LIRIC – a new paradigm in refractive error correction

IRIS (Intratissue Refractive Index Shaping) and LIRIC (Laser-Induced Refractive Index Change), the clinical process developed from it, was invented at the University of Rochester by a team of scientists under the leadership of Drs. Krystel Huxlin, Wayne Knox and Jonathan Ellis. The process uses a focused, low-energy, high-repetition rate femtosecond laser to non-surgically alter the refractive index of transparent materials and tissues (cornea, lens, contact lenses and artificial intro-ocular lenses), thus changing their light-bending properties. In living tissues, the process does not induce a wound healing or scarring response. In all applications, it can be customized to correct the exact wavefront error in the eye. The technology has been licensed to Clerio Vision LLC, which is developing it commercially, in addition to funding further basic research in the laboratories of the inventors and their collaborators.

Current projects in the lab include:

• Exploring the laser parameter space for producing LIRIC in cornea and hydrogels
• Understanding mechanisms of refractive index change in cornea
• Understanding impact of LIRIC on corneal biology (including epithelium, endothelium, fibroblasts, wound healing), extracellular composition and organization
• Assessing the durability of LIRIC in the living cornea
• Assessing the efficacy of LIRIC in the cornea and lens over time
• Exploring reversibility of LIRIC in living tissues
• Exploring multiple administrations of LIRIC in cornea
• Consult on design of first-in-human clinical trials of LIRIC

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