Innovator Mark GregetAge 39Title Co-founder and chief executive officer of NuEyes in Newport Beach, Calif.
Form and functionNuEyes, a combination of custom software and smart glasses, is designed to restore sight to people with serious vision loss. A camera on the front of the blacked-out glasses acts as eyes. Captured images are projected on the lenses.
OriginGreget, a U.S. Navy veteran, began developing NuEyes after spending five years distributing devices for the blind.
SpecsThe glasses, made by government contractor Osterhout Design Group, are equipped with an autofocus camera with 720-pixel resolution, comparable to a low-end HDTV.
UseA speech-recognition feature lets wearers use voice commands to improve the image projected through the lenses to best remedy their particular condition. Earbuds let users listen to a text reader or other media via a Bluetooth-connected device.
Cost The price is about $6,000.
MarketPeople with significant loss of vision from macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa—the leading causes of vision loss worldwide—can benefit from the glasses.
FundingGreget financed the software development with about $100,000 of his own money and $350,000 from family and friends.
Next StepsNuEyes went on sale in April. “The patients that have tried it have been very happy,” says Michael Samuel, a surgeon and researcher at the Retina Institute in Los Angeles, adding that cost is a limiting factor. Veterans Affairs hospitals have been placing orders. Greget says another model coming later this year will include access to e-mail, social media, and an internet browser.
To contact the author of this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dimitra Kessenides at dkessenides1@bloomberg.net, Matthew Philips at mphilips3@bloomberg.net, David Rocks at drocks1@bloomberg.net.
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