20/20 vision may be the gold standard today, but the introduction of a new contact lens could fundamentally change what we deem to be “perfect” eyesight. The Ocumetics Bionic Lens takes correcting vision to a whole new level, promising bionic eyesight that’s up to three times better than 20/20. It may be difficult to picture now, but according to Dr. Garth Webb, the Canadian optometrist behind the bionic lens, this new device is the future of vision.
Ideally, the Ocumetics Bionic Lens would be implanted in patients after their eyes have fully developed around the age of 25, similar to the timeframe currently associated with Lasik eye surgery. But unlike Lasik, which only corrects to 20/20, Webb believes that his new technology would open up an entirely new realm of possibility in terms of eyesight. In fact, these special lenses would replace the natural lenses in the eye, giving the wearer super-charged vision.
“This is vision enhancement that the world has never seen before,” Webb told CBC News. “If you can just barely see the clock at 10 feet, when you get the Bionic Lens you can see the clock at 30 feet away.”
While it may seem that such a revolutionary procedure would be a pain to complete, Webb claims that the entire process would take just eight minutes. A custom made lens would be placed into the patient’s eye, where it would unravel in a mere 10 seconds, instantaneously not only correcting, but vastly improving his or her vision.
The lens, which is currently undergoing clinical trials, has met with great excitement from much of the optometry field. Dr. Vincent DeLuise, an ophthalmologist with joint teaching positions at both Yale University and at Weill Cornell Medical College, told the CBC, “I think this device is going to bring us closer to the holy grail of excellent vision at all ranges — distant, intermediate and near.”
So when can you get beyond perfect vision? Depending on your country’s timeline, Webb estimates that the lens will be ready for public release sometime within the next two years. “Perfect eyesight should be a human right,” Webb said. And with the Ocumetics Bionic Lens, the very definition of perfection is being reinvented.
