A computer software which treats blindness

January 12, 2010 07:45 pm | Updated 07:45 pm IST - New Delhi

Photoshop, a computer software commonly used for editing images, is coming to the assistance of doctors at AIIMS here, who are using it to treat corneal blindness.

“With the help of Adobe Photoshop, we first conduct a virtual surgery. This helps us to figure out whether a surgery will benefit a patient or not. On the basis of results, we decide whether or not to undertake the surgery,” said Dr. Tushar Agarwal, assistant professor with the department of Opthalmology, AIIMS.

Dr. Agarwal, who has devised this unique procedure, said after surgery, the method has been beneficial as it gives the best and correct visual sharpness that could not be achieved in the orthodox method.

Already successful on five patients, he said, “This technology is of great use when we try to treat patients with limited infection of the cornea leading almost to blindness.”

The method has earned Dr. Agarwal the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s ‘Best of Show’ award and an Indian National Science Academy Young Scientist medal among others.

The new technique, known as ‘computer simulation assisted rotational autokeratoplasty’, rotates the diseased portion of the cornea from the visual axis and replaces it with the clear part of the cornea accurately, thus salvaging vision for the needy.

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