About This Webinar
Myopia is booming worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that half of the world’s population will be myopic by 2050. But a new treatment has been conceived that permanently and non-invasively corrects the patient’s vision. Currently, the only option for permanent vision enhancement is refractive surgery, such as laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis such as LASIK or photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). This surgery can compromise the eye’s long-term stability and is subject to post-surgical complications and about 10%-15% of patients who seek refractive surgery are refused as ineligible.
Vukelic highlights a new approach that utilizes a femtosecond oscillator that induces a photochemical effect in the cornea, producing crosslinks, covalent chemical bonds, that strengthen the tissue. Specifically, the lasing regime is constricted such that a tissue-disrupting optical breakdown is avoided while the low-density plasma generated within the focal volume and its vicinity is energetic enough to ionize and dissociate interstitial water. This procedure is targeted and spatially resolved, and as such, it can be tailored to adjust patients’ corneal curvature and thus improve vision.
*** This presentation premiered during the
2024 BioPhotonics Conference. For more information on Photonics Media conferences and summits, visit
events.photonics.com
About the presenter
Sinisa Vukelic, Ph.D., is part of the faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. Vukelic's research interests include the investigation of underlying phenomena behind the interaction of ultrafast lasers with biological media. In addition to basic science, Vukelic's research projects include translational research in which fundamental concepts are applied onto practical clinical problems such as non-invasive permanent correction of refractive errors, treatment of corneal ectasias, as well as development of novel treatment for early osteoarthritis. Vukelic obtained a doctorate from Columbia University in 2009.