(Image: Paul Blow)
The natural lenses in the eye tend to become cloudy in old age, with more than half of people over 80 developing the problem in at least one eye. It has long been routine to treat cataracts, as they are called, by replacing the lens with an artificial one.
The standard replacement lenses, however, can only focus light from distant objects, unlike the natural lens, which changes shape to focus on different distances. That means people still need reading glasses after a cataract operation.
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Over the past decade, replacement lenses have been introduced that mimic the variable focusing power of the natural lens, meaning many people who have cataract surgery can dispense with glasses completely. 鈥淚鈥檝e had 82-year-old patients who鈥檝e worn glasses since they were 8,鈥� says Anne Sumers, an ophthalmologist in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so exciting for them.鈥�
鈥淢any can dispense with glasses entirely, even if they鈥檝e worn them all their lives鈥�
There are several designs. One type, for instance, is made in such a way that it has different light-bending powers at different places within the lens. The brain somehow pays attention only to the light rays that give the sharpest image for the object you want to see and ignores the rest. 鈥淭he visual cortex chooses the points of best focus,鈥� says , a surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. 鈥淓verything else is photoshopped out.鈥�
Cataract surgery is a no-brainer if you need it, whatever kind of replacement lens you get. However, there are now also other kinds of implants designed specifically to replace glasses. One type is for people who are so short-sighted that they can鈥檛 have corrective laser surgery as it would cut away too much of their cornea. Known as intraocular collamer lenses, these implants are inserted just in front of the natural lens. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like putting spectacles inside the eye,鈥� says Allan.
Another kind of implant, called corneal inlays, treat the long-sightedness that comes with age, so you could throw away your reading glasses. But there have so the jury is still out safety-wise.
Read more: 鈥�Good looking: 6 surprising ways to improve your eyesight鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淏etter lenses鈥�
