CONTACT LENSES FOR PHOTO INTERPRETATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B05703A000500040002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 28
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 26, 2003
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 8, 1970
• Content Type: MF

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NPIC/PPBS/PPD-18/70
8 October 1970
MEMORANDIvI FOR: Executive Director, NPIC
THROUGH . Chief, Support Staff/NPIC
Chief, Planning, Programming $ Budgeting Staff/NPIC-
SUBJECT : Contact Lenses for Photo Interpretation /91/ 1
REFERENCES : a. Memorandum PIC/D-63-60, dated 11 May 1960,
SUBJECT: Contact Lenses for PIC Personnel.
b. Memorandum OGC 60-0709A, dated 29 June 1960,
SUBJECT: Contact Lenses for PIC Personnel.
c. Letter from Acting Director, Central Intelligence
to the Comptroller General, dated 2 July 1960.
d. Letter from Comptroller General to Director
Central Intelligence, dated 21 July 1960.
e. Staff Study entitled "Eyepoint of Wide-field,
High Power Anamorphic Stereoviewer".
1. The purpose of this memorandum is to summarize the contact
lens situation during 1960 (which led to the Comptroller General
ruling in Reference d. that CIA could purchase contact lenses for those
photo interpreters on board and fully qualified at the time of the
ruling, but that it could not purchase the lenses in the future) and
to put that situation in perspective with the current situation at NPIC.
As a result of the facts as presented below, I think that it can be
concluded that we overstated our case in 1960 and, consequently, today
it will be very difficult to achieve our objective essentially because
the case we must make today has been argued already and those dire
consequences predicted as a result of inaction did not occur.
2. In 1960, it was discovered within the Photographic Interpretation
Center (PIC) that individuals wearing eyeglasses had difficulty operating
the new optical systems (microscopes). The primary problem was that
eyeglasses prevented the photo interpreter from getting his eyes close
enough to the microscope eyepiece in order to position hise/es in the
exit pupil of the instrument. This restricted the field-of-view so that
in some instances the edges of the scene could not be seen. While the
precise amount of field loss depended upon the type of eyeglasses (i.e.,
type of frame, thickness of lens, curvature of lens, etc.), in the majority
of the cases the amount of loss was comparatively small. The various
solutions to this problem were documented in Reference a.
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3. That document accurately stated the basic problem: "to
increase the efficiency of PIC personnel who wear eyeglasses and are
required to use tubular optical devices in their work." Two examples
were cited that contributed to the loss in efficiency: (1) the
reduced field of view requiring more movement of the film to see the
complete target, and (2) stray light introduced from room lighting
because the eyeglass wearer could not use the eye cup light shields.
The study recommended purchasing contact lenses for those P.I.'s
wearing eyeglasses.
4. A memorandum (Reference b.), based upon the information in
Reference a., was then written by the General Counsel, with concurrences
from PIC, the CIA Comptroller and the DD(S). Attached to Reference b.
was a letter (Reference c.), for the acting Director's signature, to the
Comptroller General requesting permission to purchase the contact lenses.
In my opinion, it was this letter which overstated the case because it
took the fairly specific facts of the two previous documents and (1)
stated them as generalized conclusions and (2) exaggerated the criticality
of the need. Probably this was done for two reasons, the first because
of the sensitivity at that time of the PI operation at CIA and second to
strengthen the justification for the purchase of the lenses. In hindsight,
I think that the case was overstated specifically by the following three
statements:
a. "This Agency is replacing the equipment with new
machinery of improved design which cannot be used effectively
while the operator is wearing conventional eyeglasses."
b. "The Agency's continuing replacement of its old equipment
with the new, more efficient apparatus, capable of producing
a finer quality of work, is creating new conditions which are
making those seasoned employees, who were fully qualified when
assigned originally to their specialized duties, increasingly
unable to fulfill their assignments."
c. "Yet without such lenses these employees will soon become
so ineffective as not to be able to continue in their
specializations.
"In short, since the operation of this new special
equipment has become a necessary part of the duties of
these experts which cannot be fulfilled while wearing
ordinary eyeglasses, the Agency's mission in this special
area can no longer be accomplished expeditiously and
satisfactorily without fitting these employees with contact
lenses."
I say that I think the case was overstated because contact lenses were
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NPIC/PPBS/PPD-18/70
not requested by or furnished to any PI at that time and yet today
NPIC is operating -- I think successfully -- with more eyeglass-wearing
PI's than ever before. While the effectiveness and efficiency of these
employees is not precisely known, I think it is reasonable to conclude
that their performance is at least satisfactory.
