Connecticut Eye Doctor Uses E-Scoop Glasses: Offering New Treatment for Macular Degeneration

Dr. Randolph Kinkade
(800) 756-0677

www.LowVisionEyeglasses.com

Cheshire - Danbury - Farmington - Litchfield - Manchester - Norwalk - Waterford



E-Scoop

Dr. Randolph Kinkade with
Marianne Girard wearing E-Scoops

New E-Scoop glasses have been developed to help patients with macular degeneration.  Dr. Randolph Kinkade, a Connecticut optometrist and a founding member of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), offers new hope and vision. 

Mrs. Marianne Girard, a 76-year-old who lives in Seymour, Connecticut, and suffers from macular degeneration, uses these new E-Scoop glasses to help her drive more confidently and watch television.  “I really need them for driving and they make all the difference for watching TV,” said Mrs. Girard.  “I even use them to play bocce!” 



E-Scoop Glasses

Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness and reading impairment in the country.  These lenses can help vision by improving clarity for some people.  “These lenses cannot make vision perfect, but they do make things better,” said Dr. Kinkade.  “They also assist with night driving and glare reduction.”

Macular Degeneration is a progressive disease that leads to damage of cells in the retina in the back of the eye.  Specifically, it affects the central vision in the area called the macula. 

When the macula is damaged, vision is blurred or distorted. When this happens individuals have difficulty seeing well enough to do activities that require fine detail vision like reading, driving, recognizing faces and watching television.

Patient with E-Scoops

“It is all about the physics and particularly precision optics,” said Dr. Kinkade.  By combining six different optical properties into a two lens system, vision can often be enhanced. “We start with the patient’s prescription and then add prism to move the image to a healthy seeing part of the macula,” said Dr. Kinkade. 

 

People with macular degeneration lose some or all of their central straight-ahead vision over time, but their peripheral side vision is not affected. Often this means they see better looking slightly to the side, rather than looking straight ahead.  





Patient with E-Scoops

E-Scoop lenses provide some magnification by using a combination of special lens curvature and thickness.  The lenses also incorporate a custom yellow filter and anti-reflective coatings. Dr. Kinkade reports, “this is an example of two lenses definitely being better than one”.

E-Scoops were developed by Frans Oosterhof, a Dutch optometrist, who won the Herman Wijffels Award for optics in Holland.  Dr. Kinkade has met with Dr. Oosterhof and continues to meet semi-annually with other members of IALVS to study optics and research new ways to help patients with macular degeneration.  For more information on E-scoop lenses visit www.IALVS.org.

(800) 756-0677
www.LowVisionEyeglasses.com
DrKinkade@SeeandHearAmerica.com
Cheshire - Danbury - Farmington - Litchfield - Manchester - Norwalk - Waterford