Breaking News Related to Macular Degeneration, Cataract, Glaucoma, Corneal Disease and Other Eye Conditions » Refractive

Contact Lenses Coated With Vitamin E Provide Extended Pain Relief to Laser Eye Surgery Patients

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:40:29 +0000

In late January, the American Chemical Society reported in its journal, Langmuir, about a new technique in which researchers were able to substantially extend the release of certain anesthetics into patients’ eyes for pain relief following laser eye surgery by adding vitamin E to the lenses. The vitamin E acted as a barrier, keeping the anesthetics on the eye, right where they were are needed, for an extended period. The technique extended the release of the anesthetics from just under two hours to up to an entire day — or a few days in some instances.

The technique could some day relieve patients of the burden of repeatedly placing drops into their eyes following laser surgery every few hours for several days.

Click here to read more.

Will Spot Device from PediaVision Revolutionize Vision Screening?

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:34:17 +0000

Will the Snellen chart become a relic of the past when it comes to vision testing? PediaVision CEO David Melnik believes that his Spot device offers some distinct advantages, especially when testing vision in children. Most importantly, instead of being required to read and recite letters, patients simply look into the PediaVision Spot device as it takes some pictures. Based on those images, the device notifies if it detects potential vision problems.

According to the PediaVision website, Spot is powered by technology that quickly detects the following vision issues:

Near-sightedness (myopia)
Far-sightedness (hyperopia)
Unequal refractive power (anisometropia)
Blurred vision, eye structure problem (astigmatism)
Pupil size deviations (anisocoria)
Eye misalignment (strabismus)

How does it work? Patients sit down and look into the front of the device, focusing their vision on its blinking red, amber and blue lights. The device then takes a series of photos of the patients’ eyes using infrared light within no more than one second.

The device can wirelessly print and transfer data when needed. Data can also be easily stored and transferred to support various electronic records protocols. It’s also portable – its battery can power a full day of screening in one charge. And it’s light – about 2 1/2 pounds, making it comfortable to screen groups of any size.

Read more in this gizmag article and on the PediaVision website.

Options for Patient With Damaged Corneas From Radial Keratotomy in 1982

Patient Letter to the Editor — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:32:30 +0000

I had 16 cut Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery in 1982, and now have issues with my sight. My ophthalmologist has recommended refractive lens exchange (RLE), saying I am a +4 and a +6. I have the beginning of a cataract in my left eye, but it is not bad enough to be covered by insurance yet.

Wouldn’t a solution to the corneal defects be to replace the cornea? Having had 4 surgeries (all for esotropia) and the 2 for RK, I think RLE is risky. My doctor is not especially good at explaining everything, and I am a bit unnerved by more surgery of that type which would enter from the periphery of my cornea.

I am not sure what to ask, but hope that the technology is getting to the point where I could just replace my surgically damaged corneas with rebuilt ones from my own adult stem cells. I believe just by fixing my corneas a lot of the halos, starbursts and night blindness could be diminished.

Is this a possibility yet? I am trying to research all my options.

Bausch + Lomb Launches KeraSoft® IC Contact Lenses for Keratoconus and Other Irregular Corneas

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:00:43 +0000

Earlier this week, Bausch + Lomb announced the availability of KeraSoft® IC silicone hydrogel contact lenses in the United States. KeraSoft IC lens technology allows for custom-made contact lenses by authorized laboratories for patients with irregular corneas, including keratoconus, Pellucid Marginal Degeneration, and other complex corneal irregularities, and those caused by complicated laser eye surgery.

Each KeraSoft IC lens is custom-made for a patient’s exact needs, and KeraSoft IC lenses can offer increased wear time and improved comfort for patients. KeraSoft IC lenses are a patented combination of the latest technologies in silicone hydrogel materials using geometries from complex mathematics to offer comfortable wear and excellent vision and have been recognized with the UK’s Queen’s Award for Enterprise and Innovation.

Click here to read the full press release.

Patient With Pain After ReLex FLEX Surgery

Doctor Letter to the Editor — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:41:00 +0000

I had a ReLEx FLEX patient. Yesterday, after surgery, she felt severe ocular pain. I injected analgesics IM and put contact lens on both eyes. Today, she feels pain also. On slit lamp examination, her cornea shows slight haziness at lenticule removed site. I wonder what makes her pain, and how can I treat her? Thank you.

