3 ms·

If the synthetic eyeballs don't arrive, I wonder if by 2050 we'll have more options for correcting myopia. Right now we basically have 4 options, and they're al

by J-dawg 11y ago

If the synthetic eyeballs don't arrive, I wonder if by 2050 we'll have more options for correcting myopia. Right now we basically have 4 options, and they're all imperfect: 1. Suspend a lens in front of the eye (glasses). Drawbacks: condensation, not good in rain / water sports / contact sports, aesthetics 2. Stick a lens to the cornea (contacts). Drawbacks: risk of infection, not comfortable for everyone, hassle of daily removal / cleaning. Deprives the cornea of oxygen slightly 3. Remove some of the cornea with a laser (LASIK/PRK). Drawbacks: Can be inexact, not everyone gets perfect vision. Risk of side effects like haloes at night or chronic dry eyes. Risk of flap dislocation injuries in the future. The cornea may be permanently weakened. 4. Put a lens implant inside the eye. This one seems to be less common, but it's used for people with high myopia whose corneas are too thin for LASIK. Drawbacks: risky operation, risk of infection and complications. (5.) There's also Ortho-K, where you wear a set of hard contact lenses at night which temporarily reshape your cornea, and give you temporarily improved vision. However it doesn't seem very popular these days, and I think it only works for low prescriptions. I wonder if some new ways of attacking the problem will emerge. Like a semi-permanent contact lens glued to your eyeball?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
amatic 11y ago
There is this guy: https://youtube.com/watch?v=x5Efg42-Qn0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=x5Efg42-Qn0 I've started practicing the blury print reading technique a week ago.
- J-dawg 11y ago
  This has my bullshit detector ringing loud and clear, sorry.
  - amatic 11y ago
    No need to apologize, what specifically is triggering the detector? As for myself, I'm spending a lot of time in front of a monitor, and I don't see a downside of trying out the technique.
    - J-dawg 11y ago
      When I was a kid I HATED being short-sighted, and I got into reading about the Bates method and other "natural vision improvement" techniques. I tried all the exercises, read all the books. I just eventually realised that these people are full of crap. At best they're deluded, at worst they are genuinely evil. Why don't these people submit their techniques to a proper trial? Take a cohort of myopic people, have their prescriptions verified by an optometrist, then re-measure their vision at monthly intervals while you teach them your exercises. Why wouldn't you do this? If you could prove it you'd be made for life, you could travel the world teaching your technique. You'd be the person who cured myopia! Yet, like most 'alternative medicine' advocates, they always find a way to dodge any kind of rigorous test. No downside? Well maybe not, apart from the wasted time.
      - amatic 11y ago
        The author of the talk cites this study in support of his method of defocusing or 'print pushing' : http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2126435 http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2126435 Small sample (N=28), but highly significant (p<0.0001) change in optical axial length. It also seems he is not selling anything to cure myopia (books, glasses, courses..). The technique is just 'read from a position in which the letters are a bit blurry'. Though, his site does look alternativish.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
azernik 11y ago
The other issue with lenses implants is that it's hard to give them adaptive focus; you both need a nice flexible material and attachment points for eye muscles. It's doable, just currently quite expensive and not quite at the performance levels of the original product.
- J-dawg 11y ago
  I could be wrong, but I think the implants used to correct myopia are normally fixed-focus, and sit in front of the eye's natural lens rather then replacing it, so you don't lose the natural ability to focus close up (accommodation). However you're right, there are now accommodating lens implants which could correct myopia and presbyopia simultaneously, or be used for people who've had their lens removed due to cataracts. It will be pretty exciting to see how they develop. http://www.londoneyehospital.com/treatments-services/synchrony-accommodating-lens/ http://www.londoneyehospital.com/treatments-services/synchro...
  - azernik 11y ago
    You're correct about the ones that correct myopia, but there are eye problems that make the lens a total loss - most prominently, cataracts. In these cases the current approach is a lens replacement: the old lens is completely burned out by laser and a new one implanted in its place. It's actually a really cool laproscopic procedure - the lens is flexible and is inserted rolled up, unfurls on its own, and then has its position adjusted by the surgeon. In my dad's case, because an accommodating implant was still impractical, he ended up with one eye permanently focused at infinity and one focused about about 4-5 feet. Which works surprisingly well, because the brain is really good at image processing, but still.
GoToRO 11y ago
6. modify the shape of the eyeball so that the image is formed on the retina. You can already do this if you squeeze your eyes...
- J-dawg 11y ago
  I've noticed an improvement in my vision if I pull outwards on the skin next to my eyes, which I think is the effect you're talking about. I don't know how you could make it permanent though.
  - GoToRO 11y ago
    you can also push. You could put a band around your eyeballs just like they do on the stomach, to help patient loose weight.

