"Why Settle for 20/20?," asks BusinessWeek. According to the magazine, "a new diagnostic tool and laser surgery promise eagle vision." Here are some excerpts.
The science of vision measurement and correction is set to push beyond the familiar 20/20 line on eye charts to a benchmark described as "eagle vision." The basis for this shift is a powerful diagnostic technology known as wavefront analysis, which gives doctors a new window into the imperfections of the human eye. Paired with laser vision surgery -- and, in time, with implantable, light-tunable lenses -- the technology will enable physicians to customize laser treatments, yielding unparalleled results.
[Even if there are some risks,] wavefront technology has already sparked a lot of excitement -- in part because of purported improvements in quality. Armed with special software, doctors first generate a three-dimensional model, or wavefront map, of the changes they must make to a patient's cornea in order to correct a pattern of defects unique to his or her eye. Then, by positioning the map over the eye and tracing its contours with a laser, they can nullify each of the defects.
And it seems to work.
Last year, in clinical trials by VISX Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., 189 patients with mild nearsightedness were treated using a wavefront system. Six months later, 94% of the patients saw 20/20 without glasses, and 74% saw 20/16 or better. "That's what we call super-vision," says Dr. Robert K. Maloney, one of the study's investigators.
Back in 1995, the FDA approved LASIK for corrective laser surgery. "In LASIK, short for "laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis," a thin flap of transparent tissue covering the cornea is peeled back." After reaching 1.4 million operations in 2000, the LASIK market is now shrinking.
With wavefront, the industry has a second chance. "It will attract a percentage of the population that was hesitant before," predicts Elizabeth H. Dvila, president and CEO of VISX. SG Cowen Securities Corp. expects the total number of procedures to rebound by 4% this year. Within two years, half of all LASIK procedures will use wavefront, predicts Cowen analyst Peter J. Bye.
For more information, please read the whole article and this previous column, "Put Those Glasses Away for Good." And don't forget to pay a visit to your eye doctor.
Source: Adam Aston, BusinessWeek Magazine, March 17, 2003 Issue
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