The $2.8 billion space tech behind LASIK

Last year, I saw my brother walk into a room with glasses thicker than most comics and walk out with perfect vision. What sorcery took place within 20 minutes that helped my brother and 800,000 people last year magically achieve perfect eyesight.

Current LASIK technology relies on the scanning Shack-Hartmann system. This was a sensor technology developed for the James Webb telescope — the most powerful telescope that NASA spent 30 years and $10 billion to build. Shack-Hartmann system was designed to measure imperfections in the mirrors within the telescope so engineers could correct it. The same way, LASIK aims to measure and correct imperfections within the cornea helping individuals regain perfect vision.

Like a kid with many shiny toys, NASA never actually used the scanning technology in the James Webb telescope. Subsequently, the company behind the scanning technology got acquired for $2.8 billion dollars by a medical device giant, Abbott Laboratories.

NASA has routinely supported the development of tech that has revolutionized our lives — GPS, satellites, and microchips all were developed during the Apollo Mission. Space tech has and will continue to revolutionize our lives on Earth. With a lot of recent NASA and SpaceX engineers founding their own space startups, I believe the trend will only go up. Check out Varda Space (no association, just a long term admirer) who are trying to build space factories — wild, I know.