People who are both long-sighted and short-sighted — like many people over the age of 45 — know that multifocal glasses narrow your field of vision due to the distortion in the lenses. Morrow Eyewear, a spin-off from Ghent University, has come up with a solution using new technology: glasses that can switch between two strengths.

‘What if I used LCD technology like that used in televisions in a lens?’ That question was the starting point for Jelle De Smet, then just an engineering student at Ghent University. He quickly realised that he wanted to pursue this idea further. He took a course on entrepreneurship and did his doctoral research on this LCD technology. Now he is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Morrow Eyewear, a Ghent-based company that manufactures autofocal glasses.

So it didn't turn out to be a lens after all. But glasses?

Jelle De Smet, founder of Morrow Eyewear: "During my PhD, I quickly asked myself: what can I do with this? Before you can commercialise a contact lens with LCD technology, years of research are needed.
Using this technology in glasses is much easier because they don't come into direct contact with the eye, so you can use a wider range of materials."

How does it work?

"Our autofocal glasses consist of two ultra-precise lenses, which we cut to size. Between them is our lens-in-foil with liquid crystals. This is the same material used in televisions. On the side of the glasses is
a small, subtle button that sends an electrical impulse to the lens. This changes the refraction of the light and thus also which lens you are looking through. In this way, with a simple push of a button, we electronically control the strength
of the lenses."

Don't multifocal glasses also allow you to see both far and near? "Yes, but the problem with multifocal glasses is that there is significant distortion of vision at the sides. This narrows the wearer's field of vision. Because
our glasses allow you to switch between the two strengths, you don't have to compromise on your field of vision and you get much greater visual comfort."

How revolutionary is the invention?

‘I believe our technology could be a real breakthrough in the eyewear landscape. You should also know that there have been no real innovations in eyewear for the last seventy years.’
Does that motivate you? ‘Definitely. The idea that you're working on a new, meaningful product gives you a lot of encouragement on days when things aren't going so well.’

How far along is the project now?

‘We launched the product in 2022. In the meantime, we've created a second version based on customer feedback. We're constantly innovating and improving the technology.’