In 1994, Ash Technologies was set up by Alan Johnston, Seamus Gallagher and Hugh Maguire. All three founders previously had extensive experience in the low vision industry. With their wealth of knowledge, they identified a demand for more compact and portable solutions for the low vision market. Ash focused exclusively on product innovation that provided portable magnification solutions.

Ash Technologies has now been recognized both nationally and internationally for its excellence in product design and performance. Based in County Kildare, Ireland, the company has won numerous product design awards and the name has become synonymous with innovation and design.

In the USA:

Freedom Vision, located in Mountain View, California, is the exclusive authorized North American Distributor for all print magnification products designed and manufactured by Ash Technologies. The Ash product line is handled by a network of Dealers and Showrooms located all over the United States. These dealers provide experienced sales, support and training for the Ash Technologies products.

Enhanced Vision is a leading developer of products for people with low vision including macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitus pigementosa and diabetic retinopathy. These products enable people to read, write and fully participate in life.

Enhanced Vision has been at the forefront of the vision field since its inception in 1996, and has brought many of the industry's most innovative products to market during this period. With a strong management background in medical devices, the company furthered the low vision device market with the development of the headworn V-max it’s first product. The Enhanced Vision product line provides many choices—from Max, a handheld digital video magnifier to JORDY, headworn display glasses and Merlin, the first voice-activated desktop video magnifier.

Dedicated to helping individuals maintain their independence, Enhanced Vision has leveraged leading technologies to develop a full line of superior, easy-to-use tools at affordable prices. Products are sold through specialized agencies, eye care professionals and preferred low vision equipment dealers throughout the distributors' world. The company is located in Huntington Beach, California.

The story of MagniSight is actually a story of personal triumph over disability... Brian M. Smith, founder and president of MagniSight, Inc. is himself visually impaired. Brian has Stargardt's Disease, a juvenile form of Macular Degeneration. This retinal disease causes deterioration of central vision, with limited peripheral vision remaining. Diagnosed at the age of nine, he began the long process of accepting his vision impairment. Through this attitude change about blindness, Brian transformed anger and frustration into determination and courage. Today, much of his time is spent traveling, speaking to individuals with low vision, about how they too can succeed despite vision loss.
Brian began his company in 1990, after earning a degree in Business Management and at the same time, designing a prototype CCTV system. Understanding the daily frustrations of low vision, his goal was to help others with low vision to gain independence, and to improve the quality of their lives with his visual aid product. "There's a lot of anger and denial out there," Brian says. Today he is the driving force behind the design and direction of product development. His philosophy is to make the most of what you have been given, while utilizing technology and special equipment to assist you in reaching your goals.

Along with managing a thriving, nationwide business, which includes servicing visually impaired Veterans on a national contract, Brian travels across the country, acquainting himself with the latest technology as well as providing information to others. He makes himself available to the community as a representative of those who have succeeded in spite of their disability, and in fact, has recently been honored on the Wall of Success at his college. In short, he seeks to inspire and guide others with blindness and visual impairment to accept their disability and focus on their ABILITIES. This attitude has propelled him forward, and even earned him the distinguished honor of carrying the Olympic Torch for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City Utah!

Today, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, MagniSight, Inc. manufactures a full line of CCTV products and markets them nationwide. Each year, MagniSight continues to add new, innovative products while maintaining quality and great prices as its foundation. MagniSight serves as a supplier of quality CCTVs, but also as an educator and advocate for the low vision community.

Optelec, formerly known as Tieman, is arguably the world’s largest specialist in electronic equipment for the blind and partially sighted. Optelec can look back on 30 years of tradition in developing these aids. As far back as 1975, the company started as an optical business and began producing TV reading magnifiers. Nowadays, Optelec offers a sophisticated range of high-quality, user-friendly products. Several thousand users throughout the world benefit daily from the company's expertise and experience.

Optelec supplies a wide range of products for the blind and visually impaired, such as CCTVs and Braille displays. The user-friendliness and the thought put into the ergonomics characterizes their equipment. They are straight forward in their usage.

Optelec's electronic magnifier such as the ClearView+ ensure peoples independence in daily life. The blind can interact in today's fast moving economy with a Braille display, such as the Braille Voyager.

Time Line:

Tieman's history goes back to 1975, when Mr. F.J. Tieman started the development and production of the video magnifier in his optician's store in Oostvoorne, The Netherlands. It wasn't long before Mr. Tieman established of a new plant in Rockanje, nowadays the headquarters of the Tieman Group.

