Scientists have developed a new microscopy technique that could one day be used to improve laser vision correction, LASIK, and eliminate the “surgery” aspect of the procedure. When performed on both eyes, the entire procedure of LASIK surgery takes about 20 minutes and can rid patients of the need to wear glasses or contact lenses.
While LASIK has a very high success rate, virtually every procedure involves an element of guesswork, according to the study published in the journal Physical Review Letters. This is because doctors have no way to precisely measure the refractive properties of the eye.
Instead, they rely heavily on approximations that correlate with the patient’s vision acuity — how close to 20/20 he or she can see without the aid of glasses or contacts. Giuliano Scarcelli, an assistant professor with the University of Maryland in the US developed a microscopy technique that could allow doctors to perform LASIK using precise measurements of how the eye focuses light, instead of approximations.