Forgive the space puns of the articles that we've linked to, but we've covered this in detail a few times. It really is a limiting factor for long space missions - and NASA (who reviewed the first article) are taking this very seriously indeed.
So what Google has here (and the summaries aren't great on Gizmodo or Forbes) is an IOL - an intraocular lens - like you get when you have cataract surgery. Unlike your natural, old lens, it can't change shape to "accommodate" -- as it's a piece of silicone or PMMA. Very new lens designs can approximate this, but they rely on the bits of the anatomy left over to do this. A powered might help; RF power is one way of achieving that.
Just like regular ol' IOLs, Google's patent one, if it ever reached the market, would have to be "injected" into the eye.
Slashdot Mirror
https://theophthalmologist.com...
https://theophthalmologist.com...
https://theophthalmologist.com...
So what Google has here (and the summaries aren't great on Gizmodo or Forbes) is an IOL - an intraocular lens - like you get when you have cataract surgery. Unlike your natural, old lens, it can't change shape to "accommodate" -- as it's a piece of silicone or PMMA. Very new lens designs can approximate this, but they rely on the bits of the anatomy left over to do this. A powered might help; RF power is one way of achieving that. Just like regular ol' IOLs, Google's patent one, if it ever reached the market, would have to be "injected" into the eye.