HN Distilled

Essential insights from Hacker News discussions

Electromechanical reshaping, an alternative to laser eye surgery

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

Here's a summary of the themes from the Hacker News discussion:

Potential Applications and Scope of the New Technology

The discussion begins with enthusiasm for the new technology, with users expressing hope that it will be applicable beyond eyesight and that its reversibility makes it promising.

  • "This is amazing! Let's hope it pans out for eyesight, and I'm sure there must be a whole lot of other things this could apply to." - jacknews
  • "This seems ideal. The only question I had was whether it's permanent on living cells, 'Potentially reversible' at the end makes me think it is." - chronogram

Comparison to Existing Vision Correction Methods (Ortho-K and LASIK)

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around comparing the new technology to existing methods, particularly Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) and LASIK. Users share their experiences and knowledge of these procedures, highlighting their benefits and drawbacks.

  • Ortho-K:

    • "There’s a current product that does simple mechanical remodeling: sleep with this chunky contact lens in and the next morning you see better." - brians
    • "It's called Ortho-K" - zikduruqe
    • "Night lenses! Yeah they're pretty crazy (I'm in the process of getting them and a friend of mine has them). 10 hours is low though - they're supposed to easily make your vision last all day, even two. My friend says he only really stops seeing well after 3 nights of not wearing them." - platelminto
    • "It depends on your prescription. I tried them and they were awful for me. Didn't last the full day, caused terrible halos while driving..." - antisthenes
    • "So, electrochemical ortho-K but better?" - aatd86

  • LASIK:

    • "Yeah, but knowing the analagous name for lasik is 'slicing off your cornea then gluing it back on', this one is immediately more appealing." - boppo1
    • "Is it even glued on I thought it just put there and sticks through adhesive forces" - singularity2001
    • "it's placed into a flap that is cut into corneal tissue. the flap size itself keeps the lens in place; the elasticity of the underlying tissue itself, until it heals into an encapsulation." - serf
    • "The place I had it done cuts the flap in one room, then has you walk (suddenly legally blind) to another room for the actual correction. A very interesting experience that cannot be adequately captured on video." - benregenspan
    • "That would be a huge red flag for me. How is that even sterile or safe? What happens if you fall and need hospital care on the walk from one room to the other? Are you now blind until the hospital care is complete?" - throwway120385
    • "i mean the competition is lasik, which sounds like beaming a laser into you eye, doesn't really sound safe either" - qwertytyyuu
    • "The long name (Laser assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) can sound a bit scary too... :p" - tecleandor
    • "LASIK can absolutely correct astigmatism. Source: Had LASIK in 1999. Severe myopia and astigmatism, corrected to 20/10 and 20/15 (right and left eye)." - LooseMarmoset
    • "My night vision was definitely worse after the surgery, but improved over a year or two." - LooseMarmoset
    • "Just for context and as this article only mentions LASIK and not other options such as (Trans-)PRK and SMILE, the majority of negative side effects one experiences post LASIK are not linked to the ablation/"carving" of the cornea, as they call it, but rather is a result of the need to sever the subbasal nerve plexus in the anterior stroma..." - Topfi
    • "The eyewear industry might not like this." - j45

Addressing Nighttime Glare and Halos

A significant concern raised by users is the issue of nighttime glare and halos, particularly in relation to LASIK surgery. They inquire if the new technology or other methods can address this problem, which other treatments have sometimes exacerbated.

  • "Would anyone know could they use this to fix the glares and halos from lights at night in person's vision, I understand cannot be fixed with any technology now? Including risk of making worse by laser surgery." - InMice
  • "My dad had LASIK and that gave him 20/20 vision but also what he described as horrible halos around all lights at night, to a point where he really found it difficult to drive in the dark." - gambiting
  • "When I looked into it last year, it´s still an under-acknowledged issue. The impression I formed was that it was a bit of a crapshoot - along with some bad practitioners, there didn´t seem to be much information on when and why it would or would not occur." - neffy
  • "Halos and glare at night are usually a sign that something in the eye is scattering light. Sometimes it’s just uncorrected prescription, but it can also come from things like dry eye, early cataracts, or the way the cornea focuses light." - nelox
  • "Laser surgery can sometimes make halos worse, especially if someone already has them, so you’re right to be cautious." - nelox

Astigmatism Correction

The ability of various vision correction methods to treat astigmatism is a point of discussion, with some users misinformed about LASIK's capabilities.

