A University of Oxford physicist is looking to provide short-sighted teenagers around the world with adjustable focus glasses lenses.

Professor Joshua Silver invented the lens in 1985, allowing users to self-prescribe their vision correction without needing an optician.

After successful clinical trials and studies showing more than 90 per cent of participants achieved clear vision using his lenses, he founded Teen Vision, a social enterprise dedicated to making these glasses accessible.

Henry is the first man in the world to have worn the glassesHenry is the first man in the world to have worn the glasses (Image: GoFundeMe/Joshua Silver) He is now looking to raise £100,000 to refine and mass-produce the glasses, ensuring teenagers around the world who struggle with poor vision can succeed in their education.

Professor Silver, who said he has a "passion for inventing", said the "revolutionary" lens offers "high-quality optics at a very low cost".

He said: "When I used the lens myself, I was able to perfectly correct my short-sightedness without needing an optician or eye test."

After reaching out to the World Health Organisation, Professor Silver secured funding for clinical trials.

Some years later, a friend of his asked if the lenses could help children, leading to a study involving 2,500 short-sighted teenagers in the USA and China.

Initial deployment of tens of thousands of the glasses has shown they need further development to go to mass production and delivery. 

Professor Silver said the money will "ensure that millions of children and teenagers around the world can see clearly in school and beyond".