More than 60% of people over 15 years of age use glasses in Spain. I am one of them, although the truth is that until now I only wore them when driving or using the computer. But my situation has changed: a few weeks ago I began to notice that I could no longer see well over long distances (especially when driving by car), and a visit to the optician confirmed that my prescription had increased; Now it is recommended that I always wear them, so I had to make new ones. This process coincided with the arrival of a press release: VisionLab presented its new crystals created with AI. A priori it is not something that surprised me, since I receive information daily from all kinds of brands that are betting on this technology; It’s trendy and everyone wants to get on the bandwagon. But the reality is that, at the moment, I don’t always find this useful. added and many times I don’t know to what extent it contributes something with respect to what already exists or is it simply a marketing claim.
AI for progressive glasses
With the glasses, I started to investigate: from what I could find out, until now there have been certain approaches between the world of optics and AI focused on improving the use of progressive lenses, although it is not something very widespread: the Varilux XR Series lenses or the BIG VISION FOR ALL from the German company Rodenstock. What these options have in common with VisionLab’s proposal is that they use databases with the information of thousands of users to determine what the lenses should be to fit the unique needs of each person. What benefits does this have? The theory says that this results in sharper, distortion-free vision, a larger viewing area at the edges of the glass, and a more comfortable viewing experience.
I have verified this by making glasses with Kümer IA lenses designed by VisionLab. The process is very similar to normal‘. First the optometrist graduated my vision and then asked me to choose the frame. Then, he took some measurements of the curvature of the glasses and the distance from my eye to the glass, and gave me a questionnaire in which I had to answer if I already wore glasses or contact lenses, the type of lenses I currently use, what I would like to improve, or issues related to my habits and lifestyle: devices that I use regularly, for how long, if I have pain related to vision or posture, the time I spend outside… With all that information, and thanks to AI, they are capable of knowing how to carve the lens. They make them one by one, although the time to have the glasses in my hands has been very similar to when I made glasses with crystals. normal: 4 or 5 days.
Now, let’s talk about the price. It varies a lot depending on the prescription you have and, curiously, the difference with respect to normal lenses is much more noticeable when you have few diopters. In my case, with 1 diopter of myopia and 0.50 of astigmatism per eye, the difference in cost was more than double. But in progressive glasses it can be around 50 euros.
I put on my glasses and…
When I went to pick up the glasses and started using them in the optician itself, at first I didn’t notice much difference. But I looked into the distance, outside, and there it was: a sensation of great clarity, as if I were not wearing glasses (and could see well). And it is a perception that does not change, even if you move your eyes quickly from one place to another. In this sense, the store warned me that the difference in vision is much greater the higher your prescription and, even more so, in the case of progressive lenses, since they generally generate much more distortion.
The million dollar question. Would I buy these glasses? I see sharper, but it is probably not a sufficient benefit to obviate the large price difference compared to normal lenses in the case of my prescription. That said, once tried I no longer use others.
