Gartner Inc. claims that as early as 2017, web-connected eyewear, such as Google Glass and Gear Glass by Samsung, could bring in billions of dollars a year for businesses that use them.

 

According to Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, these savings would stem from an increase in efficiency and production for technicians, engineers and employees in the field, in maintenance, health and production services. With this type of device, young employees could learn to perform a task by following instructions displayed on the Glass or workers could resolve problems quicker at remote sites.

 

Furthermore, the American company, Rochester Optical, recently announced that it will be manufacturing ophthalmic lenses for the Google Glass as of January 2014. This will make the Glass more accessible to the general population. Since there is currently no agreement binding Rochester Optical and Google, the lenses will need to be ordered separately.

 

Google also sees a possible competitor emerging from an unexpected sector. Japanese car maker Nissan has indicated its intention to launch its own web-connected glasses. Nissan will show its prototype at the 43^rd Tokyo Motor Show. The 3E glasses will be able to display navigation data, capture the health status of the driver and his/her car, and even send photos and videos.

 

What remains to be seen is whether the authorities will approve wearing these glasses while driving; they already have to deal with the epidemic of drivers who text behind the wheel…

Sources:

http://www.acuite.fr/articles.asp?REF=9126 

http://www.directioninformatique.com/des-lentilles-ophtalmiques-seront-offertes-pour-les-lunettes-de-google/22888

http://auto.lapresse.ca/technologies/201311/13/01-4710373-nissan-presentera-des-lunettes-connectees-au-salon-de-tokyo.php

 

 

New Look Eyewear Inc. just announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets and business of Vogue Optical Inc., located in Prince Edward Island.

 

Vogue Optical comprises 65 stores, including 21 in Nova Scotia, 21 in New Brunswick, 15 in Newfoundland and Labrador, 5 in P.E.I. and 3 in other provinces, as well as a lens processing facility.

 

The purchase price of the assets and business of Vogue Optical will be $74 million, and the acquisition is expected to close by December 2, 2013, subject to the usual closing conditions.

 

Vogue Optical will operate as a stand-alone business based in Charlottetown, and both groups will continue to grow in their respective markets.

 

With this acquisition, New Look will have a network of over 140 locations, making it the third largest retail optical company in Canada

 

Transitions Optical, Inc. has named the finalists for its annual Transitions Awards program, which recognizes leading independent eyecare professionals and optical retailers in Canada for their year-long commitment to promoting eye health and Transitions^® lenses.

 

The three finalists for the fifth annual Transitions Eyecare Professional of the Year award are Sandy Koppé, O.D., from The Eye Care Group, with three locations in Alberta (west region); Wael Yassein from The Eye Shoppe, in Ontario (central region); and Pierre Vallée, O.D., from the Clinique D’Optométrie Pierre Vallée, in Quebec (east region).

 

Finalists for the second annual Transitions Retailer of the Year award include Costco Optical, which has over 60 locations across Canada; Loblaw Optical, which has more than 130 locations in eight provinces; and Lunetterie New Look Eyewear, which has over 70 stores in Quebec and Ontario.

 

The finalists will be honoured, and the winners announced, during Transitions Academy, to be held January 26-29 in Orlando.  

 

Source:

 

Transitions Optical inc.

                           

Researchers from Baylor and Harvard Universities claim that parents can check their children for retinoblastoma using their digital cameras.

 

Using photographs taken with amateur digital cameras, the researchers themselves observed evidence of leukocoria or “white eye,” the main symptom of retinoblastoma. These findings pave the way for the development of methods to enable earlier detection of this eye cancer, which mostly occurs in children from birth to five years old. Early diagnosis is crucial, as this cancer can cause severe vision loss, the loss of one or both eyes, even death if it spreads to the brain.

 

“Newborns and infants don’t typically get checked out by an ophthalmologist, but many of them do get their retinas scanned multiple times a week, when mom or dad are snapping pictures to share on Facebook,” said Bryan Shaw, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor University. “In a majority of retinoblastoma cases, it is the parents that initiate the diagnosis based on seeing leukocoria or ‘white eye’ in photos of their children.”

 

Leukocoria is often detected after the tumour has already significantly grown in size. This research is a major step toward the creation of software that will help parents notice the symptoms sooner.

Source:

http://eyewiretoday.com/view.asp?r=crstoday&a=20131111-parents_can_check_their_kids_for_retinoblastoma_using_digital_photography

 

Children born extremely prematurely are more likely to develop retinal detachment than those born at term, according to a Swedish study.

 

This is the first long-term study on the link between the two conducted on a large population base. The researchers studied the files of more than three million births in Sweden between 1973 and 2008. They separated the individuals into two groups, based on whether they were born before or after 1986, the year a national retinopathy of prematurity screening program was established.

 

The results showed a connection between preterm births and this type of eye condition:

 

• Children born extremely prematurely (less than 28 weeks of gestation) between 1973 and 1986 had a 19-fold higher risk of retinal detachment. That rate fell to nine times higher for those born after 1986.
• Children born very prematurely (28 to 31 weeks of gestation) between 1973 and 1986 had a four-fold increased risk, and that rate fell to three times higher for those born after 1986.
• Moderately preterm birth (32 to 36 weeks of gestation) did not have a significant impact on this type of risk.

 

“We may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg of late ophthalmic complications after preterm birth. Not only does the risk of retinal detachment increase with age, but there has also been an increase in survival among people born prematurely since the 1970s,” says Swedish pediatrician Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy.

Source:

http://www.aao.org/newsroom/release/premature-birth-retina-detachment.cfm