Reveal VUE Prototype Proven to Help the Legally Blind to See
HOUSTON, TX (PRWEB) February 19, 2014 -- Reveal Optical, LLC, a Houston, Texas-based medical device start-up, announced today that its prototype vision aid, the Reveal VUE, has been proven to help legally blind people to see again. This includes people who are suffering from debilitating vision loss due to incurable eye diseases, such as macular degeneration. The patent-pending VUE is a portable, 3D vision aid that utilizes the Oculus Rift for its display. The company is now seeking additional funding via a crowd funding campaign, to take the VUE to the next stage, a limited production release.
Millions of people worldwide suffer from incurable and debilitating vision loss due to eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and glaucoma. These diseases affect about 17 million people in the United States and over ten times that number worldwide. The VUE was developed to help people with these diseases to see well enough to resume their daily activities, such as reading, watching TV, cooking, going to the theater, etc. Reveal has been working with nationally-recognized ophthalmologists to develop and test the VUE, including Warren D. Cross, M.D., founder of Warren Cross and Associates, The Laser Vision Center, and Cross Eye Centers.
“As an ophthalmologist, I see patients with severe vision disorders every day. Unfortunately, other than eye vitamins or basic magnifying devices, there is very little we can do or offer them today to help,” stated Cross. “With the VUE, we finally have something that can really help these patients see again and resume a variety of daily activities. This is a major medical advancement for vision care, comparable to the development of Lasik surgery, microvascular retinal surgery, and lens implants in terms of potential impact.”
The VUE prototype includes a head-mounted display, which utilizes the Oculus Rift, as well as controller components that are housed in a shoulder bag. In field tests of the VUE, patients have shown significant improvement in their visual acuity and ability to read standard print material. The VUE is configurable to a patient’s specific diagnosis, as well as to particular activities (e.g., reading or watching TV), to deliver the best possible visual experience for a variety of every-day activities.
The next version of the VUE, for which the company is currently seeking funding, will have smaller, more integrated cameras, and will feature longer battery life, configuration switches, and more streamlined cabling. This will be a limited production release to allow for additional patient tests and to provide input into the company’s planned high-volume production release, which will feature a more streamlined and ergonomic design, as well as voice control.
“Our goal and hope is that eventually the VUE will be covered by medical insurance,” said Jerry Aguren, co-founder and chief executive officer, Reveal Optical. “The recent announcement, reported in The New York Times, that VSP, the largest optical health insurance provider in the nation, will provide insurance coverage for frames and prescription lenses for Google Glass® sets a good precedent for this.”
About Reveal Optical
Reveal Optical is a Houston, TX-based medical device start-up working to improve the quality of life for people suffering from debilitating vision loss due to incurable eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and glaucoma. Reveal is working with nationally-recognized ophthalmologists to develop and test the Reveal VUE, a 3D, head-mounted vision aid that can help more than 70% of these people enjoy a better quality of life. For more information, please visit http://www.revealoptical.com or the company’s crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. You can also follow the company on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/revealoptical.
John Marino, Reveal Optical, http://www.revealoptical.com, +1 832-647-5821, [email protected]
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