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As the most common cause of blindness in the world, cataracts are a health issue near the top of the
vision correction agenda.
Surgical treatment of cataracts is an often costly procedure that involves replacing the lens entirely and, as a result, alternatives are constantly being sought by
corrective laser surgery professionals.
But a less-invasive, less-costly technique is being tested by researchers in Denmark which could revolutionise the treatment of cataracts and provide people with better
eye surgery options.
Line Kessel, an ophthalmologist at Glostrup Hospital, which is part of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, claims his team has come up with a
corrective laser surgery alternative.
Their
vision correction research, published in the journal PLoS ONE, describes a technique of bleaching the effected lens with a laser.
Kessel wrote in the paper, entitled Non-Invasive Bleaching of the Human Lens by Femtosecond Laser Photolysis, that the results "demonstrate that the age-induced yellowing of the human lens can be bleached by a non-invasive procedure based on femtosecond laser photolysis".
"At the current technological stage, lens aging is delayed but with a treatment covering the entire lens volume complete optical rejuvenation is expected," he added.
He concluded that the relatively inexpensive technique could break down the "barriers impeding access to treatment in remote and poor regions of the world".
Non-invasive techniques have a number of benefits outside the realm of cost - including a reduced likelihood of irreversible side effects.
The same is true when comparing invasive
corrective laser surgery with the prescription of corrective contact lenses, such as i-GO's Ortho K contact lenses, as a treatment for myopia.
When it comes to treating short-sightedness, Ortho K corrective lenses have many of the benefits of
laser eye surgery, but as the changes they make to the eye are non-permanent, the process is totally reversible.
Eye Health: Find out if i-GO over night contact lenses will suit you.
By Will Stevenson
