New implantable eye device may make reading glasses obsolete

A new study has revealed that a thin ring inserted into the eye could improve vision up close providing easy remedy for presbyopia and making reading glasses obsolete soon.

One of the devices is the KAMRA inlay, a thin, flexible doughnut-shaped ring that measures 3.8 millimeters in diameter, with a 1.6 millimeter hole in the middle. When dropped into a small pocket in the cornea covering the front of the eye, the device acts like a camera aperture, adjusting the depth of field so that the viewer can see near and far.

The procedure to insert the implant was relatively quick, lasting about 10 minutes, and requires only topical anesthesia.

Complications from corneal inlays in general have included haziness that is treatable with steroids; however, improvements in inlay design have made the effect less common. If necessary, inlays can be removed, making it a reversible treatment, unlike other procedures such as LASIK for presbyopia.

The device has been sold in regions including Asia, Europe and South America, but is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the United States. There are two other types of corneal inlays, Raindrop near Vision Inlay and Presbia Flexivue Microlens, also in development for the U.S. market.