Optrafair London had no shortage of lens and lens demonstration technology developments, with an emphasis on blue light and UV, varifocals and even freeform Google Glass lenses with a reading portion at the top.
For Essilor the main buzz concerned the launch of the Transitions Graphite Green lens and the latest ‘Think About Your Eyes’ consumer awareness campaign which focused on the dangers of blue light. The new Transitions Graphite Green product was described by Brian Thomas, sales director, as having an iconic green colour.
‘We’re expecting it to be very popular. It has an eye sun protection (E-SPF) factor of 25 (which means the eyes are 25 times more protected than with no lenses), UV benefits and style benefits to communicate to the younger consumer and drive footfall into practice.’
He added that research showed 39 per cent of clear lens wearers preferred the Graphite Green lenses to their clear and 96 per cent of surveyed eye care practitioners were interested in dispensing it. ‘It’s not just seen as a new colour, it’s a new category targeting the younger wearer, the 30-year-old and above.’
Essilor marketing manager Jonathan Cohen explained that the exclusive product would raise the profile of Transitions in a young audience, describing it as a health product now available in an iconic colour that also leveraged fashion. Graphite Green was the same price as the other Transitions Signature VII lenses in the Essilor range and sat alongside S Series and Crizal Prevencia as a flagship product, he said.
Essilor is currently developing a social media programme to raise consumer interest, showcasing the Graphite Green product to the main audience, the young market. There would also be business to business activities with eye care practitioners, with a competition which has a prize of a one-week trip for two to Los Angeles. Qualification for the prize draw will be through achieving a sales target, and upon meeting this target ECPs will receive one entry into the competition for each pair of the new Graphite Green lenses that they order. The competition runs from May to the end of August. ‘It’s not complicated – you have to dispense a minimum of 60 pairs of Transitions, whatever colour. If you achieve that you enter a second round where if you sell Graphite Green lenses you get an entry into a prize draw, which will be electronically chosen. You have to register for the promotion and the more you dispense the more chances you have to win.’
There would also be a window display competition to push the message to the consumer, from June 1 to July 31, with a top three selected from window display photos posted to their Facebook page by practices for prizes of £1,000, £600 and £400 high street shopping vouchers.
Essilor’s Prevencia was also a highlight, described by Cohen as a key product and innovation. ‘We really want to raise the awareness of harmful blue light and the long-term damage.
‘As well as the Think About Your Eyes campaign we want to do more and more and raise the awareness to consumers and also in the optical world.’ He added that the aim was to talk to the patient about eye health and the importance of visiting their local optician. The interest among the public when talking about blue light was phenomenal, said Cohen, with the message that Prevencia filtered out the bad blue light selectively, without interfering with the good blue light that helped the biological cycle.
Thomas pointed to third-party research at the Paris Vision Institute that showed Crizal Prevencia lenses deflected 20 per cent of harmful blue-violet light, with a 25 per cent decline in retinal cell damage.
Sharper focus
Hoya was taking a slightly different approach with its BlueControl coating, as regional sales manager John Heritage explained that by reducing blue light the wearer comfort and contrast were improved, along with improvements in the sleep/wake cycle upset by digital media. ‘The coating gives a noticeable and tangible effect and feels nice to look through. Blue light disperses and scatters. At night if you see a blue neon sign there is a blurry haze around it. This eliminates the more scattered light and sharpens the image.’
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He added that a lens coated with BlueControl was effective in the office and home environment where modern LED and low energy lighting produced significantly higher amounts of blue light compared to tungsten lighting. Post-cataract patients may also find the coating beneficial at they were particularly sensitive to blue light.
Hoya also demonstrated an attachment that measures the output of blue light from different types of digital media and the reduction offered by the BlueControl lens. ‘If you put the blue lens in front of the device it shows the reduction. Short-term effects of blue light exposure are digital eye strain, headaches, asthenopic symptoms and discomfort,’ said Heritage.
An enhancement to the visuReal portable measuring system was now available and a new back plate for the iPad Air gave full system compatibility. ‘When it links with Hoyalux iD MyStyle V+ the lens has a unique and patented ‘Binocular Harmonization Technology’, taking into account the differential of the right and left eye.’
He added that a key issue was eliminating parallax, with the camera converted from the side to the centre and a sighting attachment that linked to the 3D frame attachment. ‘Most practitioners are now using iPads but not necessarily for measurements. When we take images of the patient the measurements can detect head rotation and eliminate parallax. It can measure for single vision too and is easy to use once you get the hang of it. It won’t allow you to take the measurement until the device is parallel.’
Heritage added that calculations of PD, face-form angle and BVD gave improved repeatability. ‘We had a workshop where 40 practitioners took measurements manually with a pen and ruler, with variations of 7-8mm on the PD, proving that you cannot eliminate parallax without a more accurate means. In lenses like Hoyalux iD MyStyle V+ the positioning is crucial. The app drops the number of non-tolerances and is also good for trouble shooting non-tols which are almost always as a result of faulty measurements.’
He described the tool as the starting point to make judgements. ‘You still need the skill and the decision making of the optician, as with a fundus camera,’ he said, describing the iPad as friendly tech that would wow the patient.
Summing up, Heritage said Hoya was trying to make lenses that wherever you looked it was sharp, forcing the eyes to work together.
