by neufer » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:50 pm
Chris Peterson wrote:neufer wrote:Chris Peterson wrote:
I made my fortune designing cataract removal instruments,
No kidding
So astronomy was just a hobby then.
No kidding. I initially majored in astronomy, than took my degree in physics. Started a company which designed and manufactured
phacoemulsifiers for most of the major ophthalmic surgical companies. Maintained astronomy as a hobby over the years, and then got back into it semi-professionally in the late 1990s, after selling the phaco company and moving to our ranch in Colorado.
Cataracts have been very good to me <g>. I'm completely comfortable with the idea of vibrating needles thrust into eyeballs.
http://www2.nau.edu/~tas3/handel.html wrote:
<<
Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) was born in Halle (50 miles from Eisenach, Bach's birthplace) in the same year as Bach. Handel sojourned in Italy in 1706 where he met Corelli, and both Scarlattis. His return to Hanover, four years later, was to assume the post of Kapellmeister to the Elector (soon to become king George I of England). In 1712 Handel moved to London where, upon the accession of the house of Hanover, two years later, he gained immediate access to the royal circle of England. In 1717 Handel succeeded Pepusch as chapel master to the
Duke of Chandos. Handel's London years were occupied primarily with the writing of Italian operas. After suffering a stroke and the failure of his operas, Handel wrote oratorios, including "Messiah" (1741). Handel's eyesight failed him in later years and he eventually became completely blind.
In 1719 Handel returned to his birthplace,
Halle, for eight days. At that time Bach lived in Cöthen, twenty miles away. Bach's admiration for Handel is evident from his having copied, with the help of his wife, a passion and other works by Handel. Knowing that Bach wanted to meet Handel, Prince Leopold lent Johann Sebastian a horse. For reasons that remain a mystery, the meeting never took place. Spitta indicates that Bach's admiration for Handel was not reciprocated.
In one of the curious ironies of music history, both men would be afflicted with cataracts in their old age and undergo surgery at the hand of the same oculist, John Taylor. By today's standards, this surgery was extremely crude, and any improvement to the visual impairment would have been minimal at best. It involved physically shoving the cataract-covered lens back into the eyeball in an attempt to allow a little more light to enter. (Bach would die from septicemia induced as a consequence of contaminated instruments). As this surgery was done without anesthesia, the courage and physical constitution of both men must have been amazing! Bach owned a copy of Handel's Brockes Passion, "Armida abbandonata" and the Concerto grosso in F minor. Thematic similarities in some of Bach's cantatas suggest that he may have been familiar with Handel's opera, "
Almira".>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract wrote:
<<Cataract derives from the Latin cataracta meaning "
waterfall" and that from the Greek καταράκτης (kataraktēs) or καταρράκτης (katarrhaktēs), "down-rushing", from καταράσσω (katarassō) meaning "to dash down"(from kata-, "down"; arassein, "to strike, dash"). As rapidly running water turns white, the term may later have been used metaphorically to describe the similar appearance of mature ocular opacities. In Latin, cataracta had the alternate meaning "
portcullis" and it is possible that the name passed through French to form the English meaning "eye disease" (early 15c.), on the notion of "obstruction". Early Persian physicians called the term nazul-i-ah, or "descent of the water"—vulgarised into waterfall disease or cataract—believing such blindness to be caused by
an outpouring of corrupt humour into the eye.
The earliest records are from the Bible, as well as early Hindu records. Early cataract surgery was developed by the Indian surgeon, Sushruta (6th century BCE).
The Indian tradition of cataract surgery was performed with a special tool called the jabamukhi salaka, a curved needle used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision. The eye would later be soaked with warm butter and then bandaged. Though this method was successful, Sushruta cautioned that it should only be used when necessary. Greek physicians and philosophers traveled to India where these surgeries were performed by physicians. The removal of cataract by surgery was also introduced into China from India. The first references to cataract and its treatment in Ancient Rome are found in 29 CE in De Medicinae, the work of the Latin encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus. The Romans were pioneers in the health arena—particularly in the area of eye care. The Muslim ophthalmologist Ammar ibn Ali, in his Choice of Eye Diseases, written circa 1000 CE, wrote of his invention of the hypodermic needle and how he discovered the technique of cataract extraction while experimenting with it on a patient.
