Want a pair of easy-to-use bifocals? New types of bifocal glasses
are on the horizon
Bifocal glasses use a combination of concave and convex lenses
to correct both nearsightedness and farsightedness. The top
part of the lens is for distant viewing and the lower part of the
lens is for up-close vision, such as needed when reading. Bifocal
glasses, which were developed around 1760 by the American inventor
Benjamin Franklin, have come a long way. And, there are many types
of bifocal glasses on the horizon.
What's new with bifocal glasses
One problem with bifocal glasses is that wearers must crane their
necks and move their heads in order to see through the part of the
lens they want to use at the moment. On the horizon: One company,
called The Egg Factory, is developing technology to improve bifocal
reading glasses. The "E Bifocals" will be able to refocus
at whatever the wearer is looking at, whether near or far. E Bifocals
will be able to automatically calculate the distance of where the
wearer is looking and convert that information into a new lens curve,
using software, a microchip and the electrical current that bounces
off the field of vision and back to the lens. Right now, E Bifocals
are only in the patent stage, so it'll be several years before the
glasses reach consumers.
Another problem with bifocals
is that they look like bifocals-with a thin line running through
the middle of the lens, separating the two lens types. But bifocals
no longer have to look that way. EZ-2-Vue Lens has designed a progressive
lens with no lines that incorporates all the necessary vision correction.
Other "no line" models also are available.
Purchasing bifocal glasses
New types of bifocal glasses are available to consumers. Talk to
your eye care professional about finding a style that works for
you.
For more information as well as new types of bifocal glasses or
bifocal contact
lenses, see product menu at right.
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