Coming Soon, Super Vision

lil_nohreaga writes "Wired is reporting that several companies are developing electronically controlled lenses to provide enhanced vision. From the article: Thanks to technologies created for astronomical telescopes and spy satellites, aberrometers can map a person's eye with extreme accuracy. Lasers bounce off the back of the eyeball, and structures in the eye scatter the resulting beam of light."

Comments

Other applications

[BWJones]

Other potential applications of this technology include the ability to help people with retinal degenerative diseases prolong their useful vision by dynamically mapping projections of images to other areas of the retina that are not affected by degeneration. Of course this will do nothing for the degenerative process, but it could buy some folks a bit more time until we can perfect retinal interventions (biological and/or bionic) to rescue vision loss.

As an aside, this technology to measure the optics of the eye is currently used in many procedure to correct vision such as in LASIK. You can read a little bit about LASIK and see a movie of the procedure here.

Re:There are grades too.

[BewireNomali]

dude, that's good advice.

i just did freelance consulting work with an influential investment banker here in NY. He's in his 50s, and he had the procedure done 6-7 years ago by Tiger Woods' doctor (for those unaware, Tiger Woods had his vision enhanced to 20/15 or 20/10 in order to give himself a golfing advantage). All of which to say is that he can't see now.

I asked him about it several times and pride prevented him from being truthful about it. But finally he confided in me and said that his vision has degraded significantly in the past year. He also mentioned that some of his older colleagues who have have laser correcting surgery have had similar degradations in vision. I know that this guy has had at least one "correction" done, but he now has his secretary reading his own emails to him.

So it sounds like its a good idea to not get lasik done unless you absolutely have to or are aware of enhancements that improve the long term prognosis for eye health.

Other than that, this is such a FUCK AMAZING TIME TO BE ALIVE!!!!!

Re:A crutch?

[omeomi]

(In much the same way as increasing eyeglass prescriptions cause your eyesight to deteriorate further and increase your prescription again.)

I don't know this for sure, but I have to think that this thought is nothing more than a marketing gimmick from the Lasik community. I wear glasses, and have had roughly the same prescription for the last 15 years. When my prescription has changed, it hasn't been by enough to make any noticeable difference, and the only reason I've changed it has been because I've gotten new glasses because my old glasses have gone out of style (or, once, because I sat on them). Most other people I know with glasses are in approximately the same situation--their vision got a bit blurry in childhood for some reason, but hasn't changed much since then. So the thought that glasses will actually make your eyes worse over time is ridiculous, the opposite seems more logical. If I don't wear glasses, my eyes will be under more strain, and will get worse. Wearing glasses should preserve my vision...

Lasik can already give you 20/10 vision

[PaulModz]

If your sight is 20/40 or better, you can already get enhanced vision as high as 20/10 or 20/15 with Lasik. Some doctors even specialize in vision enhancement for professional athletes. Many golfers and baseball players (most notably Tiger Woods) have had their vision enhanced, with real results.

So why is Lasik ok while Steroids aren't (there's little or no medical evidence supporting the idea that steroids are harmful when used properly).

Here's an article that ran on Slate during the congressional hearings on steroid use - http://www.slate.com/id/2116858/ Buckle up, sports fans, there are all kinds of elective surgeries in the works to improve human performance. I guess as long as you don't inject yourself, anything goes!

Re:There are grades too.

[pnuema]

As the husband of a former optician whose eyes are so bad she is legally blind, I'd advise you to hold off. Complication rate on LASIK is low, but still significant enough that there is no way she would touch it. New technologies such as implanted contact lenses look like they are performing better and hold less risk. With 20/80 vision, you are essentially inconvenienced - you can still see fine out of one eye, and 20/80 is not really that bad (to put it in perspective, my wife is closer to 20/800).

Think of it this way - would you risk a 1% chance of blindness to avoid having to wear glasses for 10 years (until the new tech develops)? No thanks, I'll pass.