Bifocal lenses implanted for cataracts.

Bifocal lenses implanted for cataracts

Physicians have placed artificial lenses into the eyes of cataract patients for more than a decade to clarify distant vision, but eyeglasses or contact lenses still have been needed to help correct close vision. That may no longer be necessary if a new bifocal lens implanted by surgeons in Columbus, Ohio, last month proves successful. Implantation of the plastic lenses into two patients at Ohio State University marked the beginning of clinical trials just approved by the FDA. Unlike the currently available lens, used in 1 million patients each year, the new lens should correct both near and distant vision if placed correctly, say the physicians who performed the surgery. Although this is the first time the lens has been used in the United States, clinical trials in England have been under way for more than a year, reportedly with positive results.