5. Currently the situation at NPIC is that we are developing a
microscope, with a wider field-of-view than any previous instrument,
but the eyeglass-wearing PI will not be able to take advantage of the
larger field-of-view because he cannot get his eye close enough to the
eyepiece (in the exit pupil of the eyepiece). Because of the increased
field of view, it will be even more difficult for the operator to get
his eye in the exit pupil and as a consequence the eyeglass wearing PI
will achieve better results by using existing microscopes because the
field of view he can achieve while wearing eyeglasses will be even less
than that achieved with existing instruments.
6. The current problem then is no different in kind than that of
10 years ago. Unfortunately, however, the generalized and exaggerated
justification accompanying the 1960 request to purchase contact lenses
may complicate our situation today. While the current problem is not
different in kind, the magnitude of the problem will certainly be greater
than any experienced over the past 10-year period. A full discussion of
the problems associated with the instrument under development is contained
in Reference e. While the seriousness of a slight loss in the area viewed
may not have been dramatic enough to cause the PI's to request lenses, the
loss of a substantial portion of the field-of-view probably will. Over
half of the photo interpreters now wear glasses; to equip them with
contact lenses would cost less than 1% of the estimated procurement
cost of the instrument and should significantly add to their capability
to perform their tasks.
7. These past events and our current situation, may influence
your decision to reopen the matter at this time. If you have questions
which have not been answered by the above summary, I would be most happy
to try to provide those answers or to take any further action that is
required.
Plan ivision, FFiss
NPIC
Attachment:
References as stated.
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Distribution:
1 - NPIC/ODIR
1 - NPIC/SS
1 - NPIC/PPBS
2 - NPIC/PPBS/PPD
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Lenses Staff.'. Study.
ACTION
APPROVAL. V
COMMENT
CONCURRENCE
FOLD HI?RF_ TO HE-I"URN TO SENUM-'f2
ROM: NAME, Af NESS AND I'HON NO.
12 P!1~,,~_1 C)
~._ li;I! I !'16)N.?17nt N rTA r ~~__ SE(:'u ,r i
IAPRb5 - r) 1I Ch Utuy be us'd. U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1455 --0.342531
f ;PVC- SL!"
DIRECT REPLY
DISPATCH
INFORTdAIION
-PREPARE REPLY _~~-"
RECOMMENDATION
Per our to ll_ephone conversa;t;ion, attached
are the finished. copies of the Contact
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. 11; 1 '". _I `; `REFERENCE a.
Plc/D--6360
11 may 1960
A1: ,MORMM M 1P'011: Deputy Director (Support)
`1'1IIZOUGH: Deputy Director (1il:tr 1.ugence)
BUR) CT: C`on.tact Lenses (for PlC Persornnn.el
To increase the efficiency of. PTC per, sozuiel who wear eyeglasses
and are. required. to use tul)u:Lar optical devices in their work.
2. FACTS BEARING ON THE PROBLEM:
a. Su.ccess in exploiting intell:Lgence from photography ias
directly related to the ability of Intelligence Officers to see
images on the viewing rsurface.
b. New and improved high magnification devices are being developed
and purchased for the Photographic :Cntel:Li(;en.ce Center in order to
fully exploit existing, photography for intcll.igenge inforriation. These
devices utilize to an increasing extent closed optical systems of
tt,ibu:l ar design, both monocular and binocular.
e. r:LC has a large investment in tubular optical devices, and. is
continuing to develop them as the state of the art advances.
d. These devices pose special viewing problems for Intelligence
Officers who are required to wear eyeglasses to achieve normal eyesight.
DI>CU S.ION:
a.. As a result of the better image quality derived from
photographicc collection syst(-ms, PIC is utilizing to an increasirl-
exh-ent high magnification devices for full and complete exploitation
of existi.lr intelligence imagery. The requisite r?agnificat:i,ons
(10, 20, 30 or `10 diameters) have brought about a greater reliance
on closed optical systems of tubular designn. The total cost of such
devices now on hand in PT_C is of considernM c- magnitude and includes
such items as Microscopes, Stereomici-oscopes, . 25X1
I ornpa.rator Stereocomparator, Fi:lrn.Viewers , 25X1
and many irl h
r
e
s
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REFERENCE a.
a T' ('I{E L' 11,
b. :VnveGti.gat:Lon demonstrates that each of these devices pose
special viewing problems for -those Intelligence Officers who are
required to wear eyeglasses to achieve normal eyes:i.ght. These problems
.are caused. by the design of the var:Lous viewing systems and result in
a Joss of efficiency to personnel who wear glasses. Two examples
of the design features which result in efficiency losses are as follows:
(1) When the viewed. image is f'ocu'sed at the plane of the
viewing optics, a person wearing. glasses can see only
a portion of the available image. Such a condition
requires a constant manual manipulation of the viewed
material to permit complete observation, and creates
the risk of failing to recognize signif:Lcant relation-
ships within an intelligence target area.
.(2) Some instruments utilize rubber eyecups whidh make 'it
impossible for a person wearing eyeglasses 'to see an
image at the optimum plane of focus. In a.ddtion, these
devices present images at relatively low light levels,
and since a person wearing glasses cannot enclose
his eyes within the eyecups, a considerable amount of
sidelight impinge; on his view tending to drown out
low pontrast detail.
.c. In order to eliminate the loss of efficiency encountered by
personnel, wearing eyeglasses, two courses of action are available.
The first of these would entail the modification of all tubular optical
systems to overcome the limiting factors now affecting the visually
handicapped. Such a solution would entail a very heavy money outlay
and. a considerable time loss for engineering and. actual. modifications.
The second solution would entail equipping handicapped personnel with
fitted. contact lenses. This would be a, more economical. answer to the
problem and. would result in no loss of time for equipment modification.
d. Present medical experience seems to indicate that approximately
95% of those persons equipped with contact lenses experience little
difficulty in becoming used to them. It should be further noted that
contact lenses are equal to conventional eyeglasses in their vision
correction ability. Contact-lenses cost approximately $175 per person
for fitting and purchase. Because of thehIgh cost involved for an
individual employee, it is felt that the Agency should bear the exggense
for those persons who are required to use these instruments to more
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4
S]';CR) T
1 ECOMMECIDA'TION:
REFERENCE a.
That PIC be authorized to p~~rchaae fitted contact lenses foxr
exrFFonriel. who must wear, eyeglasses to achieve normal y:tcion and who
are required to use tubular optical devices in their work.
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JUMIUR U. L II.T,
Director
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~,raphic Intc1.1_1 en.ee Center
.j.gence
.A-PPROV ''Tl: =
Deputy 17xectox~ Suj?or1-.~
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 MNNrVVGU rVf RCICdb LVVJ/ IL/LL . lrIF1-RLJr/OL3VJ/VJF1 VVJVVV'4VVVL-J
REFERENCE b. I
29 JUN 1960
I,iF OB l~
i dch' iGL_LS
together wilt-;a ner, co--.Touter assisted, design programs been developed
that would Fermat the industry to seriously attempt to design a system
of this coi:'=_rlexity. V
The of 1. object- Oi the Wi0_c-Field, ri"h-Power -L1a1":Orp'_'1-i C Ster'GViE',re:C
develop? nt pr of ect is to develop a eiicrostereoscope: with the lar Best
1 yet th ac field-OT T_e possible; yep . instrument must, of coarse oer:.lit
a photo-_n-e -eter to l_JT thrown the sys t,c::~.. Glenn A. I,'ry, Schcol
of Optometry she Ohio S .te University, in his article "The lye and
Vision" in _ ei 0 and O-;t_c'_ Eng-neerint, states t_ a- the
spectacle poi --Q - - that distance between the front surface of the eye's
cornea and, the back: surf ace of the eyeglass lens -- should be l!: :m ,
The eye relief point is placed approximately _ , O mm behind the front
surface of the cornea for proper viewing as shown in Figure I. Fig-
ure 2 shows tit is r e_._m ionchip cTiien eye lasses are worn.
., From h is
f__gure --i, can be seen that an operator wearing eyeglasses cannot ocsi-
tion his eye at the groper v _ew?.wing po-t_ht because of the i n'terferen ce
between the eyeglass lens and the microscope's eyepiece.
The spec; f is problem of not being ab-_c to see the entire field-
of-View while wee ri:_- eyeglasses does exist to a very slight degree in
Some existing ___-tmuirents an C! so-.lc. photo-interpreters Currently do
re ?:ov'e the 4_ eyeglasses, w :ile viewing through these instrume ' S, -Co
insure that they achieve a max L,- u'Ci field-of-view. However, because
of the inherently small field.-of-view available, the field y
is o n1
rests ct:.d, when wearing glasses, by a very small percentage
cf i s to- 1-P7_ l.b photo-interpreters at N?IC who ,,Tear eyeglasses,
a large ? -- 43; -- of these individuals claimed that it was a
extreme to p,:-u- their eyeglasses on each time they wanted to
loo away from the microscope -- to write something, look at maps or
other materials, Thos . reasonable, since the i'
yihOto interpretation
process COn ti outi~ I rec eir es them to operate in this manner. Toe
eY ~ esight of some very is so bad that they can see ~._little
if they dc not wear their eyeglasses when they look away from the scope,
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 REFERENCE e.
