Seeing beyond LASIK: This novel alternative corrects your vision at a lower cost

Refractive correction options have long lived to accommodate the optical needs of the public. Eyeglasses, contact lenses, and surgeries, you name it. But almost 40 years after LASIK was introduced, a new surgical method unwraps itself with a brighter and cheaper design.

A team of scientists, led by professor and principal investigator Dr. Michael Hill, discovered the technique by “accident” through the application of electrochemistry, or more specifically, a process they’ve long been probing known as electromechanical reshaping (EMR). 

The entire process of EMR to vision correction is intricately pristine, and from another outlook of expectations, it uses less expensive equipment and assures safer outcomes in contrast to the risks and limits of the already accustomed LASIK procedure.

Eyes under lasers

LASIK, or “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis,” is known for its vision correction technique of using a laser to cut into one’s cornea (the collagenous outermost layer of the eye), treating various cases of refractive errors, such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. 

Millions of people have undergone LASIK to address their needs for eyesight, and while it continues to deliver its unassailable service, its limitations lie in how it eventually compromises the integrity of the eye’s tissues and structure when the cornea is cut.

But on the note of the researchers, what if there could be another way so that instead of cutting the cornea, doctors could mold and reshape it and still bring back that desired 20/20 vision?

EMR to the anatomy of the eye

The concept of EMR is materialized by the fact that certain collagen- and water-containing tissues in our body, like the cornea, have the capacity to get loose and be reshaped when their pH is lowered or made acidic, and in this study, lowering how acidic the tissues should be is possible when those tissues are applied with an electric potential.

Early experiments were carried out on pig skin and rabbit ears before they redirected their attention to explore the tissues of the eye, particularly the cornea. 

The methodology of the procedure starts when the researchers first insert platinum “contact lenses” that serve as electrodes on the eyes of a rabbit cadaver. Once placed, the researchers applied a small amount of electric potential, accurate enough so that the cornea gets molded and shaped accordingly beneath the metal lens.

This setup had been performed several times, and it manifested safe post-procedure findings for the structural integrity of the eye and effectiveness in treating myopia and enhancing vision. 

Furthermore, other findings of the team suggest that their technique might undo some chemical-related cloudiness in the cornea, which can only be fixed today with a transplant.

While the technique is still in its experimental stages, EMR offers a glimpse of a safer and more affordable future for vision correction. With continued refinement and funding, it could soon stand as a practical alternative to LASIK, reshaping not just corneas but also the landscape of eye surgery itself.