Visually-impaired iPhone app

How about an iPhone app which allows the visually impaired to identify objects they encounter in their daily lives? Now you can have it with TapTapSee. Simply double tap the screen to take a photo of anything and hear the app speak the identification back to you.

Click on this link to find out more. 

Watch this video to learn how it works. 

Seeing-Aid Device from Israel

An interesting gadget from Israel could soon take the world by storm. A startup from the Middle Eastern country has come up with a gizmo which can help the visually handicapped "see". 

It is a gadget which is attached to a pair of glasses. The device can tell you what is in front of you, read aloud a book and even identify your family and friends. 

And it is only as expensive as a hearing aid. 

Check out this exciting story from Bloomberg. 

Japan's OK world's first stem cell trial

Japan has given the green light to the world's first clinical trial using stem cells harvested from a patient's own body. 

The cells used in this instance are the "induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells" - or "adult cells". Until the discovery of iPS cells several years ago, the only way to obtain stem cells was to harvest them from human embryos.

This is controversial because it requires the destruction of the embryo, a process to which religious conservatives, among others, object.

iPS cells do not come with such baggage. (Read our report on Dr Mandeep Singh's talk to MDS last year to find out more about how iPS cells work)

Japan's new trial treatment will try to create retinal cells that can be transplanted into the eyes of patients suffering from AMD, replacing the damaged part of the eye. It will start with six patients, all who suffer from AMD. Cells will be taken from their skin. 

Click here to read more about this groundbreaking development. 

Shark eye drops to treat MD?

As unbelievable as it may sound, scientists have found that sharks could help to treat macular degeneration. Yes, sharks! 

Experts have been keen to find out why sharks rarely develop illnesses. They found that sharks have squalamine, a compound produced by sharks to stop them getting infections. 

Squalamine is extracted from the liver of sharks and can prevent the abnormal growth of blood vessels. It reduces the growth of unwanted blood vessels by a third. 

Now, scientists have synthesised squalamine into a chemical and made eye drops out of it. Trials are underway in US. 

Read this Daily Mail article and this Medical Daily story for more. Check out this video by Ohr Phamaceutical, manufacturer of this new eye drop, too! 

Keep myopia at bay

A sign spotted at West Coast Park, Singapore. Sound advice! 

From blind to sighted

An experimental stem-cell treatment has restored the sight of a man blinded by the degeneration of his retinal cells. His vision went from 20/400 to 20/40! It is good enough to get a driver's license! 

Click here to read more.

MDS supports AMD Week

By Sharon Siddique

MDS President

MDS was again a partner with Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in contributing to the success of the annual AMD Awareness Week (19 to 24 May 2013). The launch was held on Sunday, 19 May, from 9am to 1pm. From 11am to 1pm, and in cooperation with hospital staff, MDS hosted a number of Patient Support Group Talks. These included several presentations on this year’s theme of “Eat Right Save Sight”, the highlight being the ever popular cooking demonstration.

Other topics included counseling patients with macular degeneration, introduction to the Guide Dogs Association of the Blind, and a dialogue session with a representative of the AMD Alliance International from London.

Exco members were on hand to recruit new members. MDS adviser, Dr Au Eong Kah Guan has generously donated copies of Denise Au Eong’s recently-published book, “When Grandma Sees a Whirlpool”. He has generously offered each PAID UP MDS member a FREE copy of the book, while additional copies are available for sale at $12 at All For Eyes (Tanglin Shopping Centre 05-23). All proceeds of the book sales will be donated to MDS Singapore.