The Optical Delusion

Envision’s decision to stop active development unless a partner is found raises a wider question about the economics of specialist accessibility. This episode explores how mainstream technology, from smart glasses to tactile control surfaces, can sometimes become effective assistive technology when it is affordable, adaptable and genuinely usable.

Vitamin B3 is attracting serious interest as a possible neuroprotective strategy in glaucoma, but promising biology is not the same as a proven treatment. This episode examines what the human evidence actually shows, why high-dose nicotinamide is not routine glaucoma care, and the difference between supporting general health and changing the course of disease.

A glaucoma diagnosis can make everyday exercise feel suddenly uncertain. This episode examines what current research says about fitness, temporary changes in eye pressure and glaucoma outcomes, and why avoiding exercise unnecessarily may carry physical and psychological costs of its own.

A bus can satisfy accessibility law and still be difficult to use in practice. This episode looks at new Department for Transport guidance on inclusive bus design, from tactile contactless readers to the challenge of identifying the correct bus, and asks where legal compliance ends and genuine accessibility begins.

ELIOS is an implant-free glaucoma procedure that uses excimer laser trabeculostomy to improve drainage. This episode looks at encouraging two-year results when ELIOS is combined with cataract surgery, what the study cannot yet tell us about standalone use, and why an implant-free option may matter clinically and psychologically.

Glaucoma-related Certificates of Vision Impairment in England have risen by around 60% over 15 years. This episode asks what that increase really measures — worsening disease, changes in certification practice, greater awareness and support, or some combination — and why the number needs context before it becomes a conclusion.

Peripheral visual-field loss changes more than what we see; it can also change how the body uses sensory information to stay balanced. This episode explores what recent research on sensory reweighting might mean for rehabilitation, and asks whether future research should examine training the sensory and motor systems that remain.

Steroids can be an important part of treatment after glaucoma surgery, yet in some people they can also raise intraocular pressure. This episode explores that apparent contradiction, why steroid-related pressure rises may go unnoticed, and why the more useful question is who needs monitoring while taking them.

A new systematic review finds very high satisfaction with tele-ophthalmology, yet fewer patients say they would choose to use it again. This episode looks at what that gap might reveal about communication, confidence and the role of virtual clinics in an NHS eye-care system under pressure.

Can AI make outdoor navigation easier without replacing the skills people already rely on? This episode explores a new smartphone-based mobility system tested with blind and visually impaired participants, and asks what useful assistive technology looks like when blindness and low vision exist on a continuum.