How Your Eyes Work

At NewVision Clinics, we understand that the idea of corrective laser eye surgery may be a little daunting. That’s why we put all the information you need to make an informed decision at your fingertips.

If you want to better understand how your eyes work, and how the vision problems you have may be treated with laser eye surgery, then you’re in the right place.

How eyes work

The inner workings of the human eye are as fascinating as they are complex. In a number of ways, they work much like a digital camera:

  1. Light rays enter the eye and are bent (refracted) by the cornea. This is the clear front surface of the eye which acts like a camera’s lens.
  2. Tiny muscles inside the iris (the coloured part of the eye) act as an adjustable aperture, controlling the amount of light that can enter the eye by opening and closing the aperture it in its centre (the pupil)
  3. The light rays then pass through the eye’s crystalline lens, which bends the rays and focuses them on the light sensitive back of the eye (retina) which is a layer of tissue that acts like the film of a camera.
  4. The retina contains millions of photoreceptors that convert optical images into electronic signals. There are two types of photoreceptor: rods which allow us to see in low light and cones which allow us to see colour and work best in brighter light.
  5. The optic nerve transmits these electronic signals to the visual cortex – the part of the brain that controls our sense of sight.
  6. The brain interprets these signals as the images we see.

How eyes work with vision problems

With perfect vision, light enters the eye and focuses on the retina.

Vision problems (refractive errors) are caused when the curvature of the cornea is either too steep, flat or uneven to focus the light rays onto the retina and they are instead focused in front of or behind the retina or at multiple points.

Laser eye surgery works by changing the shape of the cornea by flattening it, steepening it and/or making it round so that the light rays can, once again, focus directly onto the retina.

With laser eye surgery the results are immediate, with independence of spectacles or contact lenses in as little as 15 minutes.

Eye conditions treatable by laser eye surgery include:

Astigmatism (uneven curvature of cornea)

Hyperopia (long sight)

Myopia (short sight)

Call us now and find out more on how to regain your visual freedom or book online for your assessment. If you are a suitable candidate for laser eye surgery, you could be free from glasses or contact lenses within weeks.