Professor Zeev Zalevsky has published a study that will forever change the way you think about corrective lenses – glasses, contacts, and lasers may be a thing of the past sooner than you’d expect. The paper was published by the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeon and included research from experts at Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The research involves alternative treatment for fixing vision, by using a unique combination of “nanodrops” and an outpatient medical procedure. Professor Zalevsky described exactly how these nanoparticles work: “These nanoparticles go into the shallow ablated patterns generated on the surface of the cornea,” he explained. “They change the refraction index inside of those patterns. This corrects the visual problem the user has. The process of correction can be done at home without the need of a medical doctor.”
There’s one huge caveat though – the treatment still hasn’t been performed on humans. The research team tested the technology by doing ex-vivo experiments on pig eyes. the team has carried out ex-vivo experiments on pig eyes. However, the tests were quite successful, showing a major difference for myopia and presbyopia (translation: both short and long-sightedness.)
“We showed that … the nanoparticles went into the surface patterns and that without them no correction is obtained,” said Professor Zalevsky. “We are now raising funds in order to commercialize this technology from Bar-Ilan University. We intend to finish in-vivo tests within one year, and I hope that within two years the product may be available [on] the market.”
Professor Zalevsky explained what makes this treatment in a totally different league than normal laser eye surgery. Standard laser surgery removes a big part of the cornea (the transparent layer that makes up the front of the eyeball.) In the new treatment, it’s only the upper part of the cornea that’s got to go. There are some serious upsides to this new method – basically, it can take place in the home instead of a hospital, and is much cheaper than the previous surgery.