CHICAGO -- There is a new kind of artificial eye lens that's for the most nearsighted of patients.

Gricella Wozniak is so nearsighted, not even LASIK surgery could help. Then, two weeks ago, she had a new artificial lens put in her left eye by an ophthalmologist at Evanston Hospital, Marian Macsai.

"I've been wearing glasses since I was a little girl," Wozniak said.

After the surgery, she could read signs without glasses for the first time in years.

She recently went back to get her right eye fixed. During the surgery to receive the implant, she was sedated and her eye was numbed. Macsai folded the artificial lens into a special cartridge, which was slid under Wozniak's cornea and on top of her natural lens.

The new device is called an implantable collamer lens, or ICL for short. The lenses are custom-made for each patient's eyesight.

"These are people who can't see their children in the pool. They could not find a bathroom in a hotel at night. They could not get out of their house alone in case of fire without their glasses," Macsai said.

The operation on Wozniak took only about 15 minutes. She wore a protective cover over her eye for one night, and then she was OK

The ICL was approved in December by the Food and Drug Administration. It costs up to $5,000 per eye, and it is not covered by most insurance.

Studies indicate there can be complications in up to 3 percent of patients, but the lens can be removed if necessary.

It is estimated that about one in five people who seek LASIK surgery are like Wizniak -- they're too nearsighted to get the procedure.

For more information about the ICL, go to http://www.staar.com/.