Now I can watch the goggle box
Partially sighted lad fulfils Star Wars dream
A YOUNG boy has watched Star Wars from the sofa for the first time, using goggles that enhance vision in the partially sighted.
Charlie Mason, who has an inherited form of macular degeneration, was so stunned, all he could say was: “It works.”
His first wish was to watch Star Wars with his family on the couch, rather than having to sit directly in front of the TV.
The GiveVision device features a smartphone attached to a headset. It captures images with a camera and projects them into the person’s sight line.
Users can adjust the images with a remote control. Charlie, of Knaresborough, North Yorks, is trialling the prototype. His condition causes blind spots to appear in the line of sight, making reading difficult, colours appear less vibrant and faces hard to recognise.
Charlie’s mum Helen, 41, said of the goggles: “It was overwhelming. He was flabbergasted. He just could not believe that he was able to see things that he had not been able to see before.” The NHS and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich invested in the device. Inventors hope the goggles will be available on the NHS by 2025.
Michael Crossland, of Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, said: “This could be used by people not helped by glasses.”