Cataracts affect thousands of people all over the world. They are one of the natural side-effects of getting older, but left untreated they can prove increasingly problematic as far as your sight is concerned, potentially leading to blindness.
When it comes to
Cataracts affect thousands of people all over the world. They are one of the natural side-effects of getting older, but left untreated they can prove increasingly problematic as far as your sight is concerned, potentially leading to blindness.
When it comes to treatment, the most common procedure is to emulsify the hardened lens using a tiny ultrasound probe so it can be broken up and extracted with a tiny vacuum. A replacement lens is then inserted to replace the extracted lens.
However, new technology may soon be introduced and adopted by eye clinics throughout the world if Dr. Josef Bille has his way. The pioneering laser physicist, who invented eye surgery using laser technology and whose efforts have corrected the near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism of millions of patients, is looking to begin using femtosecond lasers to treat cataracts on a widespread basis.
How Does The New Cataract Surgery Work?
The lasers would use short bursts of extremely concentrated light to target the cataract without cutting into either the lens or the cornea of the eye. The laser is so precise that it won’t target the healthy parts of the eye, making it much safer than other treatment techniques. The only downside is the limited availability and massive cost of the equipment needed to perform the procedure: a handful of femtosecond laser units exist in the world, and they cost in excess of £250,000 apiece.
It could be some time then before every surgery in the world has access to this level of treatment. This is Bille’s mission, though, and he is adamant that the treatment can improve vision by up to five times in everyone, regardless of whether they have cataracts or not.
Speaking to CNN, the 2012 winner of the European Inventor Award for Lifetime Achievement said,
“There shouldn’t be any blind person ten years from now in the world. We call it perfect vision; it is twice as good as normal vision, so you see twice as fine detail at much better contrast.”
The benefits of adopting femtosecond laser surgery to treat cataracts are clear, and if anyone can develop the idea in a way that makes it a cost-effective and generally viable option for eyecare practitioners and the general population, it is Josef Bille. Time will tell, but we wouldn’t bet against Bille succeeding in his plan to make femtosecond laser eye surgery the norm on a global scale.
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