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Professor focused on cheap specs | Professor focused on cheap specs |
(about 19 hours later) | |
A retired Oxford University physics professor has designed adjustable glasses that can be used by people in the developing world. | |
Professor Silver's spectacles are altered by injecting tiny quantities of fluid into the lenses. | Professor Silver's spectacles are altered by injecting tiny quantities of fluid into the lenses. |
The spectacles mean people can have glasses that suit their eyes without the need for a prescription. | The spectacles mean people can have glasses that suit their eyes without the need for a prescription. |
The invention should enable millions of people in poorer parts of the world to get glasses for the first time. | The invention should enable millions of people in poorer parts of the world to get glasses for the first time. |
One billion target | One billion target |
Professor Joshua Silver decided to develop an adjustable spectacle after a chance conversation in 1985. It took him 20 years to come up with a design which could be made cheaply on a large scale. | Professor Joshua Silver decided to develop an adjustable spectacle after a chance conversation in 1985. It took him 20 years to come up with a design which could be made cheaply on a large scale. |
The tough plastic lenses have thin sacs of liquid in the centre of each lens. The lenses come with small syringes attached to each arm and the wearer uses a dial to add or remove fluid from the lens. | The tough plastic lenses have thin sacs of liquid in the centre of each lens. The lenses come with small syringes attached to each arm and the wearer uses a dial to add or remove fluid from the lens. |
Once the lenses have been adjusted, the syringes are removed and the spectacles are worn like a prescription pair. | Once the lenses have been adjusted, the syringes are removed and the spectacles are worn like a prescription pair. |
Thousands of pairs of glasses have already been distributed in poorer countries during a trial project, supported by the Department for International Development. | Thousands of pairs of glasses have already been distributed in poorer countries during a trial project, supported by the Department for International Development. |
Professor Silver is now preparing to launch an ambitious scheme in India to distribute one million pairs in a year. Eventually he wants to reach 100 million people a year, with a target of one billion in total by 2020. | Professor Silver is now preparing to launch an ambitious scheme in India to distribute one million pairs in a year. Eventually he wants to reach 100 million people a year, with a target of one billion in total by 2020. |
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