New Contact Lens Lets Blind See

[dArKeR]

 For 14 years Helen Gelhot lived in the dark.

Blinded by badly diseased corneas, she had never even seen her husband or her 8-year-old daughter but, as CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports, Gelhot had seen her share of excruciating pain.

"Even with metal shields on both eyes and cotton under them and glasses over them, a night light would cause me exquisite pain," she says.

Until now.

An innovative device developed by Dr. Perry Rosenthal has Gelhot browsing through bookstores again and asking, "Is that Hillary and Bill? Is that Harry Potter? That's what he looks like?"

It's called the Boston Scleral Lens. Unlike a normal contact lens, which sits right on the cornea, this much bigger lens only touches the sturdy white of the eye...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/04/eveningnews/main571582.shtml

[Lorien]

1. I just wrote to them last week

I'm a professional artist, and I'm losing my vision to Keratoconis. This lense could help me get by for years without transplant surgery!

[JPace]

2. Sounds wonderful......

I hope it works out for you, Good Luck!

[lanlady]

3. I hope you can obtain them--

--and that they help you. Best wishes to you.

[twilight]

6. could it help ...

Could this possibly help someone who has lost the sight in one eye due to rapid onset wet macular degeneration do you happen to know?

I am happy to hear that it can help you!

I hope it can help other too that are visually impaired. You don't realize how important your eyesight is until suddenly it is gone!

:kick:

[CheshireCat]

4. Great

I have glaucoma and have lost a great deal of vision over the past 5 years. This gives me hope.

[maxanne]

5. wow - what a guy

He never turns anyone away because they can't pay - he hasn't taken a salary in years - he's shining example of what doctors can and ought to be. :thumbsup: