Cataract repairs - are we missing the safety glass aspect?

[Tom9589]

I fully understand the principle behind automotive safety plate glass. Why did we go for so long with a separate safety glass with a huge air gap between the glass and the CRT? Also consider CRTs with no safety glass, just a band around the tube under tension. All you want is that the safety glass stop the CRT glass from being projected outward toward the viewer, not hold it in place like a windshield.