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Remembering an O.D. Who Became the Authority on Eye Care in Afghanistan

OPTOMETRIST SLAIN UPON RETURNING FROM PROVIDING EYE CARE TO POOR

■ Optometrist Tom Little of Delmar, N.Y., and nine other mission workers (five of whom were fellow Americans), were gunned down by the Taliban in early August as the group was returning to Kabul, Afghanistan after a two-week stint of providing eye care to impoverished villagers in Nuristan province, a remote area in the northeastern area of the country. The workers were part of International Assistance Mission (IAM), an international, non-profit Christian organization that serves Afghanistan.

A fervor for altruism

Dr. Little, the son of an ophthalmologist, studied optics at Tufts University and worked as an optician, according to a 2007 article on the O.D., which ran in the New England College of Optometry's alumni magazine Optometry. He knew basic testing techniques and how to fit spectacles — something that would come in handy when he moved with his wife, Libby and then two young daughters to Afghanistan in the 1970s to work with an international Christian aid agency.

Dr. and Mrs. Little went to Afghanistan "to serve for perhaps a couple of years, with no idea that such service would dominate the rest of their lives," wrote family friend Henry Heintz, in the Albany, N.Y. newspaper, the Times Union.

"No matter what regime was in power, Tom loved the Afghan people," wrote Mr. Heintz, a pastor at the Brunswick Church in Troy, N.Y. "… Afghanistan kept allowing Tom to return because that nation knew he loved the people and served their practical needs."

Back to school

Initially, Dr. Little's job with the group was to help his fellow transplants adapt to the country's rough conditions. But, before long, he began working at the National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR) Eye Hospital in Kabul, where he maintained employment for roughly 30 years. He returned to the United States in 2006 to obtain an official optometric degree from the New England College of Optometry.

Dr. Little spent roughly 30 years delivering eye care in Afghanistan. PHOTO COURTESY: IAM

"Believe it or not, I'm probably still considered the authority on eye care in Afghanistan," Dr. Little told the alumni magazine.

He enrolled in the College's Advanced Standing International Program, which affords an optometric degree in two years to foreign-educated eye professionals or to those who work in eye care overseas, like Dr. Little. He wanted the degree to train others in Afghanistan and establish an infrastructure of clinics and eye doctors. He "is irreplaceable," Dirk R. Frans, IAM's executive director told Christian Today.

According to The New York Times, Dr. Little and his wife Libby raised three daughters in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation of the country and subsequent civil war. In fact, the family hid in their basement while the Taliban ruled the country, and he continued to provide eye care to the Afghan people even after a rocket demolished one of the NOOR Hospitals at which he worked.

Beer Goggles Are Real, Research Reveals

INEBRIATION REALLY DOES ALTER FACIAL APPEARANCE

■ Pablo Picasso once said, "Doesn't everyone look at himself in his own particular way? Deformations simply do not exist." The soused would agree.

The reason: Acute alcohol consumption appears to reduce one's ability to detect asymmetry in faces and, thus, decreases one's preference for symmetrical faces vs. asymmetrical faces, says a study in June's Alcohol, an international journal devoted solely to biomedical research on alcohol and alcoholism.

Study participants were shown 20 images of a pair of faces and then 20 images of a single face, one at a time. They were asked to state which face of each of the pairs was attractive and then whether the single face was symmetrical. Those participants who were sober had a greater preference for symmetrical faces than inebriated participants and were better at identifying whether a face was symmetrical or otherwise. Further, male subjects made fewer mistakes than female subjects in identifying asymmetry.

Researchers collected data from 64 self-selecting students at bars near Roehampton University in London. Students were identified as either sober or drunk via a breathalyzer test.

Due to the study's results, the researchers conclude that the decreased ability of the inebriated to perceive asymmetry may be an important mechanism underlying the high ratings of facial attractiveness they give for members of the opposite sex and, therefore, their increased frequency of mate choice during intoxication.

Vision and intoxication

In explaining the effects of intoxication on vision, optometrist Paul Karpecki, who practices in Lexington, KY and is also a first level sommelier, says that alcohol consumption causes central nervous system (CNS) depression, which can slow down accommodation "and other focusing mechanisms."

"Further consumption eventually affects the cerebrum, resulting in enough of an effect on the muscles of the eye that diplopia can even occur," he says. "Other theories suggest that since cell membranes are permeable to alcohol, it can affect any membrane from blood vessels to ocular structures. But I believe the primary effect is on the CNS."

Eye Camera Prototype Revealed

TEAM OF CANADIAN INVENTORS SHOWS PROSTHETIC EYE CAMERA AT SPECIAL NEEDS FILM FESTIVAL

A workable, clear prosthetic eye that contains a mini wireless webcam made its debut at the Other Film Festival — an event by, with and about people who have disabilities — in Melbourne, Australia, at the end of August. The eye, named Eyeborg (yes, Star Trek-inspired) transmits images analogous to "early, slightly blurry, cameraphone images," with a battery life of two hours, according to the Toronto Star.

Rob Spence, a 38-year-old filmmaker, who as a boy lost vision in his right eye due to the backfiring of a gun and later had the eye removed, leads the team of inventors. His ultimate goal: To wear a version of the device that resembles the human eye, so he can use it to create a documentary on the implications of surveillance cameras.

"Sometimes I run a little experiment. I tell people around me, ‘Did you know there are 11,000 new video cameras being installed in our country every day?’ Then I will exaggerate and say there are 50,000 new video cameras going in everyday," Spence told Wired magazine. "Most of the times I get the same answer: ‘That's interesting. Now what's for lunch?’ or ‘The Practice pulse weather is nice today.’ I wonder what those people will say when they are staring back into the video camera in my eye?"

To follow Eyeborg's progress, visit www.eyeborgproject.com.

"Fuzzy Fiber," a carbon material developed at the University of Dayton Research Institute, shown above, will be used to create biocompatible, non-clogging drainage tubes to relieve excess fluid and intraocular pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients. Specifically, the tubes will be comprised of a scaffold of carbon covered with surfacetreated carbon nanotubes, preventing the formation and build-up of fibroblasts, which can inhibit the draining process.