A pen which can transform Braille into English text has been developed by experts at the University of Bristol. Braille literacy is frequently reported as being in decline, this is despite visually impaired people often expressing a desire to learn it, and Braille literacy being a highly valued skill by those who are capable. This […]
A group of researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, University of Freiburg and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience have created an exceptionally small implant, with electrodes the size of a single neuron that can also remain intact in the body over time – a unique combination that holds promise for future vision implants […]
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Education vital to help patients considering future gene therapies for blindness: Australians with inherited retinal disease (IRD) have a strong interest in undergoing gene therapy to prevent and treat blindness – but there’s a critical need for education programs to help them make informed choices about future treatments, new research shows. The study, led by […]
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A potential improved treatment for two of the leading causes of blindness – age and diabetes-related eye problems – has been demonstrated in research involving a University of Queensland expert. Professor Di Yu of the UQ Diamantina Institute collaborated with scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Chaoyang Hospital to address an issue affecting approximately 450 […]
Targets for avoidable sight loss ‘not being met’, 30-year study finds: A new global study has found no significant reduction in the number of people with treatable sight loss since 2010. Published in The Lancet Global Health, it examined population-based surveys of eye disease worldwide from 1980 and found public health services across the world are […]
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A new study from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Bath has found the optimal age at which sense of touch and hearing best work together to compensate for blindness. The research led by Dr Meike Scheller from the University of Aberdeen found that blindness before the age of eight or nine facilitates […]
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The UK is facing a cataracts catastrophe as the Covid-19 lockdown heaps pressure on already overstretched surgeons able to perform the eye operations. A leading eye specialist is warning of a ‘ticking time bomb’ due to a backlog of patients who were not able to be treated by their ophthalmologist at the height of the […]
A worrying number of adults would consider buying a laser pen as a Christmas present for a child, a new survey from RoSPA has revealed. One in four (24 per cent) of more than 2,000 people said they would consider the item as a present this Christmas – however laser pens, also known as laser […]
A new global fund has been set up to help finally eliminate one of the most devastating causes of blindness. The blinding eye disease trachoma is depicted in the hieroglyphs on ancient Nubian tombs yet it is now on the verge of being eliminated as a public health problem across the world. Massive progress has […]
Ghana has made history by becoming the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate trachoma – the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness. In 2000, about 2.8 million people in Ghana were estimated to be at risk of trachoma. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has today (Wednesday 13th June) made the official announcement that the […]