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.”

Healthy vision offers patients more than good eyesight; for many, their quality of life is greatly diminished if their vision is less than adequate. For example, needing help reading a menu or being nervous to drive at night can limit patients’ independence, but nutritional support can help maintain long- term eye health. Perhaps some of the most talked-about antioxidants necessary for healthy vision are zeaxanthin and lutein, but why all the excitement around these two nutrients?

What’s all the hype about Zeaxanthin and Lutein?

Zeaxanthin (pronounced zee-aZAN-thin)

Zeaxanthin is a member of a group of compounds known as carotenoids.1  In the Zeaxanthin and Visual Function (ZVF) Study, researchers refer to this carotenoid as a “superior antioxidant” because of its chemical structure.2  In the same study, authors remark that “the macula selectively places [zeaxanthin] in its foveal center where the greatest protection is needed, which is last to degenerate.” This means that zeaxanthin is responsible for protecting the crisp, clear central vision needed for reading, seeing faces, and other daily tasks. While this antioxidant can be found in orange peppers, corn, and spinach, many Americans do not consume enough of these foods in their diet. 

Lutein (pronounced LOO- teen)

Like zeaxanthin, lutein is also classified as a carotenoid. Accumulated by the retina in the peripheral aspect of the macula, this antioxidant protects peripheral vision and low-contrast visual acuity.2 Lutein can be found in dark, leafy greens like kale, spinach, broccoli, and collard greens. While most patients know that these foods are beneficial, Americans sadly have moved toward a diet lacking in leafy greens. 

Macular Pigment 

Zeaxanthin and lutein work together to protect the sensitive tissues in the retina and form what is called the xanthophyll macular pigment. Found in the center of the macula, this protective pigment works like internal sunglasses, filtering harmful wavelengths of light before they reach the photoreceptors. Healthy, or dense, macular pigment may improve visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, light sensitivity, and glare recovery. 

From Review of Optometry Online May 10, 2018.

Sources: 

1. Heiting, Gary. “Lutein and Zeaxanthin – Eye and Vision Benefits.” All About Vision, AAV Media, LLC., Dec. 2017, www.allaboutvision.com/nutrit ion/lutein.htm. 

2. Richer SP, Stiles W, Graham-Hoffman K, et al. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of zeaxanthin and visual function in patients with atrophic age-related macular degeneration: the Zeaxanthin and Visual Function Study (ZVF) FDA IND #78, 973. Optometry. 2011 Nov;82(11):667-680.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.optm.2011.08.008. 

3. Herman JP, Kleiner-Goudey SJ, Davis RL (2017) Case Report of Dietary Supplements Improving Macular Pigment and Visual Function. Adv Oph thalmol Vis Syst 6(1): 00166. DOI: 10.15406/aovs.2017.06.00166. 

Tips for Avoiding Diabetes:

1.  Wear a pedometer and get 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.
2. Eat plant-based diet (seven servings of whole vegetables and fruits every day; at least 14 different types of vegetables each week.
3. Get  7-8 hours of sleep each night.
4. Eliminate high-fructose corn syrup and keep added sugars under 25g each day (read your food labels).
5. Take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 every day to get blood levels above 40 mg/dl (see your PCP or consider a home test available through www.grassrootshealth.org).
6. Promote healthy gut bacteria that improve insulin sensitivity by taking a prebiotic or probiotic containing oligofructose and avoiding aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose.

Diabetes in a known cause of blindness if left untreated.  Long-term exposure to high blood sugars causes the retinal blood vessels to become leaky and cause permanent irreversible damage to the sensitive photoreceptors, rods and cones.

Tips for Good Sugar Control if You Have Diabetes:

7.  Do everything listed in steps 1 through 6 above.

8.  Limit carbohydrate content of any large meal to less than 30 grams.

9.  Take 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar before meals to l lower blood sugar spikes.

10.  Slow down, put your fork down while slowly chewing food.

11.  Take prescribed diabetes medications on time, every time; take rapid-acting insulin at least 15 min before eating if required prior to food.

12.  Fast at least one day a week to increase healthy gut bacteria and insulin sensitivity.

See your eye doctor regularly and ask what you can do to keep your eyes their healthiest.

Source: Paul A.  Chous, OD, MA, FAAO

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!

Macular degeneration is caused by a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle risk factors.  For example, smoking increases the risk of damage to the macula, while eating leafy greens and fish, such as salmon, halibut, and tuna, may reduce the risk.

Up to this point, researchers had identified 21 regions of the genome, called loci, that influence the risk of AMD.   Now a total of 52 genetic variants are known that are associated with AMD.  The new research was published in the Dec. 21, 2015 online edition of Nature Genetics.   Researchers also identified a variant specific to the neovascular, or wet, form of AMD, which may point to reasons why therapy for this form of AMD is not effective not everyone.

Wet macular degeneration is responsible for significant loss of central vision and, if caught early, can greatly benefit, though not cured, from treatment with a class of injectable medications, known as anti-VEGF.  There are currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for the more common form of advanced AMD, called geographic atrophy or “dry” AMD.

Dr. Lisa Richardson, the Director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention & Control said “If we take action now, we can prevent hundreds of thousands of new cases of skin cancers, including melanoma, and save billions of dollars in medical costs.”

Our advice for kids of all ages and for adults when outdoors: remember to wear your 100% UV protective sunglasses for your eyes, sunscreen for your skin, and a hat with a brim or visor for your head, neck, and ears.

Ultraviolet light is cumulative over our lifetime, and speed up the process of cataracts, macular degeneration, eyelid tumors, pinguecula, pterygium, and other eye diseases and conditions of the delicate tissue surrounding the eyes.

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