You've probably heard that staring at a screen could ruin your eyes. But now, some say it could help improve your vision.

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New mobile apps aimed at improving your vision are now available, and some claim they can even allow you to throw out your reading glasses. It's an issue that affects millions of people, as generally speaking, eyes tend to gradually weaken as we approach our mid-40s.

Apps like Glasses Off and Ultimeyes are designed to excercise eyes, just like our other muscles, to improve vision. They present games and excercies to retrain the way the brain interprets images.

"We can potentially improve the image processing unit in our brain to do a much better interpretation of whatever visual image coming in from the eyes," said Shai Novik, chairman of Glasses Off.

Glasses Off is a free download, but access to the program costs $60. Novik claims when the app is used correctly, 90 percent of users will no longer need to wear their reading glasses.

"You need to play the game three times a week, fifteen minutes each time for approximately three months," Novik said.

Medical experts said there is some validity in these claims, as the brain can be continually improved with practice.

"I think that's what these apps really are talking about. Not so much improving the eye, but improving the brain," said Mark Blumenkranz, the Chair of Stanford University's Department of Ophthalmology.

Researchers at Stanford have developed their own vision-related app called Sightbook. It offers a series of vision tests a patient can do at home in order to help diagnose problems.

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App claims to improve your vision