Australian ophthalmology network PersonalEYES has become the nation’s first to offer a breakthrough method of measuring and combining data to generate a multi-dimensional model of the eye for more precise laser eye treatment.
The firm, with 10 surgery clinics in NSW and ACT, recently installed the Innoveyes system by Alcon. It’s a diagnostic device that scans the eye in a different way than traditional LASIK diagnostic equipment, using ray tracing (artificial intelligence) for multi-dimension scanning.
The technology is said to offer truly individualised laser eye treatment, increasing the likelihood of ‘super vision’, or better than 20/20.
PersonalEYES director Associate Professor Chandra Bala, a refractive, cataract and corneal surgeon, said the technology would underpin the next generation of laser eye surgery, providing significant benefits to patients with diverse diagnoses.
“There will be improvement for patients in diagnostics, treatment and results. For the first time, a mathematical model of the eye’s optics with four refractive elements/interfaces is created rather than the current single refractive element model, to create a more accurate treatment to improve the focus of the eye,” Bala said.
“With Innoveyes, we can now measure the wavefront of the entire eye, corneal topography, corneal back surface, and biometric data including corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, and ocular length.”
From these measurements, the front and back surfaces of the cornea are mapped and the remaining element, the front surface of the lens, is calculated iteratively using ray tracing.
The resultant “eyevatar” then becomes the theoretical model of the individual eye, which is then used to devise the recommended treatment. This is the most realistic eye model available to date, PersonalEYES stated.
While both LASIK and SMILE can achieve the 20/20 standard of vision, the ophthalmic group said the goal of modern laser treatment is to go beyond 20/20 capability.
To achieve this, an individual’s eye must be capable of very fine resolution and the treatment has to be nuanced and customised for that eye. This is reportedly possible with Innoveyes by measuring multiple elements of the eye, while factoring in the misalignment of the natural elements. The treatments are applied to a precision of 1/100,000 of a millimetre.
“Our experience with this technology shows that 25% of patients see one line better than they ever saw with glasses, with 90% of patients able to achieve 20/15 or better*,” Bala added.
*Analysis of visual outcomes of 80 eyes conducted as an internal audit in 2022.
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