Images credits: Kubota Vision Inc.
Nowadays, more and more people suffer from Myopia or Nearsightedness, and it is assumed that by 2050, half of the world’s population may be affected. Not only can it cause poor and blurred vision, but the risk of having glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment, and macular degeneration is also high. Luckily, Kubota Pharmaceuticals of Japan has discovered a non-invasive cure for Myopia.
Blurred vision is very inconvenient, though it can be minimized by wearing prescription glasses or contact lenses. Vision can be restored permanently via LASIK or Laser Eye Surgery done by an Ophthalmologist, but not without the risks.
Myopia, or Nearsightedness, usually occurs when your eyeball is longer than normal or your cornea is curved too steeply. Instead of being focused precisely on your retina, light is focused in front of your retina, resulting in a blurry appearance for distant objects.
Kubota Vision Inc., a subsidiary of Kubota Pharmaceuticals, has discovered a cure for Myopia. They have developed a pair of “smart glasses” which can be worn 60 to 90 minutes a day and it can gradually cure myopia and restore one’s vision. If Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings claims are true, then there will be no need for eyeglasses, contact lenses, and eye surgeries, and the product will be another breakthrough in history for people suffering from myopia.
It is called Wearable Device for Myopia Control. It may appear as a pair of ordinary glasses, although it looks a bit peculiar. It is non-invasive. You may wear it while doing your regular routines, but not when doing more strenuous activities like driving or exercising. The device can be used normally without distracting your vision.
Here’s how it works:
“This product, which uses multifocal contact lens technology, passively stimulates the entire peripheral retina with light myopically defocused by the non-central power of the contact lens,” a spokesperson for Kubota explains. “Kubota Glasses technology leverages nanotechnology in its electronic glasses-based device and seeks to reduce the progression of myopia by actively stimulating the retina for shorter periods while maintaining high-quality central vision and not affecting daily activities.”
The images will be much more projected into the vision to correctly focus on things from afar. Although the device is only advised to be worn around 60 to 90 minutes a day, Kubota Pharmaceutical did not specify any duration of the treatment or how long the results would last after treatment.
The treatment glasses have a small mirror in the center of each lens to focus on the vision from afar, and 8 tiny LED lights on the edge of the frames to emit artificial light getting into a person’s retina while it stimulates shortening of the eye axis.
According to Japanese media reports, Kubota Pharmaceuticals has begun its clinical trials in summer 2020 to test the therapeutic effect of glasses. They started the tests on 25 people in the USA, although it won’t be released yet in the country. On the other hand, the company plans to sell the Wearable Device for Myopia Control in Asia first, since they have the highest number of people suffering from Myopia.
Kubota Pharmaceuticals released the first batches of the product in the second half of the year 2021, and they are priced at approximately US $870.00 (about Japanese ¥100,000.00).
