A close look at myopia
Myopia is a worldwide phenomenon, and the number of people affected is steadily increasing. The “myopia boom” is increasingly affecting young people, especially in Southeast Asia. But the situation is also grim in other parts of the world – reason enough to intensify research in this area.
Published on 17/03/2022
Text by Michael Mildner, Photos by Jan Räber
The FreeNovation research platform was created by Novartis in 2016 to allow young scientists to pursue innovative ideas that no one else would dare to implement. Such start-up-like platforms are becoming increasingly important, as traditional research approaches do not provide sufficient breeding ground for revolutionary approaches.
In the picture: Roman Schmied und Vanessa Leung
Vanessa Leung and Roman Schmied have developed a unique device that could shed light on the causes of the myopia crisis. In a pilot study, they found that it could measure most parameters, such as luminous intensity, pupil size and blink rate, with acceptable accuracy.
In action, the collected data from the smart glasses is transmitted to a computer or handheld device, where it is analyzed by powerful software. “Thanks to FreeNovation, we were able to work in an important medical field that affects us personally and millions of other people at the same time,” Schmied sums up.
