from the brain, which when bundled together are called the optic nerve. Those nerve fibers spread out and line the inside of the eye to form a thin film of nervous system tissue that we call the retina. The retina is responsible for “catching” everything that our eyes look at, and then our retinas send that captured information back to the brain for processing, learning, and storing.

If any of those neural fibers responsible for seeing, including photoreceptors, nuclei, and other cells, get damaged, then we have what’s called low vision. The reason it’s highly unlikely that two eyes, let alone two people, have the exact same level of damage to the exact same fibers is because there are so many fibers and cells to begin with!

The good news here is that something can be done to help a person with loss of vision see better. Low vision specialists, like Dr. Christina Petrou, work with your ophthalmologist, retina surgeon, and other eye doctors. The role of a low vision optometrist is not to replace your primary eye doctor, but to help identify where and how a person sees their best, and to maximize that vision.

At Petrou Eye Care, a low vision examination and consultation allows time to create a plan of educating, training, and bringing awareness to new ways of improving the function of a person’s remaining vision. Initial low vision consultations can last up to 3 hours, and may be spread over multiple office visits. Contrast enhancement, magnification and lighting evaluation, blind spot mapping, and many other vision function tests are introduced for each person’s unique vision loss and daily life skill requirements.

If you know someone who would benefit from low vision rehab, have him or her call Dr. Christina Petrou at 414-247-2020.  She and her team of low vision professionals are available by appointment to guide and offer resources for patients needing help in the metro Milwaukee area.

AMD usually develops gradually and painlessly, and good vision in one eye can mask vision loss in the other eye. As AMD progresses, signs may become obvious.

Warning Signs for AMD:

Macular degeneration occurs in the center of the retina

• Difficulty reading or doing close work
• Distorted or wavy lines, borders, words, or details
• Blurry or faded faces, print, TV
• Blind spots, dark spots, or missing areas of straight-ahead vision

Know the risk factors…and if you notice any sudden or gradual change in your vision, don’t assume you need new glasses or contact lenses, make sure you have a complete eye exam. See your eye doctor as soon as possible.

Risk Factors for AMD:

• Aging – AMD affects one-third of adults over 75
• Heredity – A family history of AMD increases risk
• Gender – Women are more likely to develop AMD
• Race – Whites are at greater risk of AMD
• Smoking – increases risk by 2-5 times
• Poor diet, poor circulation, obesity, and inactivity
• Prolonged UV exposure
• Less overall body pigment and light-colored eyes

If you’ve been told you have high risk macular degeneration, ask your eye doctor about using a home Amsler Grid to monitor your central retina for distortion from advancing macular degeneration.

Amsler Grid Home Eye Test

Smartphone apps technology is quickly becoming a big part of our everyday lives, and it seems as though there is an app for everything, including eye care!  Whether you own a smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch, apps that help you keep track of your healthcare needs can be extremely beneficial.  Below are descriptions of a few apps that can make your life easier.  

Mag Light App

Name: Mag Light

Cost: Free

This app is a very simple (although, very useful) magnifying glass with a light.  It operates through the device’s camera and LED light.  The user can view small objects or words with up to 5.0x magnification and can alter the light brightness.  A Pro version is available for $1.99 and offers a feature to freeze the frame, an option that is particularly useful for those with unsteady hands.  The Pro version also has a built-in photo album and allows the user to change the contrast of the image.

Amsler Grid Home Eye Test

Name: EyeCare – Amsler Grid Eye Test

Cost: Free

This simple app walks the user through an Amsler Grid test.  The Amsler Grid is a diagnostic tool used to detect visual disturbances caused by changes in the retina, particularly the macula, an area that is altered in a patient with macular degeneration.  The user follows step-by-step instructions in completing the test.  If defects are present on the grid, the user can use their finger to outline the defects’ locations.  The app also connects to the device’s photo album so the test and noted defects in the grid can be saved and reviewed with an optometrist or ophthalmologist.  

