As described on the website of the Refocus Group, the PresVIEW Scleral Spacing Procedure for treating presbyopia involves placing four small pieces of inert plastic in a circular arrangement in the white part of the eye (the sclera). The small implants expand the underlying muscle, which can then better manipulate the lens, restoring the ability of the eye to focus at multiple distances.

In recent studies the PresVIEW implant gave patients a 3 line improvement in near vision, and some had a 7 line improvement. It is an improvement over the first generation, which had poor results and was not widely adopted. As noted, the theory of the PresVIEW procedure is that it gives the lens more room to assume a rounder shape, which is what allows the eye to focus at near. Of course, it’s probably only good for several years until the lens gets stiffer- only long term studies will tell us for sure. But considering it’s practically risk-free, I think that with good marketing, the implant could become much more common.

Note: the PresVIEW Scleral Implant is an investigational device and is not approved for sale or use in the United States or Canada. However, the product is currently approved for sale in the European Union, and is undergoing FDA trials.