Glaucoma-Correction Glasses

My otherwise ridiculously healthy dad was diagnosed with glaucoma a while back, and though it now appears to be under control thanks to the right prescription meds, his vision isn't as good as it used to be. Specifically, the contrast and brightness of what he sees with that eye has been reduced.

An avid user photographer, my dad posed a fascinating solution to this problem. What if he hooked up a Looxcie-style video camera near his left eye, then fed the resulting video through an auto-contrast filter, which would display on a small screen inside a pair of glasses. It might look weird, but it'd be a real-life use of augmented reality that's actually useful. In rough visual terms, this is what the problem is and what the solution would do:

Glaucoma-Contrast.jpg

To me, the strange thing is that this sounds possible, even plausible. Then again, I don't know how technically challenging it is to provide that kind of real-time video correction. Where are the sticking points? My dad and I would love your help sketching out how this contraption could work -- and then building it.

Searching around for information on how difficult this task might be, I wasn't able to find much. Much of the discussion around augmented reality vision focuses on contact lenses, I suppose because they are futuristic and sexy. But my dad isn't looking for anything that crazy. He just wants a pair of glasses with an auto-contrasting screen for the left eye.

I found a Spanish team was working on a vision augmentation system back in 2005. They seemed to have made some progress, but that was years ago. The trail goes cold after that and I haven't really seen it.

So, how about it, hardware hackers: could you do this?

I pasted in my dad's original query below, so you can hear his specific descriptions. I'd be happy to put any interested hackers in touch with him, as long as you are not a crazy person. Or, rather, as long as you are the right kind of crazy person.

As any user of Picasa or probably any other photo manipulator program knows, there is a button, "Auto-contrast," that will sharpen and lighten up any image unless there is a large bright vs dark gradient e.g., big bright sunny sky on upper half of a composition and say, dark forest in the bottom part in the shot. Normally, if the image is within a relatively narrow range of lighting, it will light up and sharpen it as if by magic.

Well, I have observed that my left eye -- affected by advancing Glaucoma -- perhaps now being controlled by the right mix of prescription eye drops, perceives significantly less light and detail (contrast) than my almost normal right eye, with or without prescription glasses on. Probably there is no way to have a corrective prescription that would restore the ability of the optic nerve to perceive the full details of what it is seeing. However if the lenses themselves could auto-contrast the image as it goes through the lens by the application of some type of software embedded in the glasses frame along with some miniaturized hardware also embedded in the frame, the eye would be looking at the enhanced (brightened and sharpened) image in the lens providing the eyes cones and rods with enough additional light to offset some if not all the lost capacity. The lenses might have to look as Borg-like appendages to accommodate the additional technology.

IOP and primary open-angle glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma

Study shows link between IOP and primary open-angle glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma



IOP was the only risk factor associated with both primary open-angle glaucoma and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma, while moderate to high myopia correlated slightly with both conditions, a study found.

Vascular systemic diseases and treatments correlated solely with primary open-angle glaucoma.

“The implications of these differences for the pathogenesis between the two common types of [open-angle glaucoma] should be explored further,” the study authors said.


Data were culled from the Thessaloniki Eye Study, a cross-sectional population-based analysis of chronic eye diseases in Thessaloniki, an urban center in Northern Greece. The study included 2,554 patients age 60 years and older.

Investigators set out to assess risk factors for primary open-angle glaucoma and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma patients were compared with a non-glaucomatous control group. Primary open-angle glaucoma subjects were compared with controls without pseudoexfoliation. Pseudoexfoliative glaucoma subjects were compared with controls with pseudoexfoliation for demographic, lifestyle, ophthalmic and systemic factors.

Multivariate analysis was limited to 2,078 patients who attended clinic visits and had at least one phakic eye.

Results showed that IOP (P < .001), pseudoexfoliation (P < .001), history of coronary artery bypass or vascular surgery (P = .017) and moderate to high myopia (P = .009) correlated most strongly with open-angle glaucoma.

Data from 1,840 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma showed that age (P = .048), IOP (P < .001), history of coronary bypass or vascular surgery (P = .01) and history of diabetes treated with insulin (P = .045) were strongly associated with primary open-angle glaucoma.

Among 238 patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma, there was a correlation with elevated IOP (P < .001), the authors reported. There was a slight association with moderate to high myopia (P = .06).

Better tracking glaucoma progression

Having more frequent visual tests could be linked with better tracing of glaucoma progression, a study finds


More frequent visual tests for glaucoma patients could allow physicians to better follow the condition's progression, a study finds.

A study released online Monday in the Archives of Ophthamology examined data on 468 eyes of 381 patients age 35 to 80 who were part of a long-term intervention study. The participants had primary open-angle glaucoma no longer being controlled by medication. This type of glaucoma is the most common form and usually hits people over 50. It causes damage to the optic nerve and usually progresses slowly, sometimes without being noticed. The researchers' goal was to see if more frequent visual field tests to check peripheral vision resulted in earlier discovery of the progression of the glaucoma.

LASIK and Glaucoma

Glaucoma has affective the vision of roughly 3 million people in the United States. Many of these people do not know they suffer from glaucoma because there are no outward symptoms until the vision has been affected. Your ophthalmologist can catch glaucoma in its early stages before it affects your vision by conducting a routine eye examination.
Information About Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye condition that gradually damages the optic nerve in the eye. The optic nerve is responsible for transmitting the visual information supplied by the retina directly to the brain. A damaged optic nerve can lead to permanent blindness.
A thick, watery liquid called the aqueous humor moves through the space called the anterior chamber located between the cornea and the leans of the eye. The aqueous humor supplies nutrition to the tissues of the eye, the lens, and the cornea. The aqueous humor drains from the eye through the trabecular meshwork. Internal ocular pressure (IOP) builds up in the eye when the aqueous humor does not properly drain through the trabecular meshwork.
Increase of IOP will put pressure on the optical nerve and gradually cause damage affecting your vision. The only outward sign of glaucoma is affected vision. It is often too late to save your vision by the time your vision is affected by glaucoma. Early detection and treatment will prevent permanent damage to your vision.
Treatment for glaucoma depends on the severity of the condition and can include:
- Special medicated eye drops
- Laser surgery
- Other eye surgery
LASIK and Glaucoma
You may not be a good candidate for LASIK depending on the severity and stage of your glaucoma. It is important to schedule an initial LASIK surgery consultation with your ophthalmologist for a full eye exam to determine if LASIK is the best procedure for your vision correction needs. Your ophthalmologist will be able to suggest another vision correction procedure if you are not a candidate for LASIK.
During the LASIK procedure, a flap is created in the outer portion of the cornea to allow access to the area of the cornea that needs to be reshaped to improve your vision. The flap is created using a microkeratome. A vacuum ring is used to attach the microkeratome to your eye. The vacuum ring causes suction that will temporarily increase the pressure inside your eye. Patients without glaucoma will not be affected by the suction. However, the increase in pressure can cause negative affects to patients with glaucoma.
You can become a candidate for LASIK once your glaucoma is treated and your condition is stable. There are other laser vision correction procedures that can be performed if you have glaucoma. PRK is a laser vision correction procedure that does not require the use of a microkeratome or the use of suction. It is a good idea to discuss your vision correction options with your ophthalmologist before deciding on a procedure.