Nearly 3,000,000 people in the U.S. have glaucoma. Again, people over the age of 60 are at greater risk for developing glaucoma. Many cases of a more severe form of AMD are not treatable because they cannot be adequately seen. Presbyopia occurs because the cells in the crystalline lens of the eye continue to grow and multiply while the lens material becomes harder and more difficult to deform. Once over the age of 50, the cells become so densely packed that the lens cannot change shape when trying to focus on near objects.
Treatment ranges from corrective lenses to surgery.
Laser refractive surgery is a photoablative surgery currently performed with excimer lasers to change the shape of the cornea. Laser refractive surgery is essentially a cosmetic procedure which is very popular with baby boomers leading to a proliferation of private clinics offering the service. Capabilities Enhanced techniques for early diagnosis and cost-effective treatment are required to improve patients' quality of life and to curtail healthcare costs. Advances in biomedical microscopy in living tissue are being applied to ophthalmology and will lead to improvements in diagnosis and treatment. The device has been commercialized and is being used to image cells in the fundus at the rear of the eye, detecting subtle changes between healthy and diseased eyes.