When Fred Mitchell agreed to develop a prototype set of wearable binoculars, he never envisioned his work would lead him to manufacture a device that aids individuals with low eyesight. But through trial and error and just plain good luck, the Beecher Mirage line of binoculars has brought the Bartlett resident a comfortable niche in a market that’s expected to grow as the American population ages.
Mitchell’s company, Schaumburg-based Beecher Research Co., manufactures the only low-vision aid of its type: a wearable binocular that magnifies objects and lets the user see things such as sporting events, plays, television and the like.
Evanston optometrist Patricia Steiner says the portability of the binocular allows her patients to attend events such as the opera. The device can even be used for short-term reading.
“The Beechers have a nice periscope setup,” she says. “They’re lighter (than regular binoculars) and don’t stick out. “
“There are all kinds of devices available to help low-vision patients,” says Joan Stelmack, an optometrist at Hines Veterans Hospital. “But (Beecher Research) found a niche in the market where there just isn’t anything available, especially in that price range.”
Such hands-free operation combined with the device’s low cost–typically under $500–has opened up the world for individuals whose central vision has deteriorated because of diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
When the binoculars were developed, however, the medical market was nowhere in sight. William Beecher, a Chicago ornithologist who has a silent majority interest in the company, envisioned a wearable binocular for viewing birds in the field. To achieve the lighter weight required for a wearable unit, the device replaced a bulky prism found in traditional binoculars with superthin mirrors.
But the cost of developing the binoculars remained prohibitive until computer software was developed to do the optical design.
Beecher needed to have a prototype built. That’s when Mitchell came into the picture. About 15 years ago, mutual friends put the pair in touch with each other.
“I told (Beecher) it would probably take a couple of years (to build a prototype),” Mitchell recalls. “He said, `That’s okay because everyone else I’ve talked to thinks I’m crazy.’ “
Mitchell didn’t have any background in optics–he had worked with plastic moldings–but took on the job because he believed his experience in the tool and die field provided the knowledge necessary to design the housing. “In tool and die, you learn close tolerances,” he says.
“He was very daring in making these binoculars,” Beecher says. “He understood that molding had come along a lot farther than people thought and was able to make the molding for the optics.”
Naysayers nearly proved themselves right as it took three years of trial and error before Mitchell came up with a viable prototype. Mitchell encountered numerous obstacles, including the death of the original optical designer and difficulty in correctly positioning the 11 optics for each eyepiece.
“The problem was that on the computer it generated optically the way it was supposed to, but it wouldn’t be right when we built it,” he says.
Then Mitchell discovered that positioning was critical for only five of the optics. And the original $200 per pound glass used for the original design was changed to a cheaper glass–$20 per pound–that worked just as well.
While Mitchell experimented with the housing for the optics, he also traveled several times to the Orient to look for a company willing to manufacture the assembly. Because his required quantity was small, firms shied away, and he was able to find only one company in Japan that would manufacture the optics. American firms exhibited similar resistance when he searched for the right black paint to coat the inside of the assembly as well as the glue to hold the pieces together.
At this point, the 10×35 model was just about ready for Mitchell to assemble. Mitchell and Beecher intended to market the binoculars to bird watchers until the day the wife of one of Mitchell’s business contacts picked up a prototype and looked through it. The woman, who had macular degeneration, was amazed because she was able to see things clearly for the first time in years.
Mitchell asked Beecher why the woman was able to see better with the binoculars, but Beecher was unable to give him an answer. Then a friend suggested Mitchell contact Hines Veterans Hospital’s Blind Rehabilitation Center. Stelmack, a staff optometrist at the center, was intrigued by the device.
Stelmack explained that the binoculars works for those with low vision because it changes the size of objects viewed and enhances what vision is still available to patients.
“There aren’t any other devices that compare to it,” Stelmack says. On one hand are monoculars, portable and inexpensive, but only useful for one eye at a time. At the other end of the spectrum are computer products and even virtual reality-type glasses, which can run into thousands of dollars.
