The cost associated with migraines is staggering. While treatments costs can sometimes exceed thousands of dollars for patients, the costs to our economy in lost work days, and impacts on the health delivery system are estimated to exceed $20 billion/year. On average, there is 1 ER visit every 10 seconds in the U.S. as the result of a migraine headache.

In excess of $2 billion/ year is spent in the U.S. on Rx’s to treat this condition.

The primary treatment of migraines is the use of Rx drugs. These drugs include antidepressants anxiety drugs, high-blood pressure, and narcotics. Due to the significant side-effects and potential for addiction, many migraine patients cease taking them. In excess of $2 billion per year is spent in the U.S. on Rx’s to treat this condition.

Limited understanding of the causes of photophobia and effective treatment prompted Harvard University School of Medicine and the University Of Utah School Of Medicine to form a joint research program. The objective was to understand the cause of photophobia and develop an effective treatment/prevention of migraines. Physicians and scientists discovered that a specific nerve between the retina and the brain that does not produce images—in migraine patients it triggers a pain response. This pain pathway is completely separate and independent of the image-forming pathway. Because it is a separate pathway, even some profoundly blind patients can be extremely light sensitive. A three-year structured research study, organized and funded by these two prestigious medical schools, found that specific wavelength(s) of light both trigger migraines and increase the intensity of the associated photophobic response.

The request from this consortium was to develop a medical solution that incorporates an effective optical filter without affecting or distorting vision. Tecport invested $2M and years of R&D effort to achieve the desired solution. As a result, an exclusive global license, and patents were assigned in perpetuity from the Universities. This development led to the creation of a new corporation called TecportVision Inc. The company will develop and deliver medical solutions to neurological issues, utilizing optical technology. TecportVision’s LEVO lens will be offered for the prevention/treatment of migraine headaches.