Findings from the first U.S. trial of the electronic glasses used for treating amblyopia in children, sold under the brand name Amblyz™, were presented at AAO 2015 in November.

Amblyz, manufactured by XPAND 3D, are battery-powered electronic glasses with a liquid crystal shutter that functions as a digital patch, occluding vision in each eye for a set length of time each day.

The Glick Eye Institute at Indiana University study involved 33 subjects with lazy eye between the ages of 3 and 8. One group received treatment with an adhesive patch while the other group wore digital occlusion glasses for 4 hours a day. Both groups showed similar levels of improvement on a reading chart, a gain of two lines.

The electronic glasses were designed to improve on the level of compliance as compared with medicated eyedrops, which 13% of children refuse, and patching.

Amblyz glasses were made available in Canada in 2012, and were approved for sale in the United States in 2014.

Further information: http://www.aao.org/newsroom/news-releases/detail/programmable-electronic-glasses-provide-children-e