Fitz Frames app designs unbreakable 3D printed glasses for kids

NOLITA (WABC) -- 1 out of 4 children will need glasses before age 18, which translates to 18.5 million kids in the US who currently need prescription glasses. Despite this growing number, many of these children are not outfitted with well-fitting eyewear, limiting the benefits their glasses are meant to provide.

"We just found over and over that we couldn't find what we wanted... everytime we shopped for eyeglasses," said Heidi Hertel, founder of Fitz Frames.

As a mother of three, Heidi knows firsthand the challenges associated with vision care for children and at times the discouraging experience parents and kids can have in the optical world.

"On the face or in the case," said Heidi's daughter - a slogan the family lives by as they have broken many pairs of glasses over the years. So in July, Heidi launched Fitz Frames - a new app that designs 3D printed glasses for kids. Heidi's goal at Fitz is to make kids feel confident in their glasses - so they created an app that custom fits your child to glasses.

How It Works:

Kids get measured right on the app using the camera on your phone, then they can picks their favorite style and color, and place your order. All in under 5 minutes. From anywhere.

Custom Built For Them:

Each frame is made for each kid's unique and awesome face, from the width of their nose to the angles of their ears. Their name inscribed inside says it all - frames built for them and no one else.

The Process:

Each pair of custom-fit glasses are built from state-of-the-art materials using 3D laser sintering at our facility in Youngstown, Ohio. And because there is no wasted material during manufacturing, it's greener too!

As kids head back to school, parents need to know the importance of having their kid's eyes checked. There have been cases where doctors have diagnosed kids with ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, and more, when all the kid really needed was glasses.

Vision-related issues are easy enough to overlook when it comes to adults, but with children that problem is magnified significantly. The issues are not always obvious and throw in the added screen time our kids endure, vision health can become a major issue for parents and kids alike.

Heidi's passion to spread her knowledge about vision health has led her to two non-profit organizations that Fitz Frames will be partnering with. Vision to Learn does eye exams for kids all over the country and Fitz Frames will be working with doctors and Vision to Learn to get glasses for kids. Another organization Heidi is partnering with is Loving Eyes Foundation, who has developed a solution to the challenge of fitting glasses to children with craniofacial abnormalities. Using Fitz's 3D scanning technology, Heidi is excited to design glasses to fit children properly.

We caught up with Heidi at PiccoliNY, a children's gift shop located in Nolita. The store is the perfect one-stop-shop for those in search of adorable children's apparel, unique and imaginative toys, and buzzy books.

For more information about Fitz Frames, download the app from the Apple Store on your iPhone.

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