‘This is a game changer’: Low vision advocates want Alberta to let drivers use telescope glasses

Some Albertans are calling on the province to help cover costs for a special type of glasses and to allow people to use them for driving.

Bioptic telescope glasses are prescription lenses with mini telescopes on top.

They offer a hands-free way to see distant objects up to five times larger when needed… while maintaining peripheral vision.

Some countries and Canadian provinces allow them for driving but telescopic visual aids can not be used to maintain an Alberta driver’s licence.

“Alberta, we’re not at that point yet, but we are trying to bring the awareness because this is a game changer in patients who are suffering, who can’t do the activities they want to do but now can do it,” said Dr. Saleel Jivraj, a low vision optometrist based out of Calgary.

Dr. Jivraj sent letters to the province asking the government to adopt a model similar to Ontario and Quebec, which allows drivers to use the special glasses and also provides some provincial funding for eligible patients to buy them.

Right now, Alberta patients have to cover the roughly $2,000 to $5,000 cost.

“To enable the patients to improve their quality of life and to get that spark back when they’ve lost that, we see them go downhill,” said Dr. Jivraj who said studies show deteriorating vision can lead to serious falls, isolation, depression and anxiety.

Felt like a miracle

Judy Anderson said it felt like a miracle when she first tried the special glasses that help her continue many of her favourite things, but since she isn’t allowed to use them to drive so she had to give up the job she loved.

“I had the privilege of going out and telling people about the benefits of healthy nutritious food and I had to give my notice and honestly, it was one of the saddest days of my life,” said Anderson.

She said it has been hard to deal with the changes adding she doesn’t want to burden family and friends so she often spends money on taxis instead.

“You lose independence, (become) a little more isolated and I think it’s just how people treat you as well.. it sometimes makes them think you’ve lost your mind as well as your eyes,” she said.

She hopes Alberta will adopt changes that might give her back more independence.

“I think if it wasn’t (that we would have to) leave our family, I would probably say let’s move to Ontario because I want the freedom to be able to drive and just be out and with my friends and have the most normal life it could possibly be and the best life I think,” Anderson said.

There’s an app for that

Dr. Jivraj also developed a free app called Sight Assist AI which helps people with low vision continue many activities by scanning the area to provide context and identify tripping hazards, magnifying or reading text and using LIDAR to detect depth.

He says the bioptic telescope glasses do require some getting used to and drivers in Ontario and Quebec must complete training before they can use them to drive.

The office of Alberta’s transportation minister said there’s no timeline for any potential policy changes, adding “with any proposed change to driver fitness standards, any consideration would require careful review of medical evidence, safety outcomes, regulatory requirements, and experiences in other jurisdictions.”

The office of Alberta’s primary and preventative health minister said vision loss can significantly impact daily life and they are also looking at other jusridictions adding.

“While we are not currently providing publicly-funded coverage for bioptic telescopic lenses, we continue to monitor how other provinces are approaching this issue and any emerging evidence related to safety, effectiveness and patient outcomes.”

The province says it is monitoring how other provinces are approaching this and any evidence related to safety, effectiveness and patient outcomes.

Anderson thinks the investment could deter more expensive options for people who face the repercussions of low vision.

“I’m a big picture thinker I think of the cost of healthcare if all of a sudden I need to go into assisted living because I can’t drive and can’t do this or that we want people to keep independent as long as possible,” said Anderson.