Look at something close and your eyes focus at close range so you can see it clearly. Look up and your eyes automatically focus at a further distance so you can see into the distance clearly. We experience this every day: a musician looks at her music and then up at the conductor; a worker looks at his computer screen and then across the room at a colleague; a child ties her shoe and then looks up at a friend.
It's not that easy for those who suffer from presbyopia - and that includes most people in their 40s and older. In fact, 39 is the average age for the onset of presbyopia in the UK. Presbyopia is a condition which makes it difficult for the eye to change length of focus. This means that many people in their 40s and 50s have trouble threading a needle, reading a pill bottle, or doing close work.
Bifocal gles are one solution. These eyegles have two different prescriptions in each lens: a correction of distance in the top half and a correction for near vision on the bottom. Other solutions include surgery making one eye suited to long vision and one suited to near vision, different contact lens prescriptions for each eye which have a similar effect, or bifocal contact lenses.
Bifocal contact lenses haven't been popular, because they simply don't work that well. That may change.
Hongrui Jiang is an engineer specializing in biological micro-electromechanical systems, or BioMEMS. He has received an Innovator's Award from the United States Institute of Health to fund his work using nanotechnology to create contact lenses that can adjust focus the way human eyes do before presbyopia sets in.
Nanotechnology refers to technology using extremely small things. Recent work in nanotechnology has resulted in solar energy cells small enough to be put into liquid and sprayed onto cars, droplets of silver added to paint to create antibacterial surfaces in hospitals, and many more impossible sounding things. Contact lenses that work like human eyes may be the next miracle of science.
In the meantime, visit www.opticianeyetests.co.uk for more information on vision care. An online eye test can help you determine whether you might be beginning to experience presbyopia.
About The Author :
OpticianEyeTests.co.uk is an informational website with articles on eye health and vision care, free online eye tests, and tools to help consumers choose the right gles and remember to order a new supply of contact lenses in time for best eye health.
