Lens system for dyslexia wins funding from DTI

Cambridge-based company Diverse has won a DTI ÔSmartÕ Award worth £45,000 to develop a diagnostic system which will allow practitioners to prescribe accurately coloured lenses to alleviate visual dyslexia.
The product, called Readeye, is scheduled for clinical trials in the autumn and could be on the high street next year following further work by Ôa major lens manufacturerÕ.
Readeye was developed from work on the Optim-Eyes task lamp Ð where the colour of the light is controllable Ð with input from Ian Jordan, a dispensing optician and visual dyslexia expert.
Used in conjunction with visual perception tests, such as the pattern glare test, the ideal lighting colour for an individual can be found.
Spectacles with coloured lenses are currently used to help those who suffer with visual dyslexia, migraine and macular degeneration, but prescribing has been difficult because there is no analytical method to test a patient and prescribe a lens.
The Readeye system provides this for the first time, the company has claimed. The colour and density of the tint is matched to the patientÕs needs, and produces a colour lens prescription.
John Anderson, managing director of Diverse, said: ÔSome people seem to be extremely sensitive to colour, so much so that each lighting condition, whether fluorescent, tungsten or sunlight, can have an effect on the final lens prescription.
ÔReadeye takes account of the illumination effects and can simulate the colour effect in a wide range of lighting conditions.Õ
u Companies can apply for a DTI Smart Award via www.dti.gov.uk