There is a lot of buzz about new and upcoming laser eye surgery techniques and you should definitely keep your eyes on any new developments. LASIK eye surgery has changed many peoples lives, and new techniques and research will open the door so that more people can qualify to receive eye surgery that will change their lives as well.

Reliance on reading glasses is a real problem for many individuals. Many feel that their quality of life has been lowered due to this problem. It is a real cause of concern for people in trades that require precise vision to perform tasks. Reading vision is often reduced with age and many people in their 40s and 50s have to get a prescription pair of glasses for reading, even though they had near-perfect reading vision in the past.

 

What is Acufocus?

The Kamra inlay is produced by AcuFocus and has received the 2005 European CE mark. This inlay is placed inside the cornea and has a small aperture that gives clearer vision at intermediate and near distances. The diameter of the aperture is only 1.6 mm.

It is currently being investigated in the United States to find out if implanting this device into the eye improves vision for those that need to wear reading glasses. It is undergoing clinical testing and 99 eyes have received this device to date. The eyes receiving this inlay have reached the one year stage in testing, and during this time period modifications have been made numerous times to the inlay. These modifications have been made to deal with a drop in vision quality and irregular astigmatism. At the same time, improvement was noted for near vision. There are also problems with tolerance for the inlay and in some cases the cornea would melt or become thin. How the procedure is done

A femtosecond cut creates either a pocket or a flap so that the inlay can be placed within the cornea. While the lens can be safely removed at any time, it is not a reversible treatment for the cuts.

Dr. Rick Wolfe and Dr. Patrick Versace are investigating its use in Australia. TGA registration will probably occur in 2011.

This treatment method may be a transitional process sense the side effects are unacceptable. Surface melting of the cornea, which happens rarely, and the irregular astigmatism make this method impractical for regular use at this time.

This type of procedure may be the new upcoming laser surgery of tomorrow as advances are made in the area and the technical procedure improves. AcuFocus will have to eliminate all the side effects for this to become a real option, however, and whether they can take this technology to the next level remains to be seen.

 

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