HOUSTON—Many astronauts experience eye problems related to space travel. That’s why the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Industry Forum launched the ‘Vision for Mars’ Challenge to identify and advance critical medical technologies for ocular health.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Industry Forum announced this week that it has selected and funded three companies to further develop unique technologies that address visual problems in space as well as on Earth. These companies are Annidis, Inc. of Grandville, Mich., which has developed the Annidis RHA ophthalmoscope; Equinox, LLC of Sioux Falls, S.D., founded by John Berdahl, MD, who is developing the Balance Goggles; and Web Vision Centers Group, LLC of South Jordan, Utah, led by Bob Main, who will work with several vision lens companies to customize adjustable prescription glasses for spaceflight.

The Annidis RHA is a multi-spectral ophthalmoscope with multi-image software processing that quickly and non-invasively images the retina with detail that rivals invasive and more complicated procedures, according to NSBRI.

Equinox will develop Balance Goggles, a simple and comfortable pair of eyewear that will help regulate the pressure inside the eye. “We believe that astronauts may be experiencing reverse glaucoma, which means they experience moderate pressure in the brain that pushes outward and onto the eye, causing some of the ocular pathologies,” said Dorit Donoviel, PhD, assistant professor in the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine deputy chief scientist for NSBRI and Industry Forum lead.

Dr. Donoviel added that because of this hypothesis, Equinox proposes to gently push on the exterior of the eye to stabilize the internal pressure within the eye by building mild pressure-regulating goggles. The goggles will need to be worn for a specific amount a time in order to alleviate the pressure differential that may be causing the visual problems observed in some astronauts.

This technology also has the potential to benefit millions of glaucoma patients around the world who do not respond to, or cannot take, currently approved medications, the NSBRI said. By using these goggles to decrease the pressure within the eye, patients may avoid surgery or the side effects of medication.

Web Vision Centers Group will work with companies that can manufacture glasses with lenses that are easily changed in order to fit a person’s prescription. Donoviel said astronauts’ eyes change shape in space due to reduced gravity which causes their prescriptions to vary frequently.

“These glasses will meet one of NASA’s immediate operational needs,” Donoviel said. Web Vision Centers Group intends to offer prescription adjustable glasses. One possibility is electronic glasses. Astronauts will be able to plug their glasses into a computer which will allow them to change the prisms in the lenses, which will alter the prescription. The other option available today is magnetic lenses, which enables wearers to switch out lenses, required by different prescriptions, on an as-needed basis.

The Earth-based markets for these lenses includes eye surgery patients whose prescriptions change over time, diabetic patients who have the need for variable prescriptions, and children who require new glasses as their eyes and vision change.