eSight, a company in Ottawa, delveloped glasses that enabled a legally
blind woman in Guelph, Ont., to gaze in wonder at her newborn son. 29-year-old
Kathy Beitz wearing the computerized glasses in her hospital bed has attracted
more than 3 million views since it was posted on YouTube on Jan. 21 by her sister,
Yvonne Felix. Both have a degenerative eye condition called Stargardt's disease
and have only about two per cent of full sight.
eSight, which has research and production facilities in Kanata, began researching
the computerized glasses about eight years ago. Commercial production began in
the fall of 2013. About 140 people currently use the glasses, which sell for
$15,000. Beitz, who has been legally blind since age 11, has 20/400 vision,
meaning she can barely read the largest 'E' on an eye chart. Because of macular
degeneration, she also has large blind spots that obliterate most of her vision.
But after donning eSight's glasses, her vision has been tested at 20/20.
Given the exploding demand, the company expects to expand production at its
Kanata operation, which currently has only 10 employees.
'The response,' West said, 'is beyond our wildest dreams, We're just blown
away by how much people care about this story.'
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