title: From Reading Stones, Glasses and Contact Lenses to Intraocular Lenses & Ophthalmic Lasers--A Short Overview over the History of Visual Aids.
abstract: Alhazen, ibn al-Haytham, (965 Basra - c. 1040 in Cairo) was a Muslim polymath who made significant contributions to the principles of optics, being the first to recognize the optical effect by transparent objects in the 11th century. His insights led to a fundamental revolution, enabling older presbyopic persons to read again. Today many more options are available to help visually impaired people correct their sight defects. This article will give an historical overview of the sight aids which are available today and will describe the very first beginnings of the development of the "reading stone" or "glasses". Further, it will also give a chronological overview of more modern techniques, e.g., intraocular lenses, contact lenses and the options of refractive surgery.
authors.forename: Sibylle K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Scholtz
authors.forename: Gerd U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Auffarth
mesh_terms: D048988:Corneal Surgery, Laser / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007909:Lenses / Q000266:history*