At the beginning of the nineties, Tieman took its first international step and founded Tieman GmbH in Schwalmstadt Germany. From that date on Tieman grew rapidly which resulted in the purchase of Optelec in the United States and Canada in 1997.

In 1999 Tieman introduced their most commonly known product, the original ClearView video magnifier.

In 2001 Tieman reached another milestone, when the 25,000st ClearView was sold! This milestone was followed by another milestone. At the end of the year 2002 Tieman introduced the original Traveller, a full color portable electronic magnifier.

In 2004 Tieman introduced the Compact, a light weight electronic pocket magnifier with a lot of possibilities while on the go.

In May 2005 Tieman changed its name world wide into Optelec, remaining a part of the Tieman group. At the same time Optelec introduced several new products like ClearView+, Traveller+ and ClearNote. The ClearView+ slogan 'from one button simplicity, to endless possibilities' indicates the flexibility and ease of use of this new product range.

Also in May 2005, Optelec US, Inc. (the new name for Optelec operations in the USA), announced that it has purchased the Professional Products Division of Lighthouse International, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help people overcome the challenges of vision impairment. Located in Escondido, California, Lighthouse Professional Products is a leading supplier to the eye care professional of approximately 2,500 products for people who are blind and partially sighted, including closed circuit television, magnifiers, and telescopes. In addition to this acquisition, Optelec and Lighthouse International have entered into an ongoing, long-term partnership to provide education, advocacy and awareness programs to medical, allied health, and rehabilitation professionals.

Optelec US, Inc. is located in Vista, California.

Telesensory was born out of the desire to help a blind girl read. In 1970, four members of the prestigious Stanford University electrical engineering department led by Professor John Linvill developed the technology that was to become the Optacon, a portable electronic print-reading device, the company's first product, in an effort to assist Professor Linvill's vision impaired daughter.

Since that time, and for over three decades, Telesensory has upheld a tradition of providing innovative products and services that improve the quality of life for people with low vision. In addition to the Aladdin line of integrated system video magnifiers, Telesensory low vision products include: Portable video magnifiers, Camera only video magnifiers, and computer compatible video magnifiers. By listening and learning from their customers, Telesensory has developed high quality low vision devices that are practical and easy to use.

Prior to March of 2005, Telesensory was the leading worldwide developer, manufacturer, and marketer of electronic and computer-based products to assist people with low vision. But, on March 14th of 2005, the privately held company closed its doors. Telesensory's Board of Directors filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) discontinuing the manufacture and distribution of its products. This bankruptcy filing was totally unexpected and created a large void in the low vision marketplace.

Almost immediately, a group of 15 independent dealers who had been representing Telesensory's products exclusively throughout the country, determined individually and to the person, that Telesensory products were just too important to the low vision community to let the products disappear forever. Although these independent dealers had historically been diverse in many ways, they were similar in many important respects. All felt they had achieved significant success in the low vision field, and had become highly thought of for service passion and excellence. It is because of this common bond that, after the Telesensory Bankruptcy declaration on March 14th, the dealers decided to come together and form the "Bookbinder Group" to attempt the impossible...to bring the Telesensory products back to its consumers.

On August 3, 2005, Insiphil (US) LLC, a company with management and technical personnel fully familiar familiar with the previous production of the Telesensory product line,* and a company that sought to team with the Bookbinder Group, was awarded the Telesensory IP (Intellectual Property) and product manufacturing rights through the bankruptcy court proceedings. The Bookbinder Group was then selected by Insiphil (US) LLC to distribute the Telesensory product line to the low vision community. The Visual-Tech Connection is proud to say we are a member of the Bookbinder Group.

Today, we are very pleased to announce that the Telesensory line of low vision products has been brought back to the low vision community, and is available once again through The Visual-Tech Connection.

*The majority of Insiphil managers and production personnel currently producing the Telesensory low vision products were performing the same work for Solectron during the 2 to 3 years prior to August of 2005. Solectron, a leading global provider of electronics manufacturing and integrated supply chain services, was actually manufacturing the Telesensory designed products for Telesensory under a contract with Telesensory.

The Visual-Tech Connection, P.O. Box 1996, Westerville, OH 43086
Phone: 614-899-9989 (Toll-Free: 800-589-8835) Fax: 614-899-7553

Links Updated 12/10/06