New Eye Implants To Combat Presbyopia
Vision is one of the senses that we value most from the several we possess, and despite the fact that your other senses compensate when you lose one, it is the one statistically that people would least like to lose. However, as the eye is made up from living tissue it degenerates over time as we do, so a reduction in vision quality is inevitable. It is estimated that in 2011 there are over 23 million people in Britain who suffer from long sightedness, or presbyopia, which is caused when the lens behind the cornea loses its flexibility, making it harder to change focus. The lens is made up from a fluid that begins to crystallise over time, and the eye muscles have a harder job squishing it into an appropriate lens form. This in turn means that millions of people now have to wear reading glasses, but a radical alternative is being introduced and will now be available for private patients in the UK.
This procedure takes the technology currently used by LASIK laser eye surgery and take it a bit further. In the same way as the traditional treatment, the laser is used to create a flap in the cornea, but that is where the similarities end. Instead of using laser power to remodel the cornea, a polo-shaped flexible inert disc is inserted inside, which blocks a certain amount of light from reaching the retina. This elimination of certain angles of light acts much like a pinhole camera, meaning only focused light is detected. This in turn improves all round vision, and almost eliminates the problems of long sightedness.
Although this might seem like an extreme solution, but it is a procedure that has been around for several years now. It was developed sometime around 2005 in California, and cost over $30 million to perfect. It has since been carried out on over 6000 patients in Europe and Japan alone, and with no bad results so far. With costs from just over £2000 per eye, it’s going to make an attractive prospect for many middle aged people with poor sight and a bit of money. With the millions that suffer from this, it is a market that is set to explode in the next few years, offering a hassle free solution. It has already been carried out on several people in the UK, with the first patient claiming that the procedure was uncomfortable but not painful, but the next day her sight was perfect.
Kate is a trainee optician working for DirectSight.co.uk, specialists in prescription glasses and designer sunglasses. She is very keen on her new career and is fascinated by the way the eye works.
