Imagine biking down a winding mountain road, wind in your face--but not your eyes because they are protected by full coverage sports goggles.  And then oh no, your bike chain breaks.  And you don't know how to repair it.  But wait--those goggles that were shielding your eyes from sun and wind just a second ago can also access an electronic repair guide!

Bolle designs performance goggles for outdoor sports ranging from biking to snowboarding.  Via

Smart goggles like these are not so distant in our future according to entrepreneurs at Laut Design.  They are partnering with performance glasses enterprise Bolle to help design the next generation of sports goggles.  The concept sounds similar to Google Glass with electronic projection that can be accessed to view maps, odometers, heart rate monitors, and endless possible applications.  All while utilizing the highly performance based goggle design that Bolle has popularized with glare and UV protection, and specialized tints to enhance performance in a variety of light conditions.

There are no projected release dates on when a smart goggle design may first hit the market, but expect the next generation of performance glasses to perform at a whole new level!

The product has launched in Europe, but not yet in America.  Via

We are merely months away from the American launch of another new daily disposable product, this time courtesy Ciba Vision!  Daily disposable products are the major forces on company's pipelines these days, with Bausch and Lomb's new Biotrue daily launching earlier this year, and Cooper Vision's Proclear 1-Day Multifocal launching last fall.  For contact lens wearers suffering from dry eye, the new daily materials offer a reason to hope!

What makes the new DAILIES TOTAL 1 product different?  Ciba reports that this lens is the first "water gradient" technology on the market.  The daily is made from a new silicone hydrogel material called delefilcon A.  At the central core the lens has only a 33% water content, allowing for record high oxygen transmissibility (a stunning 156 Dk/t!).  But this relatively low water content would have meant questionable comfort as the lens drew water from the eye during the course of the day.  The solution?  The water content of the lens increases gradually towards the front and back surface of the daily lens.  At the surface of the lens, the water content reaches 80%, which matches the water content of the cornea.  The theory is that if the contact lens and the cornea have the same water content, there will be less drawing of water from the eye into the lens, meaning better end of day comfort.  Another plus?  The lens has an 8.5 base curve, whose closer fit to the eye can offer better initial comfort to the average myopic lens wearer with steeper corneal curvature.

We are hoping to see these lenses available in our office later this fall, and can't wait to see the results.  As with any product, this lens may or may not work for your particular needs, but it is great to see companies focusing so much on combating dryness and switching concentration to daily disposable products which offer the best in comfort and safety to all contact lens wearers!

Somewhere in the distance a bone chilling screech breaks the silence of the exam room.  "You mean, I can't wear my contact lenses at all?  For an entire week?"  If you are a contact lens wearer, nothing chills the heart more than hearing the dreaded words: "you have to wear your glasses."

For over 2 million people worldwide diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, finding a treatment that controls the disease can be both costly and time-consuming where time is of the essence.  With MS, trial and error with a drug could mean the difference in permanent debilitation.  Luckily, more and more promising drugs are hitting the market.  Newly launched Tecfidera is one of the most promising oral medications (and for those with MS, an oral treatment is a brave new world because traditional medications have required daily injections!), but comes with a hefty price tag around $54,000 for a year of treatment.  Like all medications, you won't know if it works for you with the same effectivity seen in trial data.  New research from Johns Hopkins suggests that your eye doctor may be able to work in conjunction with your primary care provider to track if your MS medication is working effectively for you!

OCT imaging showing the thickness of individual retinal layers via

Ocular tissue is neural tissue, just like the tissue that makes up the brain.  As such, changes seen in the retinal tissue appear to reflect changes going on in the brain tissue with people diagnosed with MS.  Over a period of 21 months, Johns Hopkins researchers monitored the OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomography) scans of 164 patients with MS.   An OCT is a advanced scanning device that measures the thickness of retinal and optic nerve tissue, and compares the eye to a normative data base.  To date, the technology is routinely used to track changes associated with glaucoma and macular degeneration.  Researchers found that retinal thinning greatly increased in patients with new T2 lesions and in patients who had worsening levels of disability over the course of the study.  The data looks promising for testing new neuroprotective agents -- after starting a new medication, doctors could potentially use OCT readings to determine if the medication was effective before debilitating progression of the disease caused functional changes in a patient's daily life.  More research is required before this use of technology is implemented in normal protocol, but in a few years, MS patients may be routinely referred for eye examinations to monitor how well their medication is working!  Just one more way to utilize the amazing window into the brain that our ocular tissue provides.