Age-related cataract is responsible for 48% of world blindness, which represents about 18 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO
). In many countries, surgical services are inadequate, and cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness. As populations age, the number of people with cataracts is growing. Cataracts are also an important cause of low vision in both developed and developing countries. Even where surgical services are available, low vision associated with cataracts may still be prevalent, as a result of long waits for operations and barriers to surgical uptake, such as cost, lack of information and transportation problems.
Cataracts develop for a variety of reasons, including long-term exposure to ultraviolet light, exposure to radiation, secondary effects of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and advanced age, or trauma (possibly much earlier); they are usually a result of denaturation of lens protein. Genetic factors are often a cause of congenital cataracts. Cataracts may also be produced by eye injury or physical trauma.
A study among Icelandair pilots showed commercial airline pilots are three times more likely to develop cataracts than people with nonflying jobs. This is thought to be caused by excessive exposure to radiation coming from outer space. Supporting this theory is the report that 33 of the 36 Apollo astronauts involved in the nine Apollo missions to leave Earth orbit have developed early stage cataracts that have been shown to be caused by radiation exposure to cosmic rays during their trip. At least 39 former astronauts have developed cataracts; 36 of those were involved in high-radiation missions such as the Apollo missions. Cataracts are also unusually common in persons exposed to infrared radiation, such as glassblowers, who suffer from "exfoliation syndrome". Exposure to microwave radiation can cause cataracts. Atopic or allergic conditions are also known to quicken the progression of cataracts, especially in children. Cataracts can also be caused by iodine deficiency.>>
[quote="Chris Peterson"][quote="neufer"][quote="Chris Peterson"]
I made my fortune designing cataract removal instruments,[/quote]
No kidding :!: So astronomy was just a hobby then.[/quote]
No kidding. I initially majored in astronomy, than took my degree in physics. Started a company which designed and manufactured [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaco]phacoemulsifiers[/url] for most of the major ophthalmic surgical companies. Maintained astronomy as a hobby over the years, and then got back into it semi-professionally in the late 1990s, after selling the phaco company and moving to our ranch in Colorado.
Cataracts have been very good to me <g>. I'm completely comfortable with the idea of vibrating needles thrust into eyeballs.[/quote]
[quote=" http://www2.nau.edu/~tas3/handel.html"]
[float=right][img3="[b][color=#0000FF]Completely comfortable with the idea of vibrating needles thrust into eyeballs:
{Halle/Cöthen/Guffey/Eisenach: Villages of the Damned}[/color][/b]"]http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lksevq46S91qclzbio1_500.jpg[/img3][/float]
<<[b][color=#0000FF]Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) was born in Halle (50 miles from Eisenach, Bach's birthplace) in the same year as Bach.[/color][/b] Handel sojourned in Italy in 1706 where he met Corelli, and both Scarlattis. His return to Hanover, four years later, was to assume the post of Kapellmeister to the Elector (soon to become king George I of England). In 1712 Handel moved to London where, upon the accession of the house of Hanover, two years later, he gained immediate access to the royal circle of England. In 1717 Handel succeeded Pepusch as chapel master to the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandos_portrait]Duke of Chandos[/url]. Handel's London years were occupied primarily with the writing of Italian operas. After suffering a stroke and the failure of his operas, Handel wrote oratorios, including "Messiah" (1741). Handel's eyesight failed him in later years and he eventually became completely blind.
