A new gadget invented and patented for the first time to combat this disease which was discovered a year ago, is the Xenon 20:20. The product, costing around Rs 20,000, sees to it that the computer operator does not suffer from vision damage and other related long-term problems such as ocular migraines, photophobia, cataract and visual epilepsy.

Computer screens are made up of pixels or tiny dots on which the eye cannot lock on focus. The computer user must therefore focus and refocus to keep the images sharp. Additionally, the eyes have to shift between screen, document and keyboard. They have to accommodate, converge and adapt to these tasks under varying light of the surrounding environment and videodisplay terminal or computer monitor. This results in repetitive stress of eye muscles, equivalent to subjecting them to 60 push-ups a minute. The imbalance between visual pollutants (the fluorescent light) in the environment and the monitor is the root cause of CVS, according to the Americans.

During the launch of the product, Vikram Pal, CMD Elite Systems and Solutions Ltd, claimed that Xenon 20:20 was the first effective solution against CVS. The gadget creates the ideal photometric quality, quantity and distribution needed between the monitor and one's surroundings. The ideal light is created with the help of three calibrated sources of light and a smart circuit board (SCB). The SCB is designed to generate light at 30,000 hertz as a result of which the eyes will be exposed to just one kind of photometric luminance and contrast no matter how many hours one works on the computer. Two side lights and a front light have been added to provide differential contrast between the user and the monitor to providethe ideal solution for the eyes. The energy saving compact Xenon lamps also save on electricity bills (100 times cheaper than ceiling mounted light of the same intensity).

The company is targeting this product for the American and European markets where there is already awareness of CVS and its syndrome, Pal said.