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optical Systems.
viewer was to develop
V ~LV.LLW i!^iOSSi.a_e, d.ii%i
l C1 ! 'idu t tie a50 s C ,t J"G en held ye.1. CL . This
co,~ sgur4.y.ion sh:iuld be en' .__ ~ Jw~as acto y f0i:- those P.I. 'S who U-10
s1
not wear It woalC, be unaecept ole -Go
compnil"1-
J >
r'o:uisi the i~3S L i1 of by decreasing the field
fou.-id for those ii.divicuals
s___ -- if another alternative cou._d be
war cannot advantage of this field size increase because they wear
>z;"u . r'Lasses.
J J
CumoiyhiC tere0'd'ie ei
Because the :_c7_- W ide-Fielc., __i. _-Powe"_r
will not JCri'1Lt Vi in of the e a1 re i_elc_-01-vie'.^T by thos individuals
who wear g asses, some alter native solution must be deter_': ined_ .i.,istea
below are some of the u.v ilable alternatives:
a. provide prescription contact lenses for all individuals that
will accept them::. This i^Tould ccple-cely solve the problem for most
P. I. 's except ;;Glad individuals who have extreme astigmatism. A new
t~rpe of co a ~ -_c: S Itrade::_ar1S - ' fi lens" j has recently been developed,
and is being test G_ that would almost con p-_ :tely eliminate the current
difficulty of lea:"ninF h:w to wear hey:. for those who are either
extrer ely or do not want to use contact lenses, another solu-
ciOn _:_ust be 1CU2:?_,
b. Des spec al eyepiece for use by those who wear eyeglasses
with a longer ey`"y~oint. ELL has given a preliminary estimate that
such an eyepiece can be des gned with a 21 ..m eye-.point which is long
er>o z for eyeglass wearers, but the diameter of the field.-o-view
will consequently he r'educed by at lead' . This is certainly a
serious penalty to -pay, however, the instrument would still have a
et`e / e`
diameter of the __elc-of-t-i~:?r about 22j,, ~~ rrate: than the best of our
existing _nctrulTentc. m'nis alternative wol'_id allow those with extreme
astigmatic ej~c' 1?N's correction to utilize their eyeglasses.
cr,h -P er~.o .. er
; %ii;,Uwe-_ ~L~.w ;o_^~Dnic S-.~ rie-~:JC
only for i:,hose 1.'n C ividua .s who do not wear eyegJ_asses, This a pears
to be an unrew istic alternative because over ha" o" the P.i. 's wear
eyeglasses.
Because the ;; 1 ma:".0 - Ohic S UereOVieWer has
such a vast potential of increasing the e'fTiciency and effectiveness
of the photo 1i= e:spretation process; it would be extremely unwise to
limit its useful=ness to non-eye lass ?;--' bring operators.
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li is, e e'or'e; .d that:
c.. ,, TlT_~1C St" D.L a YiG! s.C'i O _' OVidln contact lenses to all
O~ e='at0 S of r icro GO tic L _ i 1C Tr-,hose ey s require such
correction. This -Dok cy G'o~l o., ~ viiem only to those who desire to
use then.
i. ^_ con~'1 coon with -- abo coot.eriCiat10ri, it is
a
ur" her iecC''._... f_ at t le O~Sice o Monical Services i_1VesGi-
~ ~e now
ate t?... c ?` _c J i lity of G y t:z
'Dot- U_
2_ is U.e.ter d ~ the "So-ft-]Lens" is not suitable
i1 :ine ~ .a~
or does not Gc.r an C VaYita o, then it is Y'eCOl:i::en ed trial the
;: ylw~,ic contact le_ ses be offered to the operators.
~. i t=_ o e "ecoind?` ~.~_oily which is the best alternative
ly in aadi-nic"n for
b
s01'uLtion no is re, ecc`Iec Or Doss-
e s -_
co
those who do elect to take J ~'_~ ~- contact then a program
O develop antadditicnal s_Necial eyepiece with a Longer eyeeliei be
initiated. Such lon."c yepo=nt ey: -_ece development pro ram would
cost ayproximYlately However, it 'nest be realized that contact
lenses could prove c reaper and more effective in the long run.
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