New technique to correct vision

NST: It only took a moment for third-year student Ng Si Min to sign up when her university sought volunteers to test a new technique for correcting poor eyesight.
That was last year, and the optometry student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has not used her spectacles since. Short-sighted since she was nine years old, Ng said it took four days before her vision became clear.
"I can go swimming and do all that I want without having to worry. I don’t know where my spectacles are now," said the 22-year-old.
UKM is testing orthokeratology in a trial with 35 subjects using special rigid contact lenses to forcibly flatten the cornea, like orthodontic braces that straighten teeth.
The effects last for about a day, as the cornea is an elastic tissue which springs back to its original shape.
Flattening the cornea corrects short-sightedness, or myopia, by compensating for eyeballs that have grown too long. Having such egg-shaped eyeballs means images and light fall in front of the retina, instead of directly on it.
The trial was conducted by the Department of Optometry in UKM and Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, said UKM consultant optometrist Dr Bariah Mohd Ali.
She and two colleagues, Dr Zainora Mohammed and Dr Haliza Abdul Mutalib, are monitoring the subjects, who include five children between the ages of seven and 15, all from Kuantan.
Dr Bariah said these contact lenses were not suitable for everyone, as their use depended on the extent of the myopia, cornea curvature and thickness, among others.
They also requires a high degree of care, making them unsuitable for most young children. Wearers risk complications such as corneal ulcers, conjunctivitis and dry eyes if they fail to take care.
"It’s crucial those who use the lenses strictly comply to the instructions given," said Prof Dr Muhaya Mohamad, chairman of the Ophthalmological Society of the Malaysian Medical Association.
"Optometrists must make sure that they only provide these lenses to people who have good compliance."
Orthokeratology is also available from a number of private optometrists in Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. A set of lenses cost about RM3,000.