Patent ID: 7628809

Claim:
A method for treating presbyopia comprising: forming a plurality of elongated pockets, each having a lengthwise dimension, in the sclera of an eye in the region of the ciliary body, said lengthwise dimension being oriented generally transversely to a meridian of said eye, said pockets having an anterior margin and a posterior margin, said anterior margin being located a distance of from about 0.5 millimeters to about 3.5 millimeters posterior to the limbus of said eye; positioning in each of said pockets a scleral prosthesis adapted for contact with the sclera of the eye, each of said scleral prostheses comprising a curved, elongated member having at least two layers having different melting characteristics and adapted to adjustably expand said contacted sclera to adjustably increase the effective working distance of the ciliary muscle of the eye, at least one of said layers being a shrinking layer and at least one of said layers being a bending layer when sufficient energy is applied to said shrinking layer to cause it to shrink; and applying energy to said prostheses in an amount sufficient to cause said shrinking layer to shrink, and to cause the scleral prostheses to bend and cause the sclera to expand.