| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| Pixeloptics To Develop SuperVision For US Military |
| 2006-01-13 |
| PixelOptics has announced that it will receive $3.5 million from the Defense Department to develop SuperVision, a technology that enables our military men and women to have better than 20/20 vision. "SuperVision is intended to provide the U.S. military forces with a competitive combat advantage and reduce the number of friendly fire incidents," said Dr. Ron Blum, President and CEO of Pixel. "Senator John Warner is to be commended for his leadership in seeking the highest level of innovation for the safety of the women and men who serve our country," Blum continued. Dr. Dwight Duston, Pixel's Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Military Programs and program manager for the project, stated: "Certain nonuniformities within the human eye are the cause of most vision deficiencies. Conventional aberrations, such as nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (hyperopia), can be corrected with normal spectacle lenses to give 20/20 vision. The spatial density of light receptors in the retina, however, is enough to allow human eyes to see better than 20/20, perhaps as well as 20/08. However, higher-order aberrations in the eye prevent us from attaining this "SuperVision" (the ability to have optimized vision better than 20/20). Rest at link. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #7 3dc, what you describe sounds very interesting. My own sight would greatly benefit from such an operation. However, this text from the linked article describes a different technology: âPixel's lenses dynamically alter the focus in ways not possible before. By adjusting the refractive index of an array of transparent pixels contained within the lens, it is possible to correct for the higher-order aberrations. This optimizes one's vision, in many cases, beyond how one sees today." Bill Kokonaski, Chief Technology Officer of Pixel, noted: "Higher-order aberrations of the human eye are dynamic, not static. Conventional refractive error such as myopia (nearsighted), hyperopia (farsighted) and regular astigmatism are static. However, higher-order aberrations change depending upon many factors, including the environment. Pixel's patented technology allows for a dynamic solution to a dynamic problem.â This is basically how some modern telescopes function. The reflective surface is made of many small mirrors whose surfaces can be dynamically changed to compensate for atmospheric distortion. A laser is aimed in direction of the target object. Laser light reflects off atmospheric layers and is distorted by atmospheric variations. The mirrors can be adjusted to compensate for the measured atmospheric distortions. I expect these lens work in a similar manner except they compensate for dynamic changes in the eye lens and structure. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5032 2006-01-13 22:56 |
| #6 "Sarah Connor?" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-13 16:46 |
| #5 Cool! I want a cyborg eye too! |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-01-13 15:17 |
| #4 YES! I have been waiting to see this technology developed. Anonymous5032 - the technique you mentioned is involved. What Supervision is can be stated this simply. 1) Lasik without cutting a flap and using lasers transparent to the material that makes up the flap but not the next layer. 2) Where a typical lasik treatment involves less that 20 or 30 bursts this involves thousands or tens of thousands of microbursts 3) It involves a feedback view of the eye and retnia after each burst so near perfect corrections can be made. 4) with this technique you should be able to recognize somebody on the torch of the statue of liberty from either shore! 5) Pixel comes into the name as it is such high resolution that the brain might well receive a pixelated view. When I had my Lasik I was at 20/15-10 now I am 20/20 but as the laser burst creates planes instead of perfectly optically smooth surfaces I sometimes need to slightly adjust my head for a good view. With this method you would not have that kind of artifact. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-01-13 13:41 |
| #3 Since the correction is dynamic, the lens should also be able to adjust focus for distance. Include a range finder and the glasses should be able to compensate for presbyopia. Another technological solution would be direct laser scanning onto the retina. By reflecting laser light off the retina back to the laser source, the optical distortion can be measured. The laser scanning could then be adjusted to eliminate that distortion. Any optical system, including infrared, telescopic, or microscopic, could provide the optical imput to the laser scanning system. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5032 2006-01-13 12:25 |
| #2 I'm waiting for it to make it Pearle Vision Centers with the See Through Clothes Radar option. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-01-13 09:49 |
| #1 ....Not currently available for military retirees under Tricare Prime. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-13 09:45 |