CHAPEL HILL - The Canadian National Institute for the Blind presented its annual Winston Gordon Award Wednesday afternoon to a Chapel Hill-based company that developed the world's first self-focusing telescopic glasses for people with poor vision.
Inventors of the Ocutech autofocus telescope received $15,000 in Canadian money and a two-ounce, 24-carat gold medal at institute headquarters in Toronto.
"This technology has enabled us to enhance the quality of life among people with vision loss resulting from such conditions as macular degeneration," said Dr. Henry Greene, clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. "We've been able to help some people who have never responded before to conventional low-vision aids, and that's by far the most gratifying aspect of our work."
About 1,000 of the devices, which resemble half a small camera perched atop an almost standard pair of glasses, are now in use around the world, said Greene, principal investigator for the project that led to the invention. The first pair was fitted little more than two years ago, and the response has been "phenomenal."
"It makes magnification much more user-friendly and more natural," he said. "The work has also led us to a better understanding of the needs of the visually impaired and to predict who will benefit from these types of devices."
A built-in telescope reflects an infrared beam off an object, a person or whatever the wearer looks at directly, Greene said. The beam triggers the world's smallest stepper motor - weighing only a sixth of an ounce - to focus the lens almost instantaneously via a computer chip.
Students have used the device, called the Autofocus Telescope System or Ocutech VES-AF, to see blackboards clearly for the first time. Older people report once again being able to read signs on buses and in supermarkets or watch birds in their back yards.
"Most people who are visually impaired need magnification devices to see distance, but many of the devices available are heavy and obtrusive and have to be manually re-focused," said CNIB board member Fran Cutler. The auto-focusing telescope "is comfortable because it's light and convenient. With a monocular, I can see my son on the soccer field as long as he stays still. With the Ocutech VES-AF, I'll be able to follow the play."
"We are very pleased to receive the CNIB's Winston Gordon Award," said Dr. Jaroslav Pekar, an engineer who is president of Ocutech Inc. "It is a technology that makes it possible for many people with low vision to re-experience or experience for the first time, vision that is close to natural."
Established in 1988, the Winston Gordon Award for Technological Advancement in the Field of Blindness and Visual Impairment recognizes innovations that provide benefits or potential benefits to visually impaired people.
The institute, which serves more than 96,000 people across Canada, was founded in 1918 to help blind people and others with poor vision live as independently as possible. The U.S. National Eye Institute supports continuing research on the device.
Note: Greene can be reached at 919-493-7456. (fax: 493-1718)