“We used some of their prototypes in the beginning about eight years ago and had success with them from the start,” she says.
Stelmack says she prescribes the binoculars for her low-vision patients who have a sufficient field of vision. “They’re better for people who have decreased central vision, who have problems looking straight ahead,” she explains. “They’re not good for people who have lost their side vision.”
An article in the September 1997 newsletter of the American Optometric Association indicates low-vision aids are most frequently used for patients with age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa or diabetic retinopathy.
Ivan Koutzarov lost most of his vision after suffering what he describes as individual strokes in each eye. Koutzarov, a resident of Bay Harbor Island near Miami Beach, Fla., learned about the Beecher binoculars on a visit to a low-vision clinic.
Koutzarov says the device allows him to see things at a distance such as passing scenery when he is riding in a car. “When I go to the shopping mall and lose my wife, I can find her,” he says, joking.
He also uses the binoculars for closeup work such as viewing a computer monitor but can’t use them for reading because his 20/400 vision is too poor.
“One of the best things about the Beecher is it’s lightweight and you can wear it like glasses,” he explains. “When you want to see things at a different distance, you just turn your eyeball away.”
Mitchell readily admits that his is only one of 500 or so low-vision aids available for the partially sighted but points to the binocular’s relatively low cost as one of its major advantages. Steiner agrees, noting that sometimes Medicare picks up the cost.
“For seniors who are on a fixed income, it’s nice because you can’t offer them a $3,000 device,” she says.
Beecher’s market has grown steadily, reaching a high of approximately 4,000 units shipped in 1997. Fred Mitchell’s son Brent, an Algonquin resident who joined the company three years ago, oversees assembly, shipping and billing. The company has one additional full-time employee who works on assembly. Mitchell family members often help out by working on parts of the assembly at home.
“The big advantage of our product is all the bodies are the same,” Brent notes. Model powers include 3×25, 4×20, 5.5×25, 7×30, 8×28 and 10×35. (The first number is magnification; the second number refers to the diameter in millimeters of the optics.) The company is also developing models targeted for the original bird-watching market.
Although targeting the binoculars to the visually impaired was not Beecher’s original intent, he is still grateful that such a market exists. “I think it has ensured the survival of the binoculars,” Beecher says. “First of all, there was a need for the binoculars for people with normal vision, but it was too expensive to make and too hard to advertise.”
Beecher’s factory doesn’t have an assembly-line feel. Instead, the binoculars are grouped on long tables in various stages of completeness. The units are worked on piecemeal, and orders are customized. Each piece takes about two weeks total, with time in between for glue and paint to dry. Finished pieces go to an inspection room, where Brent makes sure the optics are properly aligned.
“We can pretty well judge what we need to make for the next two or three weeks,” says Brent.
About half of the orders are sent overseas, particularly to the Netherlands. “I send more product to the Netherlands than I do for the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota combined,” says Fred Mitchell. “The problem in the States here is with the ophthalmologists who don’t educate their patients to the point where they realize they can get low-vision aids.” He says Europe is ahead of the U.S. in advances in this field.
Most of Beecher’s new sales come through the handful of clinics that prescribe the device or referrals.
Mitchell says the low-vision aid market will take off when more celebrities, such as author Stephen King, who recently announced he has macular degeneration, talk about their afflictions and make the public aware that things exist to help them see better.
Yet the binoculars are not a panacea for those with deteriorating eyesight. Stelmack notes some of her patients say they’re uncomfortable and hard to fit, and others wish they could wear the device just like glasses. Steiner laments their lack of fashion and adds that patients must focus the lenses themselves, the same as regular binoculars.
Despite these shortcomings, the Mitchells are gratified when they receive calls from people who recently began using the binoculars and were able to see their grandchildren clearly for the first time.
“Every day is a challenge,” Fred Mitchell says. “But the biggest thing is the reward that we’re helping so many people.”
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The Beecher Research Co.’s Mirage binoculars are available by prescription only. Vision-care specialists may contact the company at 847-891-0187.
