Bioptic telescopic glasses are restoring vision to people where glasses fail, but no one has heard of the devices, and few doctors are referring patients for them, says optometrist Chris Palmer.

Optometrist Chris Palmer prescribes devices that can help improve people’s vision when other glasses can’t. Wittayayut Seethong/Dreamstime/TNS Dick Bramer, 76, likes to watch birds flock ...

Dick Bramer likes to watch birds flock outside the window of his home in Scandia. But for two years he couldn't see them well enough to identify the various species. "I've got bird feeders and ...

Telescopic glasses are "basically binoculars" that affix to glasses and magnify images so that objects look bigger, closer and clearer, said Palmer, who has specialized in this area since 2008.