“Lazy Eye” Glasses Help Kids Overcome Amblyopia

Lazy eye is usually treated by putting a patch over the stronger eye, or with eye drops that blur vision in the stronger eye, in order to “train” the weaker eye to function and develop its muscles and neural connections. “The need for the product came from observing children walking around with eye patches,” Ben-Ezra said. “My idea was to incorporate an electronic patch in the glasses to intermittently make either side transparent or opaque, so the child is training the eyes while living everyday life.”

www.israel21c.org The non-prescription Amblyz eyeglasses, first conceived in 2003 and introduced to the market a year ago, are designed for children from three to 10 years old. They are powered by a battery that can be recharged overnight.

When Ben-Ezra tested a prototype of his invention on children at three Israeli medical centers, he found that compliance was much higher than with patches or drops. That makes parents happier, too.