SolidddVision smartglasses, the first true vision correction for people living with vision loss due to macular degeneration, is making its debut at CES 2025.
Macular degeneration is an eye disease that makes it hard for people to see what’s in front of them. While their peripheral vision is intact, the central vision is significantly impaired. Macular degeneration primarily impacts the macula, the central part of the retina responsible for sharp, detailed vision. This makes it hard to see fine details, read, recognize faces, or do things that require clear sight.
The smartglasses technology was developed by Soliddd Corp., a New York City optical and vision technology company focused on restoring and improving sight for the millions of consumers worldwide with macular degeneration and other low vision disorders.
Soliddd’s scientifically formulated and user-tested virtual reality smartglasses are lightweight and feel like normal eyeglasses. SolidddVision provides the first true vision correction—and, indeed, sight restoration for those living with vision loss due to macular degeneration.
The smartglasses use Soliddd’s unique and proprietary lens arrays, which resemble a fly’s eye, to project multiple separate images to the areas of the retina that are not damaged. This allows the brain to naturally construct stereopsis (the making of a 3D image in the brain) and a single full-field image with good acuity that feels like normal, in-focus sight.
At CES, Soliddd is featuring the beta headset version of its technology. It will also display a pre-production model of the smartglasses, in their near final form factor, as the company prepares for clinical trials and marketplace introduction in 2025.
Cutting-edge technology and global patents
Soliddd’s invention is over a decade in the making, leveraging its extensive know-how in 3D technology, portfolio of 15 U.S. and additional foreign patents (plus more pending) and proprietary optics and software including computer vision AI technology.
SolidddVision smartglasses use unique optics and software to beam many separate, in-focus views in a parallel-ray light field to all areas of the retina. The brain’s visual cortex automatically constructs a single, stereo, full-field image with good acuity from the multiple inputs to each eye. Even if some areas of the wearer’s visual field is blocked or unfocused, the redundant visual information received in other areas of the retina combines, resulting in the wearer seeing a full-field, well-focused and bright image.
“Soliddd has invented the first true vision correction for macular degeneration. We can provide sight in areas of the visual field where patients otherwise see nothing,” said Neal Weinstock, CEO of Soliddd, in a statement. “SolidddVision smartglasses are lightweight and easily integrated into daily life. Our team is mission-driven to help restore and improve sight to the millions of consumers worldwide with vision loss caused by macular degeneration.”
The SolidddVision smartglasses breakthrough has been supported by physicians and scientists including numerous board certified ophthalmologists, retinologists and optometrists.
“I was able to observe numerous demonstrations of SolidddVision with patients affected by numerous ocular disease conditions including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and stroke,” said Georgia Crozier, director of the Moore Eye Institute Vision Rehabilitation Center in Pennsylvania, in a statement. “These patients responded positively to the improved visual acuity and all believed it would help them in their daily activities. The enhancement of their reading vision and the ease of use was remarkable. This technology will be groundbreaking.”
Scientists at New York’s Lighthouse Guild reviewed the data from a 30-person clinical study conducted by Soliddd on people with macular diseases. They found the results extremely encouraging for SolidddVision technology, showing an improvement in reading ability of many participants by 50% or more.
SolidddVision smartglasses address the low-vision-aid market consisting of over 20 million Americans, and about 200 million people worldwide—and projected to grow—who live with distorted and even severe vision loss due to macular degeneration.
The company has earned numerous awards including the MassChallenge Alumni 1st Place 2024; HITLAB Breakthrough Challenge, December 2023; Unicorn Cup, World 1st Place 2023; and Digital Hub Health Foundation, HLTH 2024. Going into CES 2025, Soliddd earned a Consumer Technology Association Eureka Park Accessibility Award and a Techlicious Editor’s Choice CES 2025 winner as one of the most innovative and impactful products and technologies that stand out from the crowd. It will be at the Venetian Expo, Eureka Park booth #62037, at CES 2025.
Soliddd has raised $1.5 million in funding to date from investors including Beresford Ventures, Peaksjah OU, Global Capital Group, JMB Macro and angels Trout Moser, Derek Myers (Neoti) and others. The company has worked on this for 15 years and it has 12 employees.
Source link