Glasses? Contacts? LASIK? Toss them all into the sea! Well, that last one might be hard, but the general idea is that we may have an alternative to these optical options, if recent research into nanoparticle eye drops turns out to be a winner.
A new paper from Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advances Materials in Tel Aviv, Israel and published by the European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons, outlines the research, which involves a combination of “nanodrops” and a quick medical procedure.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2015/04/the-real-science-behind-the-crazy-night-vision-eyedrops/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_original/vviz9e7x28rsjgrfrrzc.jpg” title=”The Real Science Behind The Crazy Night Vision Eyedrops” excerpt=”When I called up the Columbia scientist whose mouse experiments inspired two biohackers to squirt chemicals in their eyes to induce ‘night vision’, I expected, at best, cautious optimism.”]
DigitalTrends’ Luke Dormehl spoke with one of the authors of the paper, professor Zeev Zalevsky, who described how the nanoparticles works:
“These nanoparticles go into the shallow ablated patterns generated on the surface of the cornea,” he explained. “They change the refraction index inside of those patterns. This corrects the visual problem the user has. The process of correction can be done at home without the need of a medical doctor.”
The nanoparticle route isn’t perfect, however, with the effect wearing off after a few months if the patient doesn’t redo the treatment.
Still, that sounds a lot more appealing than popping contacts in and out and continued research may be able to increase the effect’s duration.
[ESCRS, via DigitalTrends]