ROANOKE, Va., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- PixelOptics, Inc. ("Pixel") of Roanoke, Virginia announced today that Pixel and Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Co., Ltd ("Panasonic Shikoku Electronics") of Matsuyama, Japan have been collaborating in the development of PixelOptics' electronic eyeglasses. Pixel, the world's first composite ophthalmic lens company, is developing, and plans to market and sell both static (fixed focus) and electronic dynamic (changeable focus) lenses. Pixel launched atLast!(R) its first static composite enhanced multifocal in November of 2008. Panasonic Shikoku Electronics is one of group companies of Panasonic Corporation. Panasonic Corporation is a global electronics company and is well known around the world.
Bill Kokonaski, Pixel's CTO said, "Pixel and Panasonic Shikoku Electronics have been jointly developing the first ophthalmic eyewear solution that crosses over into the consumer electronics sector. We are most pleased to have Panasonic Shikoku Electronics assisting us with this development."
Ronald D. Blum, O.D., President and CEO of Pixel stated, "Pixel's electronic eyeglasses auto-focus faster than the blink of an eye using chemistry, electricity, and optics and do so without moving parts. These eyeglasses allow for clear focus from far to near, and everything in between. They are lineless on the face of the wearer and provide significantly wider and less compromised fields of clear vision having far less areas of distortion than that of progressive addition lenses of an equal optical power." Progressive addition lenses presently are the most common and preferred way of correcting for presbyopia (a condition that results in the poor near and intermediate distance focus of one's eyes after 45yrs of age).
Yukinori Okazaki, CTO and board member of Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Co., Ltd. said, "Panasonic Shikoku Electronics is very pleased to have had the opportunity of working on such an exciting project and one that will benefit so many people around the world. We anticipate there are a lot of opportunities in health care that benefit the world's aging population and in which Panasonic Shikoku Electronics can play a significant role. We see Pixel's electronic eyeglasses as one of these opportunities."
William Spies, Pixel's COO, said, "PixelOptics has designed its electronic eyewear in such a way that it will involve all conventional channels of distribution: lens manufacturers, frame companies, wholesale optical labs, eye care professionals. No special equipment will be required to be purchased and the current eye examination will not change. We anticipate that if all goes to plan PixelOptics will move forward with a launch of its electronic eyeglasses in the second half of 2010. This is a most exciting time for our company."
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