1.8 million people in the UK are partially sighted. With this in mind, technology magazine PCPro has joined forces with theRoyal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to encourage companies to make their websites more accessible to blind and partially sighted people. This involves getting their websites and apps to a minimum standard so that partially sighted users still have the opportunity to access their goods and services.Websites need to be accessible for partially sighted peopleRobin S… Continue reading →

Scottish specialists have developed a pioneering treatment currently being tested on two patients in which stem cells are transplanted into the cornea to combat corneal damage and sight loss.Corneal diseases are the second biggest cause of blindness worldwide, and in some form or another account for an estimated 7.25 million of the 45 million blind people in the world. Worse still is the historically difficult nature of treating corneal damage, and it wasn’t particularly long ago when the only… Continue reading →

The refractive eye error of astigmatism is little understood by many despite the majority of glasses wearers suffering from the condition.
It is believed as many as one in three people suffer from the common eye problem, so just what is astigmatism and why does it occur?Characteristics of AstigmatismAstigmatism is seen as a relatively minor condition compared to some, but this doesn’t mean that a sufferer is any less inhibited by it. The condition is characterised by an abnormally shaped… Continue reading →

Scientists working at Stanford University in California have taken another step forward in the quest to cure blindness.As with similar treatments, their method works by inserting retinal implants into the back of the eye, stimulating the nerves which send information to the brain. Two men in the UK have recently undergone a similar treatment, using retinal implants that rely on internal wiring and a battery worn behind the ear.
So what is so special about this development and what does it e… Continue reading →

A remarkable new trial into using stem cells in an attempt to cure blindness has taken place in the UK.Two people have had stem cells transplanted into their eyes as part of a clinical trial to restore their sight. Both patients have corneal blindness and up to this point, the only possible cure is a transplant of cornea tissue from an organ donor.The donor stem cells were grown by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service who ran the trial along with NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow an… Continue reading →

There are many who impart mythical information about your eyes as you are a child, whether it’s your parents telling you to eat your carrots so you can see in the dark, or worrying playground rumour of how crossing your eyes too many times will make them stick, but are any of these myths true, or should they disregarded as with other childhood white lies?Common MythsSitting Right In Front Of The TV Will Damage Your Eyes – Lazy weekends spent watching cartoons or playing video games as a chil… Continue reading →

Many of us dream of going into space when we are young, before reaching adulthood when the dawning realisation sets in that space travel is a once in a lifetime opportunity assigned only to the lucky few astronauts, at least until space travel becomes commercially viable.It may be interesting to learn though, that those who’ve taken part in the moon landings as far back as Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the cratered surface during the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969, may have exper… Continue reading →

Whilst perfect vision isn’t a requirement for the majority of jobs, it is for certain professions and having corrective glasses or even surgery isn’t an option.

So what are these jobs and what are the requirements?

•    Airline Pilot. If you want to be a pilot, you will generally be required to have absolutely perfect vision. This is because other people are putting your life in their hands. Wearing glasses isn’t an option because they might break, become lost. Y… Continue reading →

Researchers at Californian VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies produce a telescope implant capable of combating Age-related macular degeneration
As the second biggest cause of blindness worldwide, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) presents a serious challenge to health care today. The condition, which damages the part of our retina responsible for seeing and transmitting fine detail to the brain, is a huge focus for ophthalmic technology researches around the world, and recently a new s… Continue reading →

Today, if we start finding that our vision is impaired – if we have difficulty focussing on objects far away, or squint in an attempt to read a book – we book an appointment with an optician to get a diagnosis of our eyesight and expect to have it corrected with glasses. We take it for granted that the medical knowledge is there.

When Were Corrective Glasses First Developed?

Initially people used a form of magnifying glass to allow them to focus on objects. Because the… Continue reading →