Name: LookTel Money Reader

LookTel Money Reader

Cost: $9.99

This app is useful for the visually impaired who need assistance in determining the denominations of money.  Just wave the device’s camera over the bill and the app will announce the denomination (both the numerical amount and the type of currency such as dollars or euros).  It will also display the amount in large, high-contrast font on the screen.  

These are only a few of the great apps that are available for eye care.  Some are available for both Android and iPhone, so check your operating system for availability.  They can be beneficial to a wide variety of people, and can make your life a bit easier.  As the market continues to develop, be on the lookout for many more to come!

This device has the potential for magnifying central visual acuity and holds promise for people with macular degeneration, as well as for other eye diseases which can result in decreased central vision. Low vision specialists and optometrists will be watching and following this interesting device for progress.

For more information check out:

http://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/new-tech-holds-promise-for-low-vision-patients?sso=y

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/289504.php

Showing true dedication to continued education, Dr. Christina Petrou Haefs of Petrou Eye Care in Glendale recently attended the 2014 Wisconsin Optometric Association (WOA) Annual Convention and Meeting held on September 25-28. The event took place in Middleton, Wisconsin, attracting nearly 300 eye care professionals from Wisconsin and across the United States.

“Keeping current on optometric education is crucial to maintaining the quality care Wisconsin optometrists provide to their patients,” explained Dr. Petrou. “The Wisconsin Optometric Association has been providing such first-class education to its members for 114 years.”

Doctors had the opportunity to complete up to 22 hours of Wisconsin Optometry Examining Board (OEB)- approved continuing education delivered by a stellar lineup of professional speakers, including: WOA Third Party Director and PMI, LLC owner Dr. Charles Brownlow; UW-Madison Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Dr. Gregg Heatley; RevolutionEHR CEO and WOA Past President Dr. Scott Jens; Eye Care Center, Fridley, Maplewood, and Maple Grove, Minnesota Dr. Jordan Keith; UAB Professor of Optometry Dr. Leo Semes, Ophthalmic Consultants of Connecticut Co-Founder Dr. Jim Thimons, and Appleton optometrist and traumatic brain injury (TMI) specialist Dr. Linda Dejmek.

Dr. Petrou attended courses on topics such as glaucoma, anterior segment disease, posterior segment disease, systemic disease, practice management, neuro-optometry, oral pharmaceuticals, TMI, and general optometry. In addition, Dr. Petrou attended exhibit hall open house sessions and communicated with the event’s 60-plus exhibitors and 100-plus industry representatives in attendance in regards to the latest information, technology, and treatments available today.

“After attending outstanding lectures and networking with the top professionals in eye care, I am confident I can offer the best in vision and eye health to my patients,” affirmed Dr. Petrou. “Such certainty in one’s profession is invaluable.”

Continuing education is an important requirement for Wisconsin doctors of optometry to attain re-licensure, and such education is instrumental in maintaining the highest quality of vision and eye health care available to Wisconsin’s citizens. Wisconsin optometrists are required to complete 30 credit hours of continuing education every two years.

“The services we provide to our patients each day as doctors are rewarding and fulfilling,” acknowledged Dr. Petrou. “It’s an honor to be a part of the optometric profession and to serve with such a dedicated group of people.”

About the Wisconsin Optometric Association

The Wisconsin Optometric Association (WOA) is a nonprofit affiliation of licensed doctors of optometry and associated businesses dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the vision welfare of the people of Wisconsin. The WOA accomplishes its goals through: education and dissemination of information, organized governmental activity, legislation and regulation, mediation with consumer and public interest groups, and provision of collective benefits to its members. Approximately 640 doctors of optometry are currently members of the WOA, located in nearly every county in the state. All members must be certified and licensed to practice optometry by the State of Wisconsin. For more information, visit WOA’s website at www.woa-eyes.org.

Customers can also obtain a free ScripTalk Reader from Envision America that will enable them to listen to the information on the ScripTalk label. Currently, there are many people that have difficulty reading or understanding the contents and instructions of their prescription medications. The small print and look-alike packaging of medicine vials can lead to confusion, non-compliance and mistakes. Envision America has created a solution to this serious issue with ScripTalk Station.

For more information visit EnvisionAmerica.com or CVS.com.