If having blue eyes is a dream of yours, you can be part of a test group of Stroma Medical, a U.S. based company based that transforms brown eyes to a totally natural blue.
Testing began in Costa Rica and Mexico simultaneously about two years ago, and to date, 14 in Costa Rica have undergone the experimental treatment in exchange for a transplant lens to correct their vision.
With this, the company completed the preliminary study in humans that sought to verify the safety and efficacy of the procedure.
The next stage will include 100 patients in two or three countries studied.
“Our clinical trials in Costa Rica have gone very well. We have treated 14 people, the results have been excellent and we had no complications of any kind. Of course, we have proceeded conservatively because safety is our main concern,” said Dr. Gregg Homer founded the medical company, which bills itself as a “leader in aesthetic ophthalmic innovation.”
Homer’s treatment works because of a little-known quirk: all humans have blue eyes. Eye colors differ depending on the amount of pigment in the iris — blue eyes lack pigment, green eyes have some pigment, and brown eyes have a lot of pigment. With his laser technology, Dr. Homer discovered he could disrupt the layer of melanin pigment in brown eyes, resulting in a gradual dissolution of the dark color. Eventually, during a two-to-four week window after the initial 30-second procedure, brown eyes become blue.
The operation is without danger. Unlike Lasik eye surgery, which uses a high-power laser, the Stroma procedure utilizes a low-energy laser. Lasik procedures — which are fraught with potential risks to sight — focus intense laser energy on the surface of the eye.
Though Stroma’s technology is the first of its kind, methods to modify eye color have been around for decades. Eye color implants, less common than colored contacts but more popular than color-corrective laser surgery, have recently increased in popularity, due in part to R&B singer-songwriter Tameka Harris’s endorsement of the product. The procedure (which can only be completed once would-be clients pass required eye exams) involves cutting into the cornea and inserting an artificial iris in the color of the client’s choosing.
According to the Stroma Medical website, they are currently considering the following territories for our remaining clinical trials: Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines, London, Paris, Toronto, and Argentina.
Those registering as a trial candidate, will be notified in about 30 days prior to the commencement of patient recruitment for each study.
Strōma Medical does not charge (or accept payment from) any trial candidate. Nominal compensation may be paid to trial participants in some territories to cover lost work and travel expenses. Compensation is heavily regulated in many territories and also raises moral questions about the voluntariness of the patient’s participation, so compensation will vary from site to site.
For more information contact: http://www.stromamedical.com/page/contact-us
Sources:
