LASIK Alternative Promises to Improve Vision Without Scalpel or Lasers

Recognizing a familiar face across the street. Reading a distant sign without squinting. For people with myopia , a clear view often depends on glasses, contact lenses, or laser surgery.

But what if the eye's light-focusing surface could be reshaped without cutting away any tissue?

Researchers are exploring that possibility using a platinum mold resembling a contact lens and a small electrical potential. In early experiments, isolated rabbit eyeballs adopted the mold's shape in about a minute.

All 10 eyes treated with a correction intended for nearsightedness reached the targeted focusing power.

The idea is to make the cornea temporarily moldable, then allow it to retain its new shape.

Chemist Michael Hill of Occidental College and surgeon Brian Wong of the University of California, Irvine, conducted the research, which Hill presented at the American Chemical Society's fall meeting in August 2025 .