21
Oct
Customized LASIK is tailored to each patient's specific eye
Every eye is different but, until recently, all eyes were treated the same when it came to LASIK treatment.
That is changing, however, thanks to new advances in LASIK technologies that are able to create a much more precise mapping of the anatomy of each individual's eyes.
The technology utilizes hundreds of individual data points that are then used to guide the laser during surgery, MediaPlanet reports. As a result of this increased level of precision, LASIK treatments can now provide a much greater level of individualized vision correction. The customization also allows doctors to more easily identify who is a good candidate for LASIK surgery.
"In the past, two people with the same prescription would receive nearly identical LASIK treatments," Dr. Colman R. Kraff, MD, a top rated ophthalmologist in Chicago at the Kraff Eye Institute, told MediaPlanet. "Now, our ability to precisely target a wider range of visual imperfections means we can do much better. We can enable improvements in seeing fine detail, in low light situations and at night. We can dramatically reduce complications involving glare and halos. We can achieve better than 20/20 vision, what some people call 'HD vision.'"
Dr. Kraff, the director of Refractive Surgery at the Kraff Eye Institute, was one of the principal investigators in the trials that resulted in the FDA approving iLasik from Abbott Medical Optics.
The iLasik system utilizes software to make blueprints of each individual patient's eyes, which is then used in driving the laser correction of the eye. Lasers are then used to correct the cornea based on unique vision and eye characteristics.
Dr. Kraff says that the next step, now that LASIK can be customized to each patient's eye, is to broaden the uses of LASIK to address other conditions, including presbyopia, which is a condition that affects people as they age and causes inability to focus on things up close.
"Today, we can help many of these patients by correcting one of the eyes to a reading prescription," Dr. Kraff told MediaPlanet. "The next horizon is to use custom LASIK to do bifocal reshaping of both corneas."
Dr. Colman R. Kraff, was selected by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor and is considered to be best in Ophthalmology in Chicago. He specializes in Refractive Surgery, Cataract Surgery and Implantable Collamer Lens Procedures.
