This situation will sound common to many: the alarm sounds in the morning, you open your eyes and see blurry. Many have already internalized the gesture of reaching for the glasses before opening their eyes. And see. Distinguish the shapes of objects, all well defined. and start the day. Four out of ten Spaniards will recognize themselves.
With age and the appearance of cataracts, this is no longer possible unless you undergo surgery.. And that lack of vision becomes the first cause of visual impairment. Today
there are no glasses that restore clarity to sight in a simple gesture to that
almost 70% of people over the age of 65
who suffer from this problem. Many will be able to undergo surgery, but others will not for clinical reasons that prevent the placement of the corrective lens in the eye.. And in the end, more than half of the cases of blindness in the world are due to cataracts.
For those who in one way or another seem destined to not distinguish objects and see only patches of light and color before losing their sight, there is a new opportunity..
Alba María Paniagua seeks to develop smart glasses
, similar to those used in augmented reality applications, for the
non-invasive cataract correction
.
Paniagua is not an ophthalmologist. studied the
Physics degree at the University of Salamanca, in 2014
. And there, in the final degree project, he came across an area that is the step prior to what will come later: «How to make images in biological media. To do this we removed all diffuse light.
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This part of Physics has become the guiding thread of his professional career.. «After university, I continued with the development of a research project based on ballistic images in diffuse media, which quickly conditioned me to continue my career in
light in scattered media
». For this reason, he moved to the United Kingdom, where he has spent about four years gaining knowledge in this field.
«There I began my PhD in Physics at the University of Exeter». His training and expansion of knowledge was hand in hand with Dr.
Jacopo Bertolotti
, Associate Professor in Physics, whose work focuses on the transport properties of light (and more generally, of waves) in disordered and “complex” media. And he also developed his thesis together with Professor
Bill Barnes
, Professor of Photonics, School of Physics and Astronomy, whose current research involves the interaction between light and matter, particularly those involving molecules.
Together with both in Exeter, Paniagua executed the doctoral thesis on «
light in scattering media: active monitoring and exploration of intensity correlations
», which he defended in April 2018. In order to broaden his knowledge, he stayed there a few months later with a postdoctoral fellowship.
Research Fellow
in the same group.
Glasses to correct without surgery, a revolution
Years later, diffused light will be the pillar that will revolutionize the world of vision. With a
Leonardo Physics Scholarship
, which has been delivered by the BBVA Foundation,
the team to which Paniagua belongs
it's going to give your smart glasses a definite boost to correct cataracts without surgery.
Although the process could be cumbersome for those unfamiliar with the subject, the researcher explains it in a simple way: «With liquid crystal modulators, which modify the properties of light, we manipulate the light that reaches the lens in such a way as to compensate for distortions that cause the crystalline particles.
Currently, Paniagua works at the University of Murcia as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor
paul artal
, who directs the
Optics Laboratory of that university and its Optics and Nanophysics Research Center
. This is where the researcher joins the projects to improve vision and image through ocular cataracts. Artal already received in 2013 a millionaire and prestigious grant from the European Research Council, a
Advanced Grant
, to advance in cataract corrective lenses.
All the ingredients needed to complete the mission proposed by Paniagua exist separately. Now you just have to
unite their functions to the same purpose
and turn it into a
simple device for patients
. “There are already many commercial light modulating crystals; on screens, televisions, projectors…». Yes, it is “a recent technology; It dates from 2007, but it did not have an application in the field in which we work”.
With the glasses we can propose a short-term solution for these people. Even being an intermediate step while the surgery arrives
Next to the glass you have to incorporate a «
very small optical path that redirects light from the outside and reaches the eye
. It is to achieve that intermediate step that in other ocular pathologies represent the usual glasses and contact lenses, ”says Paniagua.
Last phase before testing on patients
The researcher highlights the importance of successfully completing the project that is being developed in her laboratory. “Not having surgery means allowing the retinal receptors to atrophy and total vision loss”. That
loss of visual acuity
, blurred vision, increased sensitivity to light, poor night vision… they become the day-to-day of many patients, since one or two of their eyes become progressively sick.
«With the glasses we can propose a short-term solution for these people. Even being an intermediate step while the surgery arrives». This note made by Paniagua could well be seen as a
temporary response to the 126,843 Spaniards on the waiting list
,
according to the Ministry of Health
. because until
5% of them wait more than six months
before going under the knife, a precious time in which his vision deteriorates further.
But
It would not only be a remedy for adults
. According to the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology, in Spain it is estimated that between one and four children out of every 10,000 are born with an opaque lens, which prevents them from seeing. The
congenital cataracts result in complex surgery
and babies are not operated on until they are at least six months old. Which also means a waiting time in which the situation can worsen.
Now we are in the process of miniaturization. We know proof of concept works
Whatever the reason, the glasses with smart lenses prepared by Paniagua make up a clear response to your needs.. A device that will somehow simulate a healthy crystalline lens, which is transparent, acts as a lens and allows focusing.
And in this way,
correct what triggers cataract development
: the proteins inside the lens to aggregate with each other, which causes the light, as it passes, to scatter and cloud the lens. And hence that incomplete and strange vision. “What we do with this device is change the incident direction of the light so that it reaches the retina correctly.”
They still do not have a device ready to test in people, but with the boost provided by the current grant they hope to take that step soon..
Paniagua does not dare to specify times
. “Now we are in the
miniaturization process
. We know proof of concept works. We have to give it the shape that the end user, the patient, will need”.
The prototype with which they are currently working is a model of augmented reality glasses that already exists on the market,
dispelix jungle
. «They are not bulky, nor do they look like one of the Google glass. Its appearance is simple and they would not have to have dark glasses either, ”he points out.
Clinical trials to successfully test the glasses
Converting the proof of concept into something smaller and more manageable is not strange to the researcher, because they have already carried out similar processes before.. «We have made the
first prototype of a visual simulator
“, Explain. «It is a system that allows a complete visual diagnosis to be carried out in any remote place on the planet. This would have a lot of potential to access the population that cannot undergo periodic vision checks.”. This project was carried out in his performance as
Optical Engineer at Voptica
, where he developed and implemented new optical designs and configurations while also continuing to research and improve ophthalmic instruments for clinical diagnosis.
Another advantage of the glasses proposed by Paniagua is that they can be
adjust to patient vision progression
. The use of glasses may or may not slow down the deterioration of vision and if the cataract is increasing, “it would only be necessary to
recalibrate system
», emphasizes the researcher. It would be like an update to the characteristics of the operating system, “here we would not have to change the crystals for a modification in the graduation.”
The preclinical work, the previous steps that a drug takes until it is time to be tested in humans, has already borne fruit.. By now, they have already developed
experimental proofs of concept
where they have shown light corrections in human lenses with cataracts. «
We have tested the system with ex vivo human lenses, only in a laboratory environment.
». The trials that will be carried out thanks to the Leonardo Scholarship will allow us to verify the full potential of this innovative technique against cataracts in people with the disease.
Although the glasses cannot prevent the natural development of this ocular disorder, Paniagua's hypothesis is that they will serve to improve the vision of patients: «
The objective would be that people who do not want to have surgery can live with these glasses
, or that those where the cataract is very severe and the operation is recommended may have better vision until the moment of the intervention, and possibly after.