LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis):
- Surgical procedures aimed at improving the focusing power of the eye are called refractive surgery.
- In LASIK surgery, precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser reshapes the cornea changing its focusing power.
- When performed on both eyes, the entire procedure of LASIK surgery takes about 20 minutes and can rid patients of the need to wear glasses or contact lenses.
Recent development:
- While LASIK has a very high success rate, virtually every procedure involves an element of guesswork, because doctors have no way to precisely measure the refractive properties of the eye.
- Now an assistant professor with the University of Maryland in the US developed a microscopy technique using Brillouin spectroscopy – a light-scattering technology – that could allow doctors to perform LASIK using precise measurements of how the eye focuses light, instead of approximations.
