Technology Home reading
we've got to try to help them."
More than 3.3 million Americans 40 and over, or about one in 28, are blind or have vision so
poor that even with glasses, medicine or surgery, everyday tasks are difficult, according to the
National Eye Institute, a federal agency. That number is expected to double in the next 30 years.
Worldwide, about 160 million people are similarly affected.
"With an aging population, it's obviously going to be an increasing problem," said Michael D.
Oberdorfer, who runs the visual neuroscience program for the National Eye Institute, which
finances several sight-restoration projects, including the artificial retina. Wide-ranging research
is important, he said, because different methods could help different causes of blindness.
The approaches include gene therapy, which has produced improved vision in people who are
blind from one rare congenital disease. Stem cell research is considered promising, although far
annaabi.ee 