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Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with MS?  I am partnering with Healthline to promote their video campaign: "You've Got This" where people living with MS can post inspirational video messages that can inspire and encourage others who are recently diagnosed.  Visit the link here to check out the videos or post your own!  Healthline is donating $10 for every video submitted so please take some time to post your story or words of hope for this great cause!

It is the year 2013, and Google is not about to let us forget it.  The world is abuzz with news releases from the company's latest tech venture: Google Glass.  This "wearable" computer is basically a smart phone -- sitting on your face.  And while Google Glass isn't going to help you see (protocols are in development for a future version that can be fit over prescription glasses), these glasses are letting us see into our possible future.

Almost everyone has a pair of basic brown or black sunglasses, but if you are ready for a real statement, try wearing bolder prints with your sunglasses.  The fashion world is all about mixing, matching, and layering competing prints these days, so there is no better time to add a fashion-forward printed sun to your spring wardrobe.

Dolce and Gabbana

Tory Burch

Kate Spade--I know I have posted these before but I really do love them

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A Visual Field test is use to detect glaucoma damage and monitor for progression.  In many cases, early damage that shows up on this test is not noticeable to the patient in their daily life. Glaucoma damage would go entirely undetected if left untreated until the disease had resulted in permanent peripheral field loss via

Glaucoma is a really difficult disease (read here for more details on what glaucoma is!).  Imagine that you have to tell a person that they have a disease where they have to take an eye drop every single day for the rest of their life.  The drops aren't going to make you feel any better; the disease is painless, and if you have had vision loss already they won't give you the vision back.  You can see how there is little incentive to use those drops every day.  This is a conversation that eye care professionals have very frequently, and for many of us, we have to have it every time our patients return for their follow-up appointments because they are routinely missing their drops!

One thing we do know; even if your patient reports good compliance with their glaucoma medication, they probably aren't taking it as often as they tell you.  Studies estimate that as high as 25% of patients prescribed glaucoma medication actually take NONE of the drops prescribed.  Only 25 to 35% of patients in the same study had full compliance.  This means that most people have "partial compliance" - -getting the drop in irregularly.  Usually they remember when it gets closer to their next appointment (just like flossing your teeth before you see the dentist!).  When the patient has their pressure checked, it may read normally if they have used their drops more regularly over the past few days, but their peripheral vision or optic nerve scans may show increased damage.  What is the doctor left to think??  Well, if your doctor thinks you are getting your drops in regularly and you are still having progression of glaucoma, they are going to prescribe more drops!

We all know that the more drops you prescribe, the less likely a patient is going to be able to afford their glaucoma treatment and remember to get the drops in.  If a patient can have good control of glaucoma with just one drop, it is definitely ideal.  Before adding more drops to a patient's regimen, I always like to investigate to see if they are using the drops regularly by asking these questions:

• How often do you miss your drops?   If they say a few times, does that mean a few times a month?  Or a few times a week?  It makes a big difference to get these details!
• When did you last use your drop?  Did they get it in last night or this morning?  Or was it a few days ago?
• What is the name of your drop?  Not everyone is going to remember this, so it also works to have them bring their drops in to their appointment.  I love looking at the drops because you can see how much is left in there and when their last refill was.  If they have a full bottle and the refill date was a few months ago, you know they aren't using their drops.  Sometimes they are using a drop by mistake that isn't even the one for glaucoma.  They could have had an old antibiotic, or worse a steroid! that they have been using daily by mistake!
• What grade would you give yourself on using your drops?  Asking a person to take accountability for themselves can sometimes lead to more honest answers.  If they tell you they get their drop in regularly, and then give themselves a "B" you need to know why.
• Ask them to show you how they put their drop in.  I don't do this often, but if I am getting concerned that a patient might be having trouble, it is a really good idea.  Sometimes they will miss their eye altogether when they try to put the drop in.  I heard a story at the VA Hospital where I interned about a patient who put the drop on his tongue when the doctor asked him to demonstrate.  No wonder his pressure was so high that day!