Adlens designs glasses for third world countries
UK company Adlens has used SolidWorks software to design adjustable eyeglasses to enable people in the developing world to 'dial up' a custom prescription, without the need for an optician. The glasses are said to be able to correct 80% of refractive vision errors, including nearsightedness, farsightedness and presbyopia (loss of focus).
To make the glasses, the company created a four layer polycarbonate eyeglass lens. Two of the rigid lenses then enclose a cavity housing a flexible third lens that contains a volume of oil. Transparent oil can be pumped in or out of the lens, flexing the middle layer to provide the necessary optical power, after which the prescription can be locked in.
"We are working through the Vision for a Nation program to raise awareness of the impact impaired vision can have on a person's education and quality of life," said Sjoerd Hannema, ceo of Adlens. "There are hundreds of millions of people around the world who need only a simple pair of glasses to remain self sufficient and our product is a way to correct many of those vision problems with the infrastructure available in the developing world."
