GOLDEN, Colo., Jan. 23, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- "More than 20 million people suffer from serious untreated vision problems, and most of those people don't realize a solution like ours is available," says Stan Harper, CEO of Adventures in Color Technology, Ltd., and former president of the Contact Lens Society of America.
New York City optician Cary Hirschfield says the optometry group he's affiliated with, Farkas Kassalow & Resnick, has been working with Golden, Colorado-based Adventures in Color Technology for 12 years.
"When we prescribe hand-painted lenses, it's usually to fix a trauma from accidental eye disfigurement or congenital problem," Hirschfield says. "But Adventures in Color Technology also custom creates hand-painted lenses for theatre. And that's an important component here in New York City.
"Adventures in Color Technology is miles ahead in the industry -- in terms of customer service, accessibility and the staff's willingness to help practitioners with their patients' problems. In most cases, their delivery time is also better," Hirschfield explains.
Roughly two percent of the population has suffered a serious eye injury as a result of an accident, and others have vision problems as a result of unsuccessful eye surgeries or birth defects. The company uses various Federal Food and Drug Administration approved colors and designs specifically applied to soft contact lenses.
"It's amazing. I don't know why more people don't know about it," says Courtney Wacker, a Loveland, CO, accident victim, who benefited from hand-painted contact lens technology following a auto accident two years ago.
Wacker suffered from double vision and a disfigured eye after emerging from a coma following the accident. She subsequently was fitted with a lens from Adventures in Color Technology. According to Wacker, the restoration of her normal vision and appearance brought tears to her eyes. "Being able to see normally, without wearing an eye patch, was the best feeling in the world," Wacker said.
She says the contact is just like wearing a patch. "But, it just looks like your eye, because it's painted," Wacker explains, "They take pictures of your good eye and then paint the contact to look exactly like it."
Adventures in Color Technology, Ltd., serves eye care practitioners both in private practice and at teaching hospitals and universities throughout the world, developing colors and patterns for patients and continuing research for other retinal problems. Hopefully, to soon help patients with macular degeneration, a debilitating loss of vision as the macula in the back of the eye becomes less and less responsive to light entering the eye through the pupil. This condition is the leading cause of blindness in our older population.
The company's headquarters is located at 1511 Washington Avenue, Golden, Colo., 80401. Harper may be reached at 303-271-9644, toll-free at 1-800-537-2845 or by e-mail at sharper@techcolors.com. The company website is http://www.techcolors.com.