New Light Adjustable Lens Implant

A new light adjustable lens implant is allowing any residual errors in vision to be corrected using ultraviolet light without any additional surgical procedures. This lens adjustment is completely non invasive and so predictable that it is possible to give patients 20/20 normal vision without glasses and the ability to see brighter colors.

After age 40 nearly everyone develops some form of presbyopia or cataracts which results in poor focus and loss of color. The only treatment for cataracts is surgery where the old lens is removed and replaced with an artificial one. Previously over 70% of people who have lens implants after cataract surgery or clear lens extraction are left with some longsighted, shortsightedness or astigmatism. This meant that they still needed to wear glasses to achieve good vision. These new adjustable lenses mean that patients get perfectly fitted with a new lens for life.

The procedure involves a day surgery where the lens is implanted using a micro-incision so no stitches are required. Two weeks after surgery when the wound has healed the patient returns for an adjustment of the lens to achieve the best vision possible. If needed a second adjustment can be made and once everyone is happy the lens is 'locked'.

The light adjustable lens implant has been added to our directory under senses/implantable lenses

Source - London Eye Hospital via an anonymous reader tip.

Vuzix1200VR Virtual Reality Glasses

Available in August 2011, the new virtual reality glasses from Vuzix look impressive. Previous models have been awkward looking to say the least, but this new model seems to have overcome the sterotype of nerdy goggles and looks more like a normal pair of sunglasses. When wearing the glasses its the equivalent of looking at a 75 inch screen from 10 feet away.

The Wrap 1200VR supports standard 2D video out of the box plus 3D video for a broad assortment of games, simulators and other types of applications. That means you watch standard TV, 3D TV, play console games like Playstation and Xbox or watch media from smart phones. For games, a new generation head tracker called the Wrap Tracker 6TC with compass, has a 6-degrees of freedom tracker with automatic drift compensation that Vuzix say offers the best ever, “Where you look is what you see.” experience. The glasses support the latest side-by-side 3D video format, have a display resolution support of up to 1280 x 768. 

Calibration and legacy games support are provided by the Vuzix VR Manager software.

Product Page www.vuzix.com/consumer/products_wrap_1200vr

Soundbite Hearing System Approved in Europe

The Soundbite hearing system has received the European CE Mark. "Receiving the CE Mark for our SoundBite Hearing System is a significant milestone toward the global commercialization of our non-surgical bone-conduction hearing device," said Amir Abolfathi, CEO of Sonitus Medical.

Almost invisible to be worn, the SoundBite hearing system is the world's first non-surgical and removable hearing solution designed to transmit sound via the teeth.  It works by utilizing a well-established principle called 'bone conduction' to deliver clear, high quality sound to the inner ear. The system is made up of an easy to insert and remove hearing device which is known as an ITM. ITM simply stands for 'In The Mouth'.

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How To Record Everything You See And Feel

Have you ever wished that everything you see throughout the day could be recordeded and played back at will? We already had once device in the directory for this purpose. The ViconRevue is a wearable camera worn around your neck that can record a snapshot every thirty seconds.

Now NEC has developed a similar device they call DEW. As well as recording images the DEW can sense emotions and gestures of other people in view. It then tags those emotions and gestures to the images. Using the DEW software, the user can then search their photos by those emotion or gesture tags. Compared to scrolling through a never ending stream of photos, the DEW method should make recalling happy shots a breeze.

View all life recorders from the directory -> upgradeyourbody.com/biotech-directory/life-recorders/

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Soundbite Hearing System Approved by US FDA

The Soundbite hearing system has been approved for use by the US FDA. During two trials, 95% of patients were either satisfied or very satisfied with the performance in terms of addressing their hearing problem after six months of wear, and 95% were also either likely or very likely to recommend the device to a friend who had the same hearing problem as theirs.

Almost invisible to be worn, the SoundBite hearing system is the world's first non-surgical and removable hearing solution designed to transmit sound via the teeth  It works by utilizing a well-established principle called 'bone conduction' to deliver clear, high quality sound to the inner ear. The system is made up of an easy to insert and remove hearing device which is known as an ITM. ITM simply stands for 'In The Mouth'.

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Retina Implant For Routine Sight Restoration

Our directory currently has five listings under the bionic eyes category. With a growing market of people suffering from age related macular degeneration, the race is on to develop the worlds first commercial bionic eye. They all take a similar approach by replacing the damaged retina in the back of the eye with an artificial one.

NanoRetina has developed an implantable micro chip that integrates with the eyes own nerve cells and restores sight. A 30 minute minimally invasive procedure is all it takes to insert. A pair of ordinary looking glasses which are actually powered, send an infrared beam into the eye and powers the implanted chip. The implanted chip then takes over the role of the damaged retina cells by sending signals directly to the nerve cells that run to the brain. Recent trials in Germany were successful and further trials are now to begin in London in March 2011.

Contact Lenses To Monitor Health

Professor Babak Parviz, from the University of Washington has made a new presentation at a NASA research center in Hampton USA. Back in 2008, his work was focused on creating virtual displays on contact lenses and it seems by using advancements in nanotechnology, they have now come up with a contact lenses that can display information to the user and continuously monitor the person's health through the biochemistry of the eye surface. The researchers are working on integrating small optical, electronic and biosensing devices into contact lenses.

Parviz' research at the University of Washington includes nanotechnology, bionanotechnolgy and microsystems. In 2008 his work was chosen by Time magazine as one of the top inventions of the year. The device doesn't seem to have a name yet that I can find, however it's referred to as the E-Lens on the London Museum of Science website, where his work is on display.

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PresbyLens Implant Trial Begins in US

The PresbyLens is a small corneal implant designed to replace the need for wearing glasses. It's already available in Europe and a trial in the US started on 6th April 2010.

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Augmented Reality and it's Applications

Augmented reality is also known as AR. AR a live view of a physical real-world environment with an overlay of computer-generated imagery. It's main benefit is to allow people to find information without having to be in front of a computer using a search engine. By simply looking at the environment, certain information will appear depending on what it being looked at, and what the person has chosen to view. What is being looked at is determined by the GPS position and the direction is determined by a compass. Both of these are now available in most new smart phones.

What the person decides to view as an overlay can be thought of as layers. For example they might choose to see restaurants, public transport information or even prices of objects in a shop. These layers can be switched on one or many at a time. Other permanent layers might include a clock or the current temperature.

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Esteem Fully Implantable Hearing System

A panel set up by the FDA has recommended by a vote of 15-0 that they will approve the first fully-implantable hearing aid for patients with moderate to severe hearing loss.

The Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ developed by Envoy Medical is different from all other microphone-based hearing devices (hearing aids, other middle ear implants or cochlear implants). This is because it uses the eardrum to process the incoming sound and thereby preserving a natural way of hearing. The Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ is 100% implantable and therefore invisible.

The device works by being implanted under the skin behind the ear. Sound waves travel into the ear canal and set the ear drum into motion by causing the bones of the middle ear to vibrate. The device senses these movements and delivers a customized dose of energy to the cochlea which then transmits the signals to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as hearing, which in turn provides the patient with improved hearing.

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