A t 100% Optical, Cooper-Vision launched its Fresh Thinking campaign, which aims to create a conversation with eye care professionals (ECPs) about how the contact lens patient journey could be improved.
ECPs were invited to share their experiences via a video booth, interact with a magnetic voting wall and complete questionnaires on touch screens. Christina Olner, head of professional affairs at CooperVision, tells Optician: ‘We wanted to reach out to the industry and get them to tell us their opinions. We’re in listening mode to what we think the journey might look like.’
CooperVision intends to gather data and improve its understanding of the journey before sharing findings and creating a toolkit for ECPs to use in practice.
Olner says the discussion is about the ‘labour intensive’ part of the journey where patients try contact lenses for the first time and identifying how to improve retention.
‘We have a responsibility to our ECPs and to patients to make things simpler and easier on their day to day. It’s about identifying where the opportunities are to create time to see those patients most in need,’ Olner says.
Olner says discussions with ECPs at the show were positive and started to reveal common pain points of the patient journey.
‘I had a great conversation with an ECP. We went through the journey together and discussed some of the pain points. She turned to me and said: “Actually, now I see it through my patient’s eyes. I can see how challenging some of this could be.” Each patient is its own marriage and it is about doing what you need to do clinically for that patient.’
CooperVision said more than 200 questionnaires were completed, as well as 60 video interviews and over 100 votes were cast. The contact lens company will analyse the data and produce insights for an ECP focus group to discuss the findings.
Retaining moisture
Bausch + Lomb (B+L) showcased its Ultra One Day disposable silicone hydrogel contact lens, and launched its Academy of Vision Care online learning tool and FitBetter app at the London show.
The contact lenses feature kalifilcon A material and Advanced MoistureSeal Technology that delivers a highly wettable surface and breathability for long-lasting wear.
Richard Smith, head of professional services at B+L, tells Optician that the most important part of Ultra One Day is the technology used in the contact lens material.
‘It’s a brand new technology and material that’s been developed in keeping with the latest research, such as the TFOS and Clears report, which takes into account a better understanding of what causes contact lens discomfort. We’ve integrated key learnings from those reports, such as moisturisers and electrolytes into the ComfortFeel technology, which are then released from the lens during wear, resulting in a healthy, stable surface to improve comfort.
‘We’ve tested it in different environments and over the course of a 16-hour day, it starts with the highest water content and retains the highest water content. That’s even with people that have heavy digital device usage and people who have active lifestyles.’
Smith says B+L focused on hydration throughout the day and for longer wear times because contact lenses should meet lifestyle requirements after working hours. ‘It’s about meeting the demands of your lifestyle rather than having to adjust your lifestyle to your contact lens,’ he says.
B+L’s Academy of Vision Care is a web-based learning tool with CPD-accredited materials, including e-learning, videos and in-practice resources.
Another tool for ECPs created by B+L is its FitBetter app, which allows ECPs to easily select the right lens from the company’s portfolio through patient description. It features tools for lens recommendation, visual acuity conversion, fitting guides and product information.
Comfort and clarity
Acuvue Oasys Max 1-Day was launched in October in response to patients leading busier, digital lives. James Haden, sales director at Johnson & Johnson Vision, tells Optician that patients have noticed the difference the contact lens still makes after a long day of wear.
‘We had 90% of people in the first few months saying, “my clarity and my comfort is better” and those are the backbones of why you’d wear a contact lens. We’re also encouraged by ECPs saying they’ve noticed the difference with patients coming back and being certain about this lens,’ he says.
The main benefits of Acuvue Oasys Max 1-Day, Haden says, are around the comfort and clarity it offers. ‘First, you’ve got the tear stable technology with the wetting agent. The research and development team have completely rebuilt the manufacturing process to work out how to get that much more ingrained in the lens. Also, you’ve got the blue light filter. Patients are going to get less glare and less discomfort day and night when looking at devices.’
Johnson & Johnson Vision’s research and development team started with the pain points of the patient journey and identified where they could improve the technology further to help. This started with looking at the lens materials. ‘They broke down the manufacturing process and worked out there was a way that we can impact the wetting agent into the lens in a much more sophisticated way. It locks it in so the PVP agent we use is much more stable for longer. It stops it drying out, which has always been one of the challenges.’
Johnson & Johnson Vision’s stand at 100% Optical had a sustainability focus with 95% of the materials used being recyclable and sourced from local suppliers. All marketing materials were switched to digital leaflets and brochures, instead of being printed, with a counter on a ‘living tree’ installation to note how many sheets of paper were saved every time digital assets were downloaded.
Alternative options
Nick Atkins, managing director at Positive Impact, said the company was showcasing contact lenses from VTI and SynergEyes.
VTI’s Enhanced NaturalVue is a daily disposable with an ultra-tapered edge design and its blister pack contains three lubricants for increased comfort. Atkins said this included hyaluronic acid, which retains seven times its own weight in water.
‘We’ve found the wearing times are longer, which is particularly useful for presbyopes as they tend to have dry eye issues. These are the two key features VTI introduced to improve the comfort of the contact lens for wear towards the end of the day.’
The SynergEyes iD multifocal lens is a hybrid with a rigid gas permeable centre and soft silicon hydrogel skirt around the outside.
‘We’re fortunate to have the two principle methods of extended depth of focus (EDOF) correction. For presbyopes, EDOF offers a real alternative to conventional multifocal technology. The multifocals that don’t use EDOF tend to use zonal. EDOF works completely differently. Whether it’s the Brian Holden Vision Institute EDOF design, which is on the SynergEyes product, or VTI’s own patented EDOF design, they’re completely different but designed to achieve the same thing. For patients that have failed with conventional multifocals, we’re finding a lot of practitioners are trying this and it often works. You don’t get a ghosting effect with EDOF.’
Atkins said ECPs who were nervous about fitting a technologically more advanced contact lens need to break the habit and try it. ‘We’ve got a team of people who can support either on the phone, on a webinar, or even face-to-face in the practice with their first fit once they start using it. We’ve had a couple of practices in the last year who suddenly had the light bulb moment and said: “I should be using these.” If you’re in a specialist independent practice, you probably have a patient once a month who this is the perfect solution for, and it saves on chair time too.’
Novel approach
Safilens spoke to 100% Optical attendees about Delivery Tyro for presbyopia and myopia management. Ian McDermott, UK country manager at Safilens, says: ‘It’s a novel approach to the issue of myopia. It’s a new perspective on the issue of myopia because it’s approaching the problem in a totally different way to what’s been established already.’
He says Delivery Tyro offers an alternative to existing methods, which he describes as contact lenses that blur the peripheral vision, orthokeratology or spectacle lenses. However, he says, the Safilens option is unique because it can be used for presbyopia and myopia.
‘Inside the lens, there is sodium hyaluronic acid, plus another element called tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP). The combination of those two elements make ours lenses very comfortable,’ he explains.
The daily disposable hydrogel releases lachryceuticals, a natural substance that is released on the anterior segment of the eye during wear. McDermott says Delivery Tyro also contains tyrosine that increases the presence of dopamine in the retina, which has a normalising effect on ocular development, particularly the elongation of the eyeball.