Lens manufacturers never cease to deliver in their quest for ever-better optical and visual quality and the offerings at this year's Optrafair were no exception. The quality of lenses currently on offer might make you think that technology can offer little more improvement. Not so. Manufacturers at this year's show had a plethora of improvements in materials, fitting, features and processes.
The stand of a sunwear manufacturer might not seem the best place to start when reviewing lens technology advances but Bushnell had a different idea. The driving lens specialist was showcasing its Serengeti Polar PhD. These lenses feature a polarised, photochromic lens made from NXT, the sunwear version of Trivex. The lenses also have Serengeti's Spectral Control which enhances colour and contrast to improve vision quality and cuts down blue light. The lenses come in Drivers brown or a grey CPG colour. Communications manager Dawne Warren of Bushnell said the product carried on the legacy of excellence in glass lenses but in the lighter NXT, opening up many more frame options.
Essilor had a range of exhibits on its stand both for lenses and equipment. The French giant also used the show to celebrate 50 years of Varilux lenses and had a 3D cinema on its stand to highlight the benefits of its latest digitally surfaced progressive lenses.
On a more practical level it was announcing a number of initiatives and revealing the winners of its Crizal Forte with Scotchgard promotions. Between January and March practices selling 50 pairs of Crizal lenses earned a £25 M&S voucher. Those purchasing 200 pairs were entered into a prize draw for one of five £2,000 holidays and those buying over 300 pairs were put into a draw for a £15,000 Mini Cooper. The car was won by K Debney Opticians in Romford while the holiday winners were Edmonds & Slatter Opticians in Leicester, Smith & Hamylton Opticians in Leicester, S, C&T Bagot Optometrists in Cumbria, Rose Optometrists near Ilford and Eyesite Opticians in Brighton.
Professional relations manager Andy Hepworth said the coating provided a finish as hard as that of a glass lens. He said a new booster layer of coating under the top coat allowed the lens to absorb even more shock, reducing cracking and introducing a hardness gradient between the lens substrate and the outer coating.
Hepworth also pointed to Crizal Sun which uses an AR coating on the back of the lens to cut down on UV reflection into the eyes. This results in less UV, better visual comfort and a cleaner lens.
Everyday promotion
In common with many other lenscasters, Transitions was also in evidence on the Essilor stand. Between April 1 and September 30, Essilor is running Smart Days on which registered customers will receive a free upgrade to Transitions AR-coated lenses. The precise day of the week the promotion will run will be announced after the week has ended, encouraging practices to offer Transitions as an everyday lens. Essilor estimates that the promotion will be worth an additional 15-20 per cent in profit on those days.
To make offering the lenses easier, patients will be offered a love 'em or leave 'em guarantee. This will recompense the practice if the patient returns to swap back to a clear lens.
Reykjavik Eyes also announced that it had chosen Essilor to be its glazing partner. Also on the horizon are new sports products, said Hepworth.
Individualisation of lenses was the main theme on the Rodenstock stand, along with sports eyewear, frame developments and dispensing technology. The Rodenstock Progressiv Life free boasts a wider field of view, 10 per cent less astigmatism and a 20 per cent reduction in the swim effect, bringing faster adaptation and better visual comfort. Managing director Barry Dibble also highlighted the recent media interest in computer vision syndrome which he said made products such as Rodenstock ERGO a popular choice for those requiring occupational lenses. The lens is free-form generated in an index of 1.6. Other enhancements in its portfolio included Colormatic in 1.54, 1.6 and 1.67 materials. Lens manager Debbie Bathgate said Rodenstock was still ahead of the game on individualised lens and frame combinations and urged practices to differentiate themselves by offering the latest and technical best products.
On the frame side, Wimbledon Sunglasses were much in evidence as was Porsche Design Sunwear. The Rodaflex Twin Wood frame received its official launch at the show. This design has a self-fitting mechanism which adjusts both the hinge and the side piece to the dimensions of the wearer's head. Forthcoming products for Rodenstock include the Uvex range of sports eyewear.
Truth about Trivex
Sun and sports also figured highly in the seminar laid on by Taylor Optical, PPG and Intercast to put across messages about Trivex and its sunwear sister NXT. Alessandro Borzino said Trivex was not a premium price lens nor was it hard to process or to find equipment to process it with. The profession had to be weaned off the idea that the higher the index the better the lens. This was just not true, said Frederic Lefranc, PPG materials and coatings manager. 'If you are a -1.5 or -2.0 you are better off in Trivex than in 1.67. We need to help opticians understand that so they can help explain that to patients.'
He went on to explain the physical advantages of the material before concluding that Trivex offered the best range of benefits for wearers between -3.00 and +3.00 corrections.
Back in the halls, Seiko was showing off its video centration system, which David Miller, business development manager, said acted as a complete dispensing and customer education system. As well as taking all measurements from PDs to pantoscopic tilt and dihedral angles, it also demonstrated lens types and acted as a frame selection aid.
Also on the stand was the Seiko Synergy X varifocal which shares the basic inner surface design of the Synergy lens but offers wider fields of view. This year marked 12 years of free-form lenses for Seiko, said Miller and its mission to educate practitioners would continue.
Switching to progressives
Nikon was also promoting a progressive, the Presio Power, as a lens which any patient would be able to adapt to. Leigh Denoven said this provided the eye care professional with confidence to switch patients from other brands of progressive lens or to introduce patients to progressive lenses. 'The design makes it easy to adapt so it is aimed at new wearers or those already wearing progressives,' Denoven said. 'It could be used as a problem-solving lens but that wasn't its primary focus.'
Business development manager Jill Mclellan was on hand to describe to practices the Nikon Lenswear Consultant programme. This, she stressed, wasn't a branding club but was a way of reaching consumers for the benefit of allied practices. 'People who use Nikon do not want to lose their independence,' she said. She wanted powerful brands to complement one another to benefit the practice and the Nikon brand.
Shamir is a lens company that has established a firm link with free-form technology and its Autograph FreeFrame was being promoted as a lens that gave patients unparalleled freedom. The lens has a fitting height starting at just 11mm and a reading zone that adapts to any frame. This means the patient has a wider choice of frames and the dispenser a wide choice of materials and prescriptions. To complete the message of simplicity and affordability, Shamir also showed off its Panorameter which allows a wide range of vital measurements to taken while the frame is in position on the patient's face, said product development manager Tanya Henderson.
As someone who lectures on lenses to the profession she felt there should be more confidence in free-form technology. 'We are all still talking about free-form manufacturing. The profession should have more confidence about the lenses coming through.'
Henderson said Optrafair visitors had shown a lot of interest in sports dispensing, occupational lenses and Drivewear. The crowds were being pulled in by a joint promotion with Transitions which was offering prize draws throughout the day. Product coming up for Shamir includes its sports eyewear Atttitude glazed with NXT and NXT in Rudy Project, Maui Jim Passport and Oakley.
Carl Zeiss Vision wowed the crowds with its stilt walkers and had a distinct technology feel to its exhibition stand. On show were low vision aids, dispensing technology, equipment and newer lenses including i.Scription. It was also showing off its i.Profiler which measures the eye using wavefront technology. Zeiss also had its GT2 3D on display. This is a new generation of progressive lens that provides wide binocular zones and natural vision. It is available with two corridor lengths.
PixelOptics continued the technology theme with its futuristic lens offering. Its electro-active lens, which has the ability to switch the prescription, creating a variable-focus lens that responds to the needs of the wearer. At the heart of this stand was a demonstration of the electro-optic effect which turns the reading segment on and off. The lens was recently shown in New York (Optician 24.04.09) and is scheduled for release next year. ?
