Eyedaptic recently announced results from an independent real-world clinical evaluation demonstrating substantial immediate improvements in functional vision among patients with advanced retinal disease.
The findings were presented by David Almeida, MD, MBA, PhD, FRCSC, at the American Retina Forum Annual Meeting, which took place Aug. 5-8 in South Lake Tahoe, California.
Let’s start with Eyedaptic.
Specializing in vision-enhancement technology, the privately-held company’s products are designed with wearable vision aid software enabled by AI and augmented reality (AR) hardware.
Unlike therapies created to slow disease progression, Eyedaptic’s technology is intended to enhance functional vision by digitally optimizing visual information in real time, helping patients utilize their remaining peripheral vision more effectively.
Explain how this is done.
Through the proprietary Simulated Natural Vision Software, which works by optimizing a patient’s functional (remaining) peripheral vision via pixel manipulation—“simulating” clearer vision.
- The intent: To give patients an improved quality of life with a hands-free, easy-to-wear glasses design (take a look at the clinical research supporting the tech).
Which patients is this technology designed for?
The company is currently targeting patients diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).
And that software is included in these smart glasses?
Indeed. In fact, it’s included in Eyedaptic's entire line of AI-enhanced eyewear: the EYE5, EYE6—and as of March 2026—the EYE7.
Among the features of these glasses:
- Lightweight design (weighing in at less than 3 oz)
- Facial detection capabilities
- Auto-zoom mode for viewing text in various situations
- Contrast enhancement controls (for additional image enhancements)
- 2-in-1 wearable and hand-held magnifier
- EyeSwitch technology
As a side note: Prior iterations of the company’s products also encompassing this patented technology include the EYE2, EYE3, and EYE4.
Are they cleared by the FDA?
According to Eyedaptic, its smart glasses are Class I exempt medical devices—meaning they present minimal harm risk and do not require premarket notification or approval (such as a 510[k] clearance).
To note, however: We were unable to locate regulatory documentation confirming the glasses’ status in the FDA product classification database.
Do these glasses include prescriptions?
They do. They can accommodate changing prescriptions and adjustable prescription inserts.
And as a bonus: The Eyedaptic glasses can also be worn over a patient’s existing glasses, if preferred.
Duly noted. Now let’s move on to the new study.
The study was conducted independently at Erie Retina Research (ERR) and included 19 patients (ages: 65-100 years, 63% female) with baseline visual acuity (VA) primarily between 20/200 and 20/800.
Participants were diagnosed with the following retinal diseases:
- AMD
- Geographic atrophy (n=10)
- Neovascular AMD (n=5)
- Dry AMD, intermediate stage (n=1)
- DR
- Non-proliferative DR (n=1)
- Retinitis pigmentosa (n=1)
- Hereditary retinal dystrophies / other (n=1)
And the findings?
Following fitting with Eyedaptic’s EYE6 wearable visual assistive device, participants experienced significant and immediate improvements, with 17 of 19 patients (89%) achieving measurable gains.
Zoom optimization (2-5x) tailored to individual pathology maximized VA gains across different disease stages.
Additional results from the study included:
- Mean improvement of 5.7 lines (more than 28 Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] letters) of near VA across all patients
- Mean improvement of 6.4 lines among responding patients
- More than half of responding patients achieved gains of 6 lines or greater
- Seven patients achieved reading performance equivalent to 20/20 or 20/25 with the device
- Several patients with advanced or end-stage neovascular AMD experienced gains of 8.5-10 lines immediately after device fitting
Tell me more about the functional improvements in vision.
Participants reported additional meaningful functional improvements beyond VA measures, including:
- Enhanced reading ability
- “I can sit and read for 2 hours straight—I couldn’t do that before.”
- Improved facial recognition
- “I can see eye color again… I can count the hairs on your head”
- The potential to resume occupational activities
- One RP patient used the device at work as a cashier and demonstrated a 6-line improvement in reading acuity enabling real-world occupational function.
Note: Two non-responders had severe bilateral disease (count fingers [CF] / hand movements [HM] or light perception [LP] in the worse eye), suggesting a threshold for device benefit.
Any comments from the presenter?
Per Dr. Almeida, principle and founder of ERR and investigator-in-chief of The Centers for Advanced Surgical Exploration (CASEx): “These findings demonstrate that hardware-based visual rehabilitation can provide immediate functional improvements for patients whose visual needs remain unmet despite today’s medical therapies.”
And lastly: the take home.
This study joins the growing body of evidence supporting wearable augmented visual enhancement technology as a valuable addition to comprehensive vision rehabilitation for patients with advanced retinal disease.