Bill Harvey: Bullet in the head

One of my favourite books is a Christmas present given to me when I was about 15 years old. Written in the late 1970s and based on the science TV series, Tomorrow’s World Looks to the Future, offered a wealth of predictions about how science and technology would change as the years passed. On some things the book was remarkably accurate, for example, the use of wind and waves to generate our electricity. However, other predictions, such as an increasing reliance on robots allowing us to all enjoy much greater leisure times, were a little wide of the mark.

There have been a number of breakthroughs in eye care, which were highlighted in Optician over the years that have had similarly varied impact. It was clear from the start that OCT would be a major player in community clinics; something which surprised many manufacturers who initially solely targeted hospital clinics. Other technologies I was enthusiastic about have had less impact. We are yet to see, for example, the routine use of crystalline lens fluorescence to screen for diabetes.