  • "I think the word you're looking for is 'astigmatism'." - selfsimilar
  • "Sounds like astigmatism, which I also have. I don't know if this procedure, unlike LASIK, can correct astigmatism." - qskousen
  • "Contacts for astigmatism have a tiny weight on one side which keeps them oriented (enough) that they can cancel out mild to moderate asphericity. I'm surprised LASIK still can't correct for astigmatism though..." - taneq
  • "To my knowledge LASIK can correct astigmatism. A quick Google search confirms this pretty clearly." - cl3misch
  • "LASIK can absolutely correct astigmatism." - LooseMarmoset

The Healing Process and Alternative Procedures (PRK, SMILE)

Users delve into the specifics of corneal surgery, discussing the healing processes involved in LASIK, PRK, and SMILE, and the associated side effects like dry eye. The potential of the new method to offer fewer side effects is a key interest.

  • "With PRK, the epithelium in the area is removed and has to regrow, a process that takes a few days... This regrowth can be both rather painful and also rob you of the 'instantly perfect sight'-effect many people desire from their laser eye surgery." - Topfi
  • "SMILE, on paper, might be able to offer the best of both worlds, but is severely more expensive than either and there is not a sufficient degree of long term research to make a definitive statement that the side effect amount and severity is comparable to PRK..." - Topfi
  • "My bet is on SMILE evolving but we'll see where it goes" - raverbashing
  • "As the epithelium does regrow naturally however, [PRK] is less likely (both in theory and in medical literature) to lead to dry eye. This is exactly opposite to how I understood and experienced healing after Trans-PRK. My eyes are still very dry 6 months post surgery." - cl3misch
  • "Sorry to hear that it did not go well for you. Yes, I did go through with it, was in April of 2024 (Trans-PRK via a Schwind AMARIS) and I did have a rather painful recovery, especially on day two and three after the surgery." - Topfi
  • "I'm not candidate for LASIK or any other eye surgery due to the thinness of my corneas :( I would love to see this new approach. Maybe I'll be a candidate for it." - xtracto
  • "Edit: Another thing I missed and which was not covered in the article, is the potential that this new method could be applicable to people who, because of a variety of factors, are not eligible for any ablative eye surgery." - Topfi

Age-Related Vision Changes (Presbyopia and Cataracts)

The discussion broadens to include age-related vision issues like presbyopia (farsightedness) and cataracts, and how different procedures, including lens exchange, might or might not address these.

  • "As we age, most of us will have to deal with farsightedness. What's the best treatment option nowadays, besides prescription glasses?" - amelius
  • "As both Presbyopia and Cataracts come for us all, it is generally not advisable to do laser eye surgery once the former has set in." - Topfi
  • "Same with selling some Myopic+Presbyopic person on laser eye surgery of any kind. At best you get a few short years out of the expense before it catches up with you or you tolerate mono, at worst you spend thousands to suddenly need reading glasses you didn't require before." - Topfi
  • "When I heard that LASIK is not a solution to farsightedness, I specifically asked my eye doctor if there are other solutions for this. The only one mentioned was monovision (getting two different prescriptions for different eyes)." - haberman
  • "I always wondered why we don't reshape eyes somewhat like we do for teeth. I guess this is coming. I can't wait to have more news about this as my severe myopia can't be treated by (most?) laser methods." - msk-lywenn

Funding and Industry Impact

Concerns about the scientific team's funding and the potential impact of this new technology on the eyewear industry are also mentioned.

  • "Though the next steps are planned, uncertainties in the team's scientific funding have put them on hold" - PaywallBuster
  • "take my money!" - PaywallBuster
  • "The eyewear industry might not like this." - j45

Historical Context and "Molecular Surgery"

Some users recall earlier mentions of similar research under different names, providing historical context.

  • "I heard about this research six years ago and at the time it was called "molecular surgery"." - Tade0
  • "Finally some news regarding this research. I first heard about it back in 2019 when there was an ACS panel featuring it:" - Tade0
  • "https://phys.org/news/2019-04-molecular-surgery-reshapes-tissue-electricity.html" - actionfromafar