Roundtable: Contact lenses and presbyopia

^{Keith Tempany, contact lens optician and fellow and former BCLA president}

Dramatic design and materials improvements have been achieved in modern multifocal contact lenses but, as middle age approaches, many successful single vision contact lens wearers drop out despite a desire to stay in contact lenses.

To better understand the current situation surrounding multifocal lenses, Optician drew together a panel of practitioners, academics and researchers to look at levels of multifocal use, discuss approaches to presbyopic patients and look at how successful fitting can be achieved in practice.

Setting the scene for the discussion, Bill Harvey described how the correction of presbyopia with contact lenses was a rapidly evolving area of clinical practice. This sector has seen the introduction of many new lens designs, with multifocals available in a variety of materials and modalities, while suppliers have supported clinicians with a range of resources.