Astigmatism - Ophthalmologist - Nearsightedness

Vision Timeline

A Definite Disadvantage Prehistory to 800 A.D. - Uncorrectable nearsightedness is a definite handicap for hunters, warriors and everyone else who needs to see well to live well.
	On the Other Side of the Earth 800s - The Chinese begin using magnifying glasses placed in frames.
		Up Close circa 1000 - Crude magnifying glasses make their European debut. The reading stones, as they are called, are simply glass spheres placed atop reading material for magnification.
	Who's On First? 1200s - English monk Roger Bacon is among those claiming to have discovered spectacles. No matter who gets the credit, the new eyeglasses are good only for reading.
The Chinese Again 1275 - Marco Polo tells the West about Chinese who read aided by framed lenses held in place by weighed cords hanging over their ears.
	Say Cheese... 1352 - The first portrait, a painting by Tommaso da Modena, shows a man wearing spectacles.
		Supply & Demand circa 1500 - The invention of the printing press spurs wide demand for reading glasses. Frames are copper, lead, or wood and weigh heavily on the nose. There are no prescriptions. Users select their eyeglasses by trial and error.
	I Can See Clearly Now... circa 1500 - The first spectacles are created for people suffering from nearsightedness (myopia). Pope Leo X owned one of the first pairs of glasses.
The Union Label 1629 - There are enough craftsmen making spectacles in England to form a guild, the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.
	Lookin' Cool 1700s - Eyeglasses become a status symbol. The lower classes are prohibited from wearing them in public, but the landed gentry often wear spectacles whether they need to or not because of the refined, scholarly look.
		Custom Made 1760 - At Benjamin Franklin's suggestion, the first bifocals are made. For him.
Ouch 1800s - Eyeglasses that don't attach to the ears make their appearance. They are held in place by a spring mechanism that clips to the bridge of the nose. The innovation is called Pince-nez, French for, what else, "pinch nose."
	A New Approach Mid-1800s - Doctors begin to explore surgical solutions to vision problems
		A New Lens Late 1800s - The first spherical lenses come into common use to correct astigmatism.
	You Want Me to Stick These Where? 1950s - The first contact lenses are sold. They are designed to float on a cushion of tears on the top of the cornea and beneath the eyelids.
Meanwhile on Other Fronts... 1958 - Theoretical work is being done on the laser, an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." The days of vinyl records and surgical scalpels are numbered.
	Research Breakthrough 1960 - The first laser is built, paving the way for countless innovations in industry, communications, research and medicine, including eye surgery.
		Surgical Breakthrough 1970s - Radial Keratomy (RK) is used to surgically correct misshapen eyes and correct nearsightedness.
	Assembly Line Surgery Arrives 1970s - Russian Professor Fyoderov attempted to bring the principal of mass productions to Radial Keratotomy surgery. It didn't catch on.
Laser Surgery Arrives 1987 - Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) is first performed in Berlin, Germany
	Finally 1990-1996 - The U.S. FDA approves the use of excimer (cold) lasers in Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK).
		LASIK Approved 1998 - The FDA approves LASIK surgery
	Milestone 1999 - The millionth LASIK surgery is performed.
Wavefront LASIK Widely Available 2003 – Wavefront LASIK becomes widely available and the era of computer precision dawns for not just for the surgical correction, but diagnostics as well.
	Custom LASIK arrives 2004 –Custom LASIK is approved by the FDA making it possible to improve vision not merely to see more, but to see more even clearer and sharper than with conventional LASIK.
		All-Laser LASIK arrives 2004 – IntraLase becomes widely available, making an all-laser LASIK procedure reality, greatly diminishing dangers of creating the LASIK flap.
	Today Present Day - You have more opportunity to correct your nearsightedness and astigmatism than ever before in recorded history. PRK and LASIK surgery have arrived.
Even laser surgery can't help some creatures. That's because not all animals see the way we do. Definite images are seen only by veterbrates, crabs, spiders, insects, a few worms, mollusks, squids and octopus. Many invertebrates don't see images at all. They simply detect the differences between light and dark, and note the direction the light comes from. On the other hand, lobsters have sensors in their tails that sense light even when their eyes have been removed.