New technology that works with existing LASIK technology to provide customized eye correction recently debuted at MCG Health System.

The CustomCornea system uses wavefront technology to capture the wavefront error of the eye’s optical system and create a customized map of the eye that refractive surgeons use as a “blueprint” when reshaping the cornea during LASIK. “The result is the most advanced vision correction surgery available today,” said Dr. David Bogorad, Director of the MCG Refractive Surgery Service.

In the past, LASIK could only correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. However, these distortions, known as lower order aberrations, account for only 85 to 95 percent of vision quality. The remaining 5 to 15 percent of distortions, known as higher order aberrations, affect vision clarity and how well a person can see at night or in low light. CustomCornea enables the laser to correct these higher order aberrations along with the lower order aberrations.

“In conjunction with our LADARVision system, which records the position of the eye 4,000 times per second and allows the most precise and accurate placement of the laser beam, CustomCornea takes our Laser Vision Correction Service to the next level,” said Dr. Bogorad. “It has the potential to offer a better quality of vision, which can improve a person’s overall quality of life.”

Over the past decade, LASIK, or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, has become the procedure of choice for many ophthalmologists and patients who desire to reduce their dependence on glasses or contact lenses for distance vision. At its most basic level, LASIK involves the use of an excimer, or “cold” laser, which emits gentle pulses of ultraviolet light that vaporize tissue cells one microscopic layer at a time to change the shape of the cornea and correct the eye’s focusing power.

MCG Health System is composed of three separate organizations -- MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. The physicians of MCG Health System are community physicians and faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group, not employees of MCG Health Inc. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children’s Medical Center, the MCG Sports Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by providing an environment for faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group and community physicians to deliver the highest level of primary and specialty health care. For more information, please visit www.MCGHealth.org.