NASA Technology: Vision of the Future: Custom Corneas

NASA technology that allows the Hubble telescope to focus on distant stars now offers LASIK eye surgery patients customized options for fine-tuned night vision, superior image contrast and sight even beyond 20/20. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2001, wavefront technology is the newest LASIK innovation that ophthalmologists are using not only to correct eyesight, but also to peer into the physical structure of patients' eyes and locate the exact sources of their vision problems. "We already tailor eyesight to patient goals," says Dr. Bradley Randleman, associate professor of Ophthalmology at Emory Eye Center in Atlanta. "We're getting more and more advanced with tailoring our laser treatment to the specific aberrations in the pattern of the cornea so we can best maximize the quality of vision." Since wavefront imaging can diagnose more subtle corneal imperfections, the technology has also expanded the LASIK treatment zone beyond myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. Patients with more complex vision problems, such as irregular astigmatism or complications from past refractive surgeries, are now viable candidates.