In 1719 Handel returned to his birthplace, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_9000]Halle[/url], for eight days. At that time Bach lived in Cöthen, twenty miles away. Bach's admiration for Handel is evident from his having copied, with the help of his wife, a passion and other works by Handel. Knowing that Bach wanted to meet Handel, Prince Leopold lent Johann Sebastian a horse. For reasons that remain a mystery, the meeting never took place. Spitta indicates that Bach's admiration for Handel was not reciprocated. [b][color=#0000FF]In one of the curious ironies of music history, both men would be afflicted with cataracts in their old age and undergo surgery at the hand of the same oculist, John Taylor. By today's standards, this surgery was extremely crude, and any improvement to the visual impairment would have been minimal at best. It involved physically shoving the cataract-covered lens back into the eyeball in an attempt to allow a little more light to enter. (Bach would die from septicemia induced as a consequence of contaminated instruments). As this surgery was done without anesthesia, the courage and physical constitution of both men must have been amazing![/color][/b] Bach owned a copy of Handel's Brockes Passion, "Armida abbandonata" and the Concerto grosso in F minor. Thematic similarities in some of Bach's cantatas suggest that he may have been familiar with Handel's opera, "[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mira]Almira[/url]".>>[/quote]
[quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract"]
<<Cataract derives from the Latin cataracta meaning "[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111024.html]waterfall[/url]" and that from the Greek καταράκτης (kataraktēs) or καταρράκτης (katarrhaktēs), "down-rushing", from καταράσσω (katarassō) meaning "to dash down"(from kata-, "down"; arassein, "to strike, dash"). As rapidly running water turns white, the term may later have been used metaphorically to describe the similar appearance of mature ocular opacities. In Latin, cataracta had the alternate meaning "[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portcullis]portcullis[/url]" and it is possible that the name passed through French to form the English meaning "eye disease" (early 15c.), on the notion of "obstruction". Early Persian physicians called the term nazul-i-ah, or "descent of the water"—vulgarised into waterfall disease or cataract—believing such blindness to be caused by [b][color=#FF0000]an outpouring of corrupt humour into the eye[/color][/b].
The earliest records are from the Bible, as well as early Hindu records. Early cataract surgery was developed by the Indian surgeon, Sushruta (6th century BCE). [b][color=#FF0000]The Indian tradition of cataract surgery was performed with a special tool called the jabamukhi salaka, a curved needle used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision. The eye would later be soaked with [u]warm butter[/u] and then bandaged. Though this method was successful, Sushruta cautioned that it should only be used when necessary.[/color][/b] Greek physicians and philosophers traveled to India where these surgeries were performed by physicians. The removal of cataract by surgery was also introduced into China from India. The first references to cataract and its treatment in Ancient Rome are found in 29 CE in De Medicinae, the work of the Latin encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus. The Romans were pioneers in the health arena—particularly in the area of eye care. The Muslim ophthalmologist Ammar ibn Ali, in his Choice of Eye Diseases, written circa 1000 CE, wrote of his invention of the hypodermic needle and how he discovered the technique of cataract extraction while experimenting with it on a patient.
Age-related cataract is responsible for 48% of world blindness, which represents about 18 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO :owl: ). In many countries, surgical services are inadequate, and cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness. As populations age, the number of people with cataracts is growing. Cataracts are also an important cause of low vision in both developed and developing countries. Even where surgical services are available, low vision associated with cataracts may still be prevalent, as a result of long waits for operations and barriers to surgical uptake, such as cost, lack of information and transportation problems.
Cataracts develop for a variety of reasons, including long-term exposure to ultraviolet light, exposure to radiation, secondary effects of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and advanced age, or trauma (possibly much earlier); they are usually a result of denaturation of lens protein. Genetic factors are often a cause of congenital cataracts. Cataracts may also be produced by eye injury or physical trauma. [b][color=#0000FF]A study among Icelandair pilots showed commercial airline pilots are three times more likely to develop cataracts than people with nonflying jobs. This is thought to be caused by excessive exposure to radiation coming from outer space. Supporting this theory is the report that 33 of the 36 Apollo astronauts involved in the nine Apollo missions to leave Earth orbit have developed early stage cataracts that have been shown to be caused by radiation exposure to cosmic rays during their trip. At least 39 former astronauts have developed cataracts; 36 of those were involved in high-radiation missions such as the Apollo missions.[/color][/b] Cataracts are also unusually common in persons exposed to infrared radiation, such as glassblowers, who suffer from "exfoliation syndrome". Exposure to microwave radiation can cause cataracts. Atopic or allergic conditions are also known to quicken the progression of cataracts, especially in children. Cataracts can also be caused by iodine deficiency.>>[/quote]