by J-dawg 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

amatic 11y ago

There is this guy: https://youtube.com/watch?v=x5Efg42-Qn0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=x5Efg42-Qn0 I've started practicing the blury print reading technique a week ago.

J-dawg 11y ago
This has my bullshit detector ringing loud and clear, sorry.
- amatic 11y ago
  No need to apologize, what specifically is triggering the detector? As for myself, I'm spending a lot of time in front of a monitor, and I don't see a downside of trying out the technique.
  - J-dawg 11y ago
    When I was a kid I HATED being short-sighted, and I got into reading about the Bates method and other "natural vision improvement" techniques. I tried all the exercises, read all the books. I just eventually realised that these people are full of crap. At best they're deluded, at worst they are genuinely evil. Why don't these people submit their techniques to a proper trial? Take a cohort of myopic people, have their prescriptions verified by an optometrist, then re-measure their vision at monthly intervals while you teach them your exercises. Why wouldn't you do this? If you could prove it you'd be made for life, you could travel the world teaching your technique. You'd be the person who cured myopia! Yet, like most 'alternative medicine' advocates, they always find a way to dodge any kind of rigorous test. No downside? Well maybe not, apart from the wasted time.
    - amatic 11y ago
      The author of the talk cites this study in support of his method of defocusing or 'print pushing' : http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2126435 http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2126435 Small sample (N=28), but highly significant (p<0.0001) change in optical axial length. It also seems he is not selling anything to cure myopia (books, glasses, courses..). The technique is just 'read from a position in which the letters are a bit blurry'. Though, his site does look alternativish.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

azernik 11y ago

The other issue with lenses implants is that it's hard to give them adaptive focus; you both need a nice flexible material and attachment points for eye muscles. It's doable, just currently quite expensive and not quite at the performance levels of the original product.

J-dawg 11y ago
I could be wrong, but I think the implants used to correct myopia are normally fixed-focus, and sit in front of the eye's natural lens rather then replacing it, so you don't lose the natural ability to focus close up (accommodation). However you're right, there are now accommodating lens implants which could correct myopia and presbyopia simultaneously, or be used for people who've had their lens removed due to cataracts. It will be pretty exciting to see how they develop. http://www.londoneyehospital.com/treatments-services/synchrony-accommodating-lens/ http://www.londoneyehospital.com/treatments-services/synchro...
- azernik 11y ago
  You're correct about the ones that correct myopia, but there are eye problems that make the lens a total loss - most prominently, cataracts. In these cases the current approach is a lens replacement: the old lens is completely burned out by laser and a new one implanted in its place. It's actually a really cool laproscopic procedure - the lens is flexible and is inserted rolled up, unfurls on its own, and then has its position adjusted by the surgeon. In my dad's case, because an accommodating implant was still impractical, he ended up with one eye permanently focused at infinity and one focused about about 4-5 feet. Which works surprisingly well, because the brain is really good at image processing, but still.

GoToRO 11y ago

6. modify the shape of the eyeball so that the image is formed on the retina. You can already do this if you squeeze your eyes...

J-dawg 11y ago
I've noticed an improvement in my vision if I pull outwards on the skin next to my eyes, which I think is the effect you're talking about. I don't know how you could make it permanent though.
- GoToRO 11y ago
  you can also push. You could put a band around your eyeballs just like they do on the stomach, to help patient loose weight.