500 Years of Spectacles & Contact Lenses

For more than 500 years we have been developing methods of improving vision.

The first spectacles were reported in the 15th century.

Interestingly Leonardo da Vinci designed contact lenses in 1508, and the first glass contact lenses date back to 1887.  The modern gas permeable lenses were introduced in 1987.

But all these solutions failed to address the key issue of why the eye was not giving the best-unaided vision.

Vision Correction Through Surgery

The earliest eye surgery to treat cataracts dates back to the 1850s.  Ongoing developments in surgically treating the eye developed slowly until the 1940s when mechanical reshaping the front surface of the eye was introduced.

The Excimer Laser

The big breakthrough came with the arrival on the scene of the Excimer Laser in 1985.

Over the last 20+ years the techniques have been refined and Lasik and Lasek now offer procedures that are not only exceptionally safe and virtually pain free but also give almost perfect vision within 24 hours of treatment.

Lasik & Computer Control

Computer control is used to take a precision optical measurement of the eye performance before surgery - a technique called wavefront abberrometry.

The Excimer laser used for the surgical procedure (Lasik)  is driven by these measurements and the reshaped lens surface (cornea) typically gives better quality vision than can be achieved with glasses or contact lenses.

Experience & Track Record

The surgeons at Aston University Day Hospital are amongst the most experienced in the country.  With many thousands of procedures in their portfolio you can confidently place yourself in their hands and expect to enjoy better vision without glasses or contact lenses.