Instruments: Arriving at the station

Since the first lockdown, there has been increased interest in developing ways of minimising testing time, and therefore patient proximity, while maintaining acceptable levels of accuracy. And as we adapt to the post-pandemic world, the need for minimising pathogen transmission will be with us for good. So, any new instrument capable of undertaking a complete refraction more quickly, one that might easily be operated by suitably trained support staff under supervision but is flexible enough for an ECP to overview and intervene when required, and one that might even be operated remotely has to be of interest.

The new Essilor Vision S-700 (figure 1) is just such an instrument. And when, recently, I got to put it through its paces at the Essilor HQ in Thornbury, there were a couple more surprises in store.