A newborn baby sees the world upside down because it takes some time for the baby's brain to learn
to turn the picture right-side up. Processing visual information is a complex task - it takes up a
relatively large portion of the brain compared to other senses. This is because your brain performs
several tasks to make images 'easier' to see. One, of course, is combining the two images, which is
helped by the corpus callosum, the tiny part of your brain which joins the two big hemispheres. The
other part is handled in the optic part of your brain itself, and part of its job is to make images
right-side-up. It does this because your brain is so USED to seeing things upside-down that it
eventually adjusts to it. After all, it's a lot easier to flip the image over than it is to try and
coordinate your hands and legs with an upside-down world! As a result, for the first few days, babies
see everything upside-down. This is because they have not become used to vision.
Eye Health
Can eating the right stuff keep you seeing great well into old age by reducing the risk of cataracts?
Cataracts are opacities in the lens that develop as we grow older. They can cause blurry vision,
double vision, glare, and the need to turn up the light when we read as we get older. Researchers
in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
found that eating food and taking supplements rich in lutein/zeaxanthin and vitamin E was associated
with significantly decreased risks of cataract formation. They followed nearly 40,000 female health
professionals, age 45 and older, for 10 years, assessing their nutrient intake and following their
vision. Participants who consumed the largest amounts of lutein/zeaxanthin -- found abundantly in
spinach, broccoli, kale, eggs, corn, and peas -- had an 18 percent lower risk of developing cataracts
than the group who consumed the least. The group who consumed the most vitamin E from both food
(vegetable oils, nuts, fish) and supplements had a 14 percent lower risk. Wheat germ oil has the
highest Vitamin E content of all the vegetable oils.
What's new in vision correction procedures
How high can you climb after LASIK? Researchers found that LASIK is a good choice for patients
involved in high altitude activities, even those who climb the extreme heights. These researchers
were actually part of the expedition that climbed Mount Everest. Visual acuity of six Mount Everest
climbers was measured at sea level, at base camp (17,600 ft), and as they ascended the 29,035 ft
summit. The climbers reported good vision without any changes up to 26,400 ft. Two climbers reported
mild blurring of vision at 27,000 and 28,500 feet which improved immediately with descent. No
specials precautions are required when ascending high altitude after LASIK.
Tech Corner
Eye trackers revolutionized the accuracy of laser vision correction. Because a human eye never
stands still, how does the laser ?know? where to place the beam? The eye moves on the average 100
times per second. The laser beam, however, needs to land at a precise location on the cornea to
correct the imperfections in vision accurately. To solve this dilemma, trackers have been installed
within most laser systems. They track the position of the eye and "tell" the laser beam where the
eye is at any point in time, so that the laser beam can be right there. Not all trackers are the
same, however. Some lasers use trackers that sample eye position at only 60 times per second. Since
a typical eye moves faster than that, such sample rate may not be enough for the most accurate
results. The sample rate has to be more than 100 times per second. Two lasers have trackers capable
of tracking at ultrafast rates -- Wavelight Alegretto (200 times per second) and Alcon LADARVision
(4,000 times per second). Even the fastest and most unpredictable eye movements can be followed
accurately with these lasers.
415.922.9500
Fun Eye Facts
A newborn baby sees the world upside down because it takes some time for the baby's brain to learn
to turn the picture right-side up. Processing visual information is a complex task - it takes up a
relatively large portion of the brain compared to other senses. This is because your brain performs
several tasks to make images 'easier' to see. One, of course, is combining the two images, which is
helped by the corpus callosum, the tiny part of your brain which joins the two big hemispheres. The
other part is handled in the optic part of your brain itself, and part of its job is to make images
right-side-up. It does this because your brain is so USED to seeing things upside-down that it
eventually adjusts to it. After all, it's a lot easier to flip the image over than it is to try and
coordinate your hands and legs with an upside-down world! As a result, for the first few days, babies
see everything upside-down. This is because they have not become used to vision.
Can eating the right stuff keep you seeing great well into old age by reducing the risk of cataracts?
Cataracts are opacities in the lens that develop as we grow older. They can cause blurry vision,
double vision, glare, and the need to turn up the light when we read as we get older. Researchers
in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
found that eating food and taking supplements rich in lutein/zeaxanthin and vitamin E was associated
with significantly decreased risks of cataract formation. They followed nearly 40,000 female health
professionals, age 45 and older, for 10 years, assessing their nutrient intake and following their
vision. Participants who consumed the largest amounts of lutein/zeaxanthin -- found abundantly in
spinach, broccoli, kale, eggs, corn, and peas -- had an 18 percent lower risk of developing cataracts
than the group who consumed the least. The group who consumed the most vitamin E from both food
(vegetable oils, nuts, fish) and supplements had a 14 percent lower risk. Wheat germ oil has the
highest Vitamin E content of all the vegetable oils.
How high can you climb after LASIK? Researchers found that LASIK is a good choice for patients
involved in high altitude activities, even those who climb the extreme heights. These researchers
were actually part of the expedition that climbed Mount Everest. Visual acuity of six Mount Everest
climbers was measured at sea level, at base camp (17,600 ft), and as they ascended the 29,035 ft
summit. The climbers reported good vision without any changes up to 26,400 ft. Two climbers reported
mild blurring of vision at 27,000 and 28,500 feet which improved immediately with descent. No
specials precautions are required when ascending high altitude after LASIK.
Eye trackers revolutionized the accuracy of laser vision correction. Because a human eye never
stands still, how does the laser ?know? where to place the beam? The eye moves on the average 100
times per second. The laser beam, however, needs to land at a precise location on the cornea to
correct the imperfections in vision accurately. To solve this dilemma, trackers have been installed
within most laser systems. They track the position of the eye and "tell" the laser beam where the
eye is at any point in time, so that the laser beam can be right there. Not all trackers are the
same, however. Some lasers use trackers that sample eye position at only 60 times per second. Since
a typical eye moves faster than that, such sample rate may not be enough for the most accurate
results. The sample rate has to be more than 100 times per second. Two lasers have trackers capable
of tracking at ultrafast rates -- Wavelight Alegretto (200 times per second) and Alcon LADARVision
(4,000 times per second). Even the fastest and most unpredictable eye movements can be followed
accurately with these lasers.