Imagine correcting your vision in under a minute – no lasers, blades or pain. Scientists have developed a novel, non-invasive technique that reshapes the cornea using only a mild electric current and a temporary pH shift. In early trials, it reversed myopia without the need for traditional surgery – and could be the most radical advancement in eyesight correction technology since LASIK.

This emerging method that can remodel the cornea through mild electric potential, known as electromechanical reshaping (EMR), was detailed by researchers from Occidental College and the University of California, Irvine, during the American Chemical Society’s Fall 2025 meeting this week.

The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped surface at the front of the eye, acting as a transparent window that helps focus incoming light. It’s made of tightly packed collagen fibers and is designed to be strong and smooth. When light enters the eye, the cornea is the first lens it hits – and it’s here that most of light-bending (refraction) occurs in order to focus the light onto the retina at the rear of the eye. However, if the cornea has an irregular curve, it results in conditions such as nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (hyperopia).

For those who want do do away with corrective lenses, the main option is LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) surgery, which uses a laser to reshape the cornea by removing microscopic amounts of tissue beneath a thin flap, allowing light to focus properly on the retina. While, for those suitable for treatment, LASIK has a high success rate – around 95% of patients go on to ditch their glasses only a few days after recovering from surgery – it’s expensive and invasive, and cutting into the cornea alters the structural integrity of the eye.

“LASIK is just a fancy way of doing traditional surgery,” said lead researcher and presenter Michael Hill, a professor in chemistry at Occidental College. “It’s still carving tissue – it’s just carving with a laser.”