Eye armor Prevention of<unk><unk>  is most effective when soldiers wear polycarbonate eye armor correctly in the battlefield. For Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Military have made Ballistic Laser Protective Spectacles (BLPS), Special Protective Eyewear Cylindrical System (SPECS), and Sun/Wind/Dust Goggles (SWDG) available to combatants and associated personnel. These forms of eye protection are available in non-prescription and prescription lenses, and their use has been made mandatory at all times when soldiers are in areas of potential conflict. Despite their proven record of protection against secondary<unk><unk> , soldier compliance remains low: 85% of soldiers afflicted<unk><unk>  in the first year of OEF were not wearing their protective lenses at the time of detonation. While 41% of soldiers could not recall whether or not they were wearing eye protection at the time of detonation, 17% of casualties were wearing eye protection while 26% of casualties were not. Among this group, the poorest visual prognoses were documented in individuals who did not wear eye protection. The lack of compliance has been attributed to complaints about comfort, stylishness, and “misting” of the lenses when in the field. BLPS and SPECS offer the same line of protection against secondary<unk>  as the SWD goggles, and these lenses may overcome the complaints many soldiers have with their military-issue goggles. Eye Armor and the Primary<unk>  Wave<unk>  Despite the success of goggles and lenses against ballistic and secondary<unk> , BLPS, SPECS, and SWDG forms of eye armor do not protect against primary-blast injuries. The space between the lenses and the eyes promotes sonic wave diffraction, and current efforts to eradicate<unk><unk>  due to the primary<unk>  wave have been unsuccessful due to this lens-eye air interface. Helmet Design and<unk><unk><unk> tic Brain Injury Additionally, current researchers have correlated helmet design to an amplification of waves that may cause bTBI. Moss et al. (2009) used model human heads outfitted with helmets approved for use in OEF and OIF and subjected them to<unk>  waves at 194G for 2.1 milliseconds. These helmets, the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH) feature a mesh netting that offers comfort between the wearer's head and the helmet's Kevlar shell. While effective against ballistic<unk> , Moss's group reported that skull flexure is amplified by the air interface between the helmet and the skull. This space may amplify the effects of bTBI, and the group suggested that a foam connection between the helmet and the wearer's head may diminish the effects of the peak pressure wave during an explosion. BrainPort Vision Device A tremendous amount of the research surrounding war-related<unk><unk>  has come from the Academic Department of Military Surgery and<unk>  (ADMST) In conjunction with Wicab Industries, the ADMST has developed the BrainPort Vision Device, a sensory substitute for soldiers blinded in service. The device uses the tongue, coupled with a camera mounted on a pair of sunglasses, to provide the user with an electrotactile depiction of the environment. After calibration and practice, the user may interpret objects, shapes, and patterns in their immediate surroundings.
Blast-related ocular trauma
Chemical eye injury
Late congenital syphilitic oculopathy
Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous
Autoimmune optic neuropathy
Vitreous hemorrhage
Recurrent corneal erosion
Acute retinal necrosis