• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Life Sciences
  • Investments
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage

Google Glass Helps 13-Year Old With Retinal Dystrophy

by HITC Staff 11/25/2014 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

 

Google Glass

A 13-year old teenager diagnosed with retinal dystrophy leaving him almost completely blind discovered Google Glass helped improved his vision. Retinal dystrophy is a condition associated with reduced or deteriorating vision in both eyes. After 13-year old Ben Yonnatan was diagnosed with retinal dystrophy last year, he quick lost majority of his vision within a few short months restricting his field of view to the size of a straw opening. As a result, Ben’s future as a dancer was in jeopardy. 

The Aha Moment

Luckily for Ben, his adopted mother who earned her master’s degree in blind rehabilitation started tinkering with the idea of using the iPhone’s camera to capture a large field of view to help her son see. She then started using the iPad and eventually moved to Google Glass after it launched. Yonnatan set up a GoFundMe page to help purchase the $1,500 wearable device; however, they did not raise enough to afford the additional cost of frames. To overcome this, he attached the wearable device to his existing pair of glasses using a rubber band. By using Google Glass, Yonnatan expanded his vision by nearly 70 percent. 

“The first time I put it on, I was like, ‘Woah! Woah! Woah! I could see seven people! I took it off and I could only see one person with one eye,” Yonattan said.

The diagram below show the range of Yonattan’s vision with Glass versus the naked eye. 

Google Glass Vision

After the story first aired last week, Google reached out to offer him a brand new Google Glass set included with a free pair of frames. 

“The goal of the Glass Explorer program is to get it into the hands of all sorts of people, from firemen to musicians, from chefs to parents, to see how they use it. It’s still early days, but the potential for wearables and Glass in particular is great and we’re always excited to see how different people put the device to use,” Google told the Michigan news station. 

It is still unsure if his condition will get worse over time. However, the hazy road ahead does not deter Yonattan’s plan of becoming a professional choreographer 

“As long as I just dance, it will keep me happy. You have to believe in yourself. You don’t just quit,” Yonattan said.

For more information, see the video here or his Facebook Page here. 

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

HLTH 2025 Coverage

HLTH 2025 Day 1 Summary & Insights: AMA Launches AI Governance Center, Google Cloud, Microsoft, ChatGPT for Medicine

Featured Interview

ConcertAI VP Shares View on AI Hallucinations and the Fabricated Data Crisis in Scientific Publishing

Most-Read

Cleveland Clinic and Khosla Ventures Form Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Healthcare Innovation

Cleveland Clinic and Khosla Ventures Form Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Healthcare Innovation

Northwell Health Selects to Deploy Abridge’s Ambient AI Across 28 Hospitals

Northwell Health to Deploy Abridge’s Ambient AI Across 28 Hospitals

Omada Health Launches "Nutritional Intelligence" with AI Agent OmadaSpark

Omada Health Launches AI-Powered Meal Map to Transform Nutrition for Cardiometabolic Patients

From Overwhelmed to Optimized: How AI Agents Address Staffing Challenges and Burnout in Healthcare

From Overwhelmed to Optimized: How AI Agents Address Staffing Challenges and Burnout in Healthcare

Qualtrics Acquires Press Ganey Forsta for $6.75B to Create the Most Comprehensive AI Experience Platform

Qualtrics Acquires Press Ganey Forsta for $6.75B to Create the Most Comprehensive AI Experience Platform

Pfizer and Trump Administration Announce Landmark Agreement to Lower Drug Costs

Pfizer and Trump Administration Announce Landmark Agreement to Lower Drug Costs

KLAS Report: Epic's Native Ambient Speech Tool Reshapes Customer AI Strategies

KLAS Report: Epic’s Native Ambient Speech Tool Reshapes Customer AI Strategies

Epic Unveils MyChart Central and New APIs to Advance Interoperability at Open@Epic

Epic Outlines Roadmap for Next-Generation Data Sharing at Open@Epic

Epic Launches Comet: A New AI Platform to Predict Patient Health Journeys

Epic Launches Comet: A New AI Platform to Predict Patient Health Journeys

RevSpring to Acquire Kyruus Health, Creating a Unified Patient Experience

RevSpring to Acquire Kyruus Health, Creating a Unified Patient Experience

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Op-Ed Submission Guidelines
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |