Researchers have developed new self-adjustable spectacles that can be focused by the wearer himself by simply turning a dial on the frame.
Called ‘Eyejusters’ and developed by a British company, the self adjustable glasses allow wearers to simply twist the dial until they can see clearly.
The specs makes use of a technology called Slidelens, and works by sliding one lens over the other when the wearer turns the dial. This changes the lens prescription to give clear vision.
Eyejusters is an Oxford-based start-up that was co-founded by two physics students and two engineers.
The technology has been refined from an idea originally developed in the 1920s, the Daily Mail reported.
“We’re happy to agree that optometrists provide a better standard of care. They check for eye disease and all sorts of things that we can’t do,” Owen Reading, co-founder of Eyejusters and head of business development, said.
“However, our glasses are particularly useful for parts of the developing world where there are very few optometrists so people are unable to get a pair of glasses prescribed,” he said.
The company has sold the glasses to NGOs and charities in Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, Morocco, and India.
It is also selling their product as reading glasses that can be sold over the counter. They’re on sale in the US for 40 dollars.
“A lot of people have different pairs of reading glasses for different tasks but these are just one pair of glasses that do it all,” said Reading.
An estimated 670 million people lack the eyewear they need, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) figures, the paper said.
The company is hoping to get the glasses, which are assembled in Southampton, to an increasing number of people in the developing world through a campaign called ‘Give and Get’.