This is why this baby is such a good bet - and just think how big the US market must be...that's where the focus is...
THE incidence of blindness among elderly Australians will double in the next 20 years and cost the community an extra $3.9 billion annually unless immediate action is taken, research has found.
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), the chief cause of blindness in Australia's aged community and responsible for 48 per cent of all severe vision loss, causes a black circle or spot across sufferers' eyes and can leave them with only peripheral vision. According to The Eye Research Australia Foundation report, the annual cost of AMD, which has no known cure, would rise from $2.6 billion to almost $6.5 billion by 2025, as the population aged.
"The prevalence of vision loss trebles with each decade over the age of 40," the report said.
"Nearly two out of three people will eventually develop AMD and one in four will lose vision."
The report, commissioned from Access Economics Pty Ltd and launched today in Canberra, counts the health system costs – including related medical costs such as depression – other financial costs such as productivity losses and drops in wellbeing.
