An incision-free alternative to refractive surgery?

Research presented at the autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society (17–21 August, Washington DC) has outlined a potential alternative to refractive surgery.

Professor Michael Hill, of Occidental College, outlined how electromechanical reshaping can be used to change the curvature of the cornea in rabbits.

His research team created platinum ‘contact lenses’ to create a template for the corrected shape of the cornea, which were placed over rabbit eyeballs.

The eyeballs were submerged in saline solution to mimic natural tears before a small electric signal was applied to the lens, changing the pH of the cornea.

The researchers found that after a minute the rabbit eyeball conformed to the shape of the lens.

They explained that the electrochemical pulses leave the corneal tissue temporarily responsive to mechanical remodeling.

“Subsequent re-equilibration to physiological pH restores the ionic matrix, resulting in persistent shape change of the tissue,” the scientists highlighted.

The researchers shared that while refractive surgery, such as Lasik, are popular procedures, these surgeries can be expensive and permanently lower the biomechanical strength of the cornea.

Hill highlighted that the research is still at an early stage.

“There’s a long road between what we’ve done and the clinic. But, if we get there, this technique is widely applicable, vastly cheaper and potentially even reversible,” he said.