Dyslexic Children See Major Reading Improvements With New Tinted Glasses

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:22:27 +0000

ABC News reported yesterday that specially tinted lenses sold by ChromaGen Vision are helping dyslexic children read faster and see words more clearly.

The special lenses were originally developed by British optician and researcher David Harris to help people with color blindness. However, he found that by altering the wavelength of light that reaches the eye, the tinted lenses reduced the visual distortions that make reading difficult for people with dyslexia.

Despite skeptics, parents who bought the ChromaGen Vision lenses for children who were diagnosed with dyslexia are reporting startling improvements in their children’s reading capabilities.

Available as either prescription eyeglasses that look like sunglasses or contact lenses, the ChromaGen Vision glasses typically cost between run $700 to $1,000, while the tinted contact lenses cost about 50% less.

Click here to read the full report on ABC News.

ReLEx Femtosecond Laser System Represents Less Invasive Approach Than Standard LASIK Surgery

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:25:00 +0000

Carl Zeiss Meditec recently unveiled a less invasive approach to refractive surgery than traditional LASIK at the Vienna Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Unlike LASIK, in which tissue is ablated with an excimer laser after opening a flap, Carl Zeiss’ ReLEx® smile correction technique does not require a flap. Instead, it creates a lens-shaped lenticle in the cornea, which is then removed in one piece through a four-millimeter incision. As a result, the ReLEx smile technique requires an 80 percent smaller surface incision in the upper cornea (flap-side cut) and an about 30 percent smaller lamellar incision (cap cut surface). The biomechanical stability of the vital upper layers of the cornea remains largely intact. For the patient, this means a gentle, minimally invasive operation.

Click here for the full press release.

First Eye Error Helps Second Eye Refractive Error

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:45:29 +0000

Ophthalmology: A large study confirms what was demonstrated a year ago. If one gets a refractive error after the first cataract surgery, one should aim the second IOL selection to half that error. In other words, if the first eye ends up at +1.50, one should increase the IOL power for the second eye by 0.75. This held true for all IOL formulas (Hoffer, SRK/T) and for small and larger errors. One small caveat was that this did not hold up when inter-corneal powers differed by >0.60. The authors suggest that the position of the IOL in the eye, a hard thing to predict, is the source of the error.

Bausch + Lomb and Technolas™ Perfect Vision Introduce VICTUS™ Femtosecond Laser Platform

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:54:07 +0000

Bausch + Lomb and Technolas™ Perfect Vision announced yesterday that they plan to introduce the VICTUS™ Femtosecond Laser Platform at the upcoming XXIX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS 2011). The VICTUS platform is capable of supporting cataract, refractive and therapeutic procedures in a single platform. The versatile platform is designed to enable greater precision compared to manual cataract surgery techniques, potentially enhancing the patient experience.

For example, while current cataract surgery techniques can achieve positive outcomes, the procedure relies on multiple manual steps, which can create variability. Early published data suggest that Laser Refractive Cataract Surgery (LRCS), as offered by the VICTUS platform, may allow physicians to create a more precise, controllable and centered capsulotomy. LRCS may also allow for less phaco energy to be generated during lens fragmentation, improve intraocular lens placement and potentially enhance patient outcomes and experience.

Click here for the full release.

New Smartphone Application Helps The Color-Blind See Colors Like Everyone Else

Dr. Ari Weitzner — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:18:41 +0000

For individuals suffering from color blindness, the new DanKam smartphone application for iPhone and Android costing just $2.99 can help them see “true” colors as everyone else sees them.

As explained by the app developer, Internet security specialist Dan Kaminsky, “DanKam takes the stream of data coming in through the phone’s camera and changes the colors slightly so they fall within the range that people who are color-blind can see.” Kaminsky added that the app can be configured to fit the condition of individual users since not everyone who is color-blind sees things the same.

Click here to read more about the app on CNET, here to read Kaminsky’s blog for the story behind the app (and rave reviews from early users), and here to purchase the DanKam app on iTunes for $2.99.