More than 2 billion people in the world today need glasses but don’t have them. 100 million of these people are school-aged children who cannot read the blackboard in class.

The problem is that they do not have access to an eye care professional or special equipment to find their prescription. This is one of the largest unaddressed health problems in the world today.

But we have a solution.

We use glasses with lenses that change shape so that the wearer can adjust the power of each lens until he or she can see clearly.

The Problem

Billions of people around the world suffer from poor vision as a result of uncorrected refractive error, which limits their ability to live a normal and productive life. In rich countries refractive error is readily corrected by eyeglasses, but in developing countries eyeglasses are primarily a luxury product available in urban areas.

The problem of poor vision is particularly important in school children, who have great difficulty learning at school. This has an untold impact on their education, their social participation, their overall quality of life, and ultimately their economic potential as individuals, and that of their communities.

Scale

There are over 100 million young people (age 12-18) in the developing world who suffer from myopia, or nearsightedness. 

Causes

We believe that there are five underlying reasons why young people do not have access to eyeglasses – awareness, access, affordability, attractiveness, and accuracy.

• Awareness - Many living in poor villages are unaware either that they suffer from poor vision, or that poor vision can be corrected
• Access - Eyeglasses are primarily available in urban optical shops; they are only rarely available in rural areas
• Affordability - The total cost of obtaining corrective eyeglasses is too high – including time lost to work in travelling to multiple screening and fitting appointments
• Attractiveness - Aesthetics are very important, particularly among teenagers, and eyeglasses can be a point of difference that leads to a social stigma. Cultural attitudes toward glasses, a belief that eyeglasses can be harmful, and comfort are other important factors
• Accuracy - A significant proportion of people wearing eyeglasses in developing countries have inadequate correction that leaves them with poor visual acuity. This may be due to poor testing by an untrained person, or indeed a complete lack of professional testing.

Impact

The impact of poor vision on the educational, quality of life and economic potential of young people is substantial, but has not been well investigated. A recent working paper from the University of Minnesota based on schoolchildren in rural China estimates that wearing eyeglasses for a year increased average test scores by an amount equivalent to 0.33-0.5 extra years of schooling. This implies that poor vision presents a major problem to learning for these children.

The Solution 

New Self-Adjustable Glasses

The Centre for Vision in the Developing World developed self-adjustable glasses which the wearer can adjust until they see clearly. These glasses are based on a fluid-filled lens technology that is similar to that used in the Adspecs, the original self-adjustable, fluid-filled glasses developed by Professor Joshua Silver.

While the Adspecs were designed for use by adults, the Child Vision glasses have been developed specifically for use by young people aged from 12-18. These glasses are small, light and attractive, and have been designed to withstand hard use in challenging environments. They have also been designed to enable mass-manufacturing to keep the cost of production as low as possible.

Self-refraction is a scalable, sustainable solution to deliver high quality vision correction at low cost.

Perhaps the most important question is: do they work? Yes. Several recently published clinical trials prove this and can be read here, here and here. 

Pilot batches of glasses were deployed in schools in developing world countries in order to test distribution models.

The new glasses correct for myopia between 0 and -5D and will be available in various different colours.

This is where we need your help and support.

We need to raise as much money as possible to develop the Child Vision self-adjustable glasses for mass production and to distribute as many pairs of these glasses to children in schools in Africa, Asia & Latin America. We have an estimated delivery date, at the latest, for December 2017 if we start now.

Help us reach our goal by;

• Supporting us through any of the perks.
• Share our campaign on social media via the Indiegogo sharing tools above. Use the hashtag #HelpThemSee
• Tell your friends about us.

How do you use self-adjustable glasses?

Self-adjustable glasses are designed for use in parts of the world where there are too few optometrists to meet the needs of the people. Self-adjustable glasses allow the wearer to adjust the lenses until he or she can see clearly. They are simple to adjust and will be delivered through schools.

Step 1: Check for poor vision

Perform a basic screening test for poor distance vision using the 'tumbling-E' illiterate vision chart.

Step 2: Adjust lenses

Turn the dials slowly on the side-arms until each eye can see clearly.

Step 3: Seal lenses

Press the buttons on the frame to seal the lenses in place, detach the adjuster tubes and prevent further adjustment.

Step 4: Remove adjusters

Unclip the adjusters from the side-arms and dispose of them safely. The glasses are now set and sealed and function like normal spectacles.

Step 5: Wear

Your Child Vision Adjustable Glasses are ready for use.

The Team

 Joshua Silver

Joshua Silver is an atomic physicist and Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford. He became interested in the emerging area of adaptive optics in the mid-1980s. After considering the way our eye-brain adaptive optical system works, he suggested that self-refraction with suitable adaptive lens eyeglasses could be a useful procedure for correcting refractive error, after trying such a procedure on himself. He created several prototypes of adaptive spectacles - including the Adspecs, the world's first fluid-filled universal eyeglasses - and he carried out research supported by the UK's DFID which showed that self-refraction with such glasses was a useful procedure for bringing vision correction to around half of the world's population which currently needs, but does not have, corrective eyewear. The self-refraction procedure is particularly useful for populations where there are too few eyecare professionals to meet the needs of the people. Josh hopes to see a billion people having vision correction by the year 2020.

 Chris Wray

Chris studied physics and philosophy at the University of Oxford before pursuing an entrepreneurial career, co-founding or advising new ventures in fields including online marketing and social media, cognitive models for organisational development, and adjustable-focus eyewear. Chris later studied law and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, and he continues to practise as a mediator in commercial and other civil disputes. Chris has worked with Professor Silver for more than ten years. He advised on all aspects of setting up the Centre for Vision in the Developing World.

Lawrence Jenkin

With over 40 years of design and production of spectacle frames experience, Lawrence makes made-to-measure frames for opticians, and the world of television and film. Lawrence has consulted on the adaptive eyewear project since its inception.

 Charlie Ingham

Charlie founded her own craft-focused British bespoke eyewear label in 2014, named SohoBespoke. She was brought on to work on the Child Vision crowdfunding campaign in November 2016.

Please note: If our goal is not attained we will send as many glasses to as many developing countries as we can for the sum we have raised.