Innovega Expands Patent Filings for Assisting the Sensory Impaired

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovega Inc. filed three new patent applications for novel extended reality eyewear with features for those with visual and auditory impairment.  One application provides for camera features for display eyewear for the visually impaired that allow normal eye and head positions when using the system for distance viewing, arms-length tasks and normal reading-distance tasks that have different angles of gaze and head tilt.  A second application teaches a novel intraocular lens (IOL) for patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who also require cataract surgery. The IOL replaces the need for wearing patented iOptik® smart contact lenses as part of the company's eMacula® system; the IOL optics enable eMacula's wide field of view that delivers enhanced vision for the visually impaired.

The third recent patent application is the first to address the needs of the auditory impaired with extended reality eyewear.  Novel microphone technology is coupled with gaze tracking and hearing devices to assist the auditory impaired in gaze-guided microphone channel selection along with real-time, gaze-guided voice recognition closed caption text presentation in the extended reality display eyewear. 

"The Innovega team finds deep meaning in providing intellectual property, reference designs and prototypes for helping our partners serve the sensory impaired.  The graying of America and other developed countries leads to an increased prevalence of those who suffer age-related vision and hearing losses and who need and want assistance to maintain active and independent lives," shared Dr. Jerome Legerton, Innovega Co-Founder and lead inventor.  "We will continue to design lightweight and stylish eyewear with the electronics to assist the sensory impaired when coupled with our iOptik smart contact lenses and intraocular lenses," Legerton added.

Innovega is in clinical development for its FDA market clearance for the iOptik contact lenses in the U.S., along with seeking CE marking for the commercial launch in Europe.

"It is a pleasure to lead a team that is energized by the vision and mission to help the sensory impaired," noted Steve Willey, Innovega Co-Founder and CEO.  "We've come a long way in our research and development and find it proper and fitting to add to our ability to help those who suffer vision and hearing loss.  We look forward to our market clearance and first commercial launch with our partners who serve the sensory impaired."

About Innovega
Innovega Inc. is developing stylish, lightweight, wearable displays that feature a high-resolution, panoramic-field-of-view system for medical, consumer and industrial application. The Company is licensing its technology into the $74 billion global vision care market with a focus on image enhancement for the visually impaired. Its transformative patented platform, eMacula®, combines eyewear with iOptik® high-resolution smart contact lenses to deliver broad application in medicine, augmented reality and virtual reality. The Company has been supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National Eye Institute of National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation; and has received investments from strategic partners. The iOptik contact lens is in the FDA De Novo process with Phase III clinical trials in progress. The Company is also pursuing FDA 510(k) clearance for its lens material.

Media Inquiries:
Stephen Willey, CEO
Email:  [email protected]
Cell:  425.516.8175

SOURCE Innovega Inc.