In a continuing series on the RISE™Inside podcast, we've been highlighting RISE™Robotics' belief in and work with disability employment awareness—a time to celebrate the numerous and diverse contributions of workers with disabilities, while also providing an opportunity to educate the public, particularly employers, on issues surrounding disability employment. As well as blindness awareness—a campaign close to the hearts of RISE™Robotics and team members Ken Gray, Chief Product Officer, and fellow eSight advocate, Rosa Henderson, Executive Assistant to the Chief Product Officer, who both live, work, and thrive with visual impairments.
Today on the RISE™Inside podcast, host Justin Starbird is joined by special guests Roland Mattern, Director of Marketing for eSight Eyewear, and Gary Foster, advocate, former employee, and user of eSight Eyewear, to talk about eSight technology and the impact that interventions can have on improving people's vision and lives.
At its core, eSight is the most versatile and advanced all-in-one device for people with visual impairments, designed to move seamlessly with the wearer through daily life.
eSight's low vision device, more commonly referred to as electronic Eyewear, functions by stimulating synaptic activity from the remaining photoreceptor function of the user's eyes. Using a cutting-edge camera, smart algorithms, and high-resolution screens, the assistive technology maximizes the visual information provided to the brain to naturally compensate for gaps in the user's field of view.
A typical eSight user has visual acuity of 20/60 to 20/800, some as high as 20/1400, caused by more than 20 different eye conditions, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and Stargardt's disease. Many may achieve 20/20 visual acuity while wearing eSight.
At eSight, they don't just help their low-vision clients see. They help them "See New Possibilities." Whether it's getting a new job, pursuing a degree, or traveling the world, their goal is to provide the most advanced low-vision assistive technology available.
Since Gary discovered eSight in 2015, it has significantly impacted his life, his independence, and all the things he loves to do. His story is both fascinating and inspiring.
"It made a completely profound difference in my life. It's made me completely independent again. I travel all over North America unassisted because when I wear an eSight, I actually have 20/20 vision. I have 20/400 vision without it. It's a thrill for me to introduce this technology to people because it still amazes me.
"I suffered from AMD. In my family, it's very common. Our doctor always classified this as premature age-related macular degeneration because, in my family, we get it young.
I was my mother's caregiver when she lost her sight, and I have to say, I thought that if it ever happened to me, because of my experience with my mother, I would be completely capable of handling this situation. I knew what to expect, but I can tell you, honestly, that nothing prepares you for losing your sight.
"I wasn't prepared, even though I thought I would be, because I didn't realize the simple tasks that I wouldn't be able to do.
"I've always been a very independent person, and having to become dependent was a real challenge for me. It really was a challenge.
"I had a very dynamic job. I worked in the Rocky Mountains. I lived in Lake Louise, Alberta. I had a lot of people that I was responsible for. I was responsible for all of the highways in the National Park, everything from avalanches to snow removal to road repair and bridge repair. I was the operations coordinator for all of that, which was very demanding.
"I went from that, on a Wednesday, to being unemployed on a Thursday.
"When my eyesight reached the point where I could no longer maintain a driver's license, that was the end of my career. It was hard to go home and wonder, 'Well, what next?'
"I became an ambassador for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind just to be active. It was at one of their conferences that I first encountered eSight.
"I remember standing in a long line of people who wanted to look through this device. There was a fellow there, Tyler Moore, who wears eSight, and he was holding them up for people to look through. There were so many people that he was talking to a group on his left and holding the glasses up on his right for the queue to come through and look.
"When it was finally my turn, I was looking through the glasses, and my wife stood in front of me and said, 'Well, what can you see?' I said, 'I see your face.'
"She started to cry. I looked around the room, and I said, 'I can see everybody's face.' I heard, 'Next,' as the glasses were pulled away from my face. It was like, 'Oh, my God, I need to know more'!
"That was my introduction to eSight. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
"I went to talk to my doctor about it. They had never heard about it. He was skeptical.
"I flew from Calgary to Toronto to do a complete evaluation and found that for me, I read to the bottom of the eye chart. I couldn't believe it. It was absolutely phenomenal. Shortly after that, I purchased my first pair and started learning how to relive my life independently.
"I have to say that it is something I never thought would happen again," recalls Gary. "When I had an opportunity to go and work full-time, I was like a kid in the toy store. I wanted to learn everything about the inside workings of that office. I worked with everybody. I wanted to know every bit of what I was supposed to be doing, and I branched out. Not only did I learn the job I was there to do, I just started doing more and more and more. The more capable I was, the more they got me involved.
"Having a full-time job gave me back my confidence. For me, it was just so exciting. There was nothing that I didn't want to do. If I could do it, I would do it."
As for what's next for Gary and his refound independence, "my wife and I look forward to any opportunity we can assist eSight in getting the word out, which we do. We love doing that.
"When I first started going to conferences and meeting with doctors, I was always amazed at why they hadn't heard of this product. It's in medical journals. Then, the next step was that they were always so incredibly skeptical. I understand that, but what's happening now is so gratifying. Doctors are coming looking for us, wanting to know more.
"To hear a doctor say, for example, 'I have ten patients right now that I can't do anything for, and I would love to introduce them to this technology. I need to know more.' When we start hearing that, I really feel like I'm accomplishing something, which is great because I'm more interested in what it does for that client than the doctor or even eSight itself.
"My message is, here's this technology. Let's get it into the hands of the people that can use it, and I'm starting to hear more encouragement from doctors. Roland would agree with me; it's so gratifying to have a doctor come up and be excited because he's heard about this. He comes, and he talks to us about it. We'll do a demo, and he's excited to return to his practice and get the word out."
"On a personal level," Gary says, "I am going to be an incredibly busy person until I am no longer able to do so physically. It's not going to be the vision that's going to stop me at this point. Somewhere along the line, my legs, my knees, and my back will have to say enough is enough. I love it."
And as for the future of eSight, Roland explains, "eSight 4 builds upon the success of eSight 3, which was named a Time Magazine's Innovation of the Year and Health Tech Digital Awards Best Wearable Technology Solution.
"In the long term, we'd like to be a household name. We want to be on the tip of the tongue of every ophthalmologist in North America and beyond, but I think those are your Big Hairy Audacious Goals in the long term.
"In the short term, we will be attending the American Academy of Ophthalmology this month and the American Academy of Optometry to continue driving our message to the healthcare community.
"We also have a new product in development. We're constantly pushing the envelope, looking to make the product better. We're hoping to have a release for a new product in 2023. Our R&D colleagues are indeed working on that.
"In the meantime, we continue working through our digital and face-to-face channels to ensure our message gets out there and we can help as many people as possible.”
If any of your listeners want to learn more about eSight, they can visit our website at www.esighteyewear.com. There you will find product information including user stories, about the company, and information about various retinal diseases that impact central vision. Please visit eSight and reach out anytime.
Also, to hear more about eSight and Gary's journey, tune into "Seeing New Possibilities" live on the RISE™Inside podcast today!
