Corneal Reshaping Technology
CRT / Ortho-K
Corneal Refractive Therapy operates on the basic principle that a myopic (nearsighted) eye is too powerful, and light therefore comes to a focus in front of the retina.
Most of the eye's refractive power comes from the cornea, so CRT is designed to decrease the power of the cornea by flattening it overnight. This is accomplished by sleeping in a rigid gas permeable (hard) contact lens that has a flat central area that will temporarily flatten the central cornea.
After the CRT lens is removed in the morning, the cornea holds its flatter, less powerful shape, throughout the day. This gives the patient clear vision during their waking hours without needing contact lenses or glasses. For low-moderate nearsighted prescriptions, the effect will last all day in most cases. For moderate to high nearsighted prescriptions, the effect may not last all day. This is why there are parameters for who is a good CRT patient, and who may not be an ideal candidate.
There are 2 basic categories of CRT patients. The first category is the 8-18 year old patient that is nearsighted with low amounts of astigmatism. This is the group of patients (especially in the 8-12 year old range) that really sparked my interest in CRT. There have been multiple studies that have shown that not only does CRT correct a patients vision in the short-term, but CRT patients generally have a much lower rate of myopia progression than patients that just wear glasses and contact lenses. I wouldn't go so far as to say CRT stops myopia progression in all patients, but CRT does seem to be our best chance at slowing down the nearsighted progression in children that are rapidly changing and needing prescription updates every 3-6 months.
The other category of CRT patients are those who, at any age, need correction for nearsightedness, but don't want to wear contact lenses or glasses during the day, and may not quite be ready to commit to LASIK.
CRT is a time and financial investment, and there is a LOT of information that I can provide to those who are interested. If you have any questions about the fitting process, the cost, your or your child's eligibility,or if even if you would like to read some of the published studies related to CRT, please reply to this email and we'll get you whatever information we can.
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