A private hospital in Chennai, Dr. Agarwals Eye Hospital, has introduced an advanced procedure for myopia, or shoer-sightedness.
The AI-driven ‘Smile Pro’ machine features automated laser calculations and calculates eye power, for correction. ‘Smile’ is an acronym for ‘small incision lenticule extraction’. The technique involves the extraction of tissue from the eye, and the reshaping of the cornea, to allow light to focus on the retina. This minimally invasive procedure can correct myopia in less than 10 seconds, said the hospital’s executive director Ashvin Agarwal.
Actor and Apollo Hospital cardiac surgeon Dheeraj Reddy commissioned the machine on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
Dr. Ashvin said seven of the 168 hospitals of the Agarwal group had ‘Smile’ machines but the Chennai unit was the first to have the latest advanced equipment. In the next three years it is proposed to include the rest of the seven hospitals as well, he said.
Offered to anyone wearing spectacles in the 18 to 40 age group the treatment enables people to return to normal activity without the need to wear spectacles.
Zonal head of clinical services Ramya Sampath explained that recovery is faster with this procedure, and patients are given medication to heal their eyes for fewer weeks than is done with conventional laser treatment. Dry eye syndrome is also lower with the latest procedure, she noted.