Another company offering a blue light demonstration tool was BiB with BlueSpec, which also measures UV. BiB director Ron Wright demonstrated the battery-free device which can be attached to an iPhone or iPad and when held over the devices, fluorescent lights and tablets, shows the value of the bad blue light (420-460nm) being emitted. When a reading is taken, the reduction in blue light can be shown by placing a blue lens in front of the device, with a value or percentage shown on screen in a matter of seconds. He said that, similar to UV, blue light was becoming more and more important in practice and until now there had been no real way to demonstrate blue-coated lenses. ‘This tool shows the blue light coming off an iPad.’
The other side of the device enables practices to demonstrate the UV-light-blocking capabilities of photochromic or polarised lenses. ‘You also can take it outside the practice to demonstrate UV, even on a cloudy day. It enhances sales and in two weeks you will get your money back,’ he said. ‘It is a simple device and a good tool to upsell patients from a 1.5 lens into a 1.6 lens, as you can demonstrate that the 1.6 offers more UV protection.’
Visual comfort
Jai Kudo promoted three of its latest developments in the Wideview Confidence LS freeform progressive lens, with full-field optimisation, the Honeycomb ‘pinhole’ effect coating, for focus and enhanced contrast, and the Blue Shield treatment, to block harmful blue light.
The 1.61 Aspheric Honeycomb Infinity Xt Hydro+ range was described as reducing diffuse reflection and chromatic aberration, sharpening contrast and enhancing focus on the retina to diminish fatigue.
Speaking at the show, Rob Harnett, sales and customer services manager, described the honeycomb coating, an applied layer that is coated over, as similar in concept to polarisation. ‘There’s no reason this coating can’t be used on any lens in the future, making them sharper and clearer.’
He added that they could be used by people who wanted to see better and wanted something better than a sunglass tint but could not use a polarised lens, for example a pilot. Computer use, reading, writing and working in conditions with artificial lighting, were all described as areas that could see a benefit, along with night driving. ‘I tried them out driving at night in the rain and very quickly realised that they work well, promoting sharpness of vision,’ he said.
The Blue Shield treatment, available in 1.61 spheric at the moment, was developed to block blue light rays from electrical devices such as LCD televisions, smart phones and tablets that could cause eye fatigue and in extreme cases sleeplessness. Harnett added that media interest in blue light had created demand for Blue Shield, which gave the wearer improved comfort along with greater perception of depth and contrast. ‘They block a slightly different percentage of light, in the 380-500nm range, with 35-40 per cent blocked. They’re blue with a touch of violet for a neutral hue and patient feedback has been positive,’ added Harnett.
He described the latest products as a good selling point for independents and could give them an angle when sending out reminders to their patients.
The latest technology created a buzz at the Waterside Laboratories stand, which unveiled heads up display (HUD) prescription smart glass technology. Waterside managing director Bob Forgan presented the latest prescription frames and lenses for users of Google Glass who need vision correction. He explained that Waterside had reached agreement with New-York-based Rochester Optical, making Waterside the authorised reseller in the UK market for its Smart frames and Smart GOLD (Smart Glasses Optimised Lens Designs) technology which is optimised and compensated for use with the Google Glass HUD. Rochester holds the worldwide patent on the method of attachment and the Smart GOLD lens technology.
‘The frames have a patent for fixing to the Google Glass, but more critically from an optical angle is the lens within a lens digitally surfaced technology which optimises visual acuity in the viewing area associated with the HUD areas of smart glasses. You can have a varifocal with an optimised viewing area up there, almost like a lens with two optical centres. We can sell that prescription element now in single vision, bifocal and varifocal.’
He described the lens as customised for each individual smart glass wearer, virtually eliminating any prismatic effect that would otherwise be accentuated with standard lenses. The lenses come in a range of -10 to +6 and cyls up to 4.
Also on display was the OptikamPad app used with iPad Air. ‘One photo gives you 10 measurements with PD, seg and fitting heights, wrap angle, BVD and panto angle.’
He pointed out an augmented reality feature which showed the difference between a bifocal and varifocal, or the difference in corridor areas between a narrow corridor progressive and an individual bespoke progressive, as well as a tint, the benefits of polarisation and how photochromics work. There were options to show the effects of a coating, or a tinted fashion lens versus a polarised sunglass lens, and night driving with and without AR. ‘The complete package with iPad Air costs £2,500, or there is a lease purchase where if you spend a certain amount it costs the practice nothing,’ said Forgan. The system could also demonstrate the clearer vision with Waterside’s bloom-free Pureview AR coating, which has up to 99.7 per cent transmission, against no AR.
No-line bifocal
For Shamir, the main product on show was the new freeform bifocal lens Duo which was described by product development manager Tanya Storey as a back-surface freeform bifocal lens, designed to give a complete surface continuity with no jump and doing away with the age-related visible line. ‘We decided bifocal was still a large market segment, but there were drawbacks with traditional bifocal lenses both cosmetically and in performance. The new lens is for people who wear bifocals but want a higher index material or filter not currently available, or that may have tried varifocals and not got on with them or who just don’t want to wear bifocals for cosmetic reasons.’
She added that the Shamir Duo would lend itself to a variety of materials, tints and coatings and was also suitable for sunglasses. ‘We are doing 1.5-1.67 and 1.74 in clear, Transitions, polarised and XTRActive in -18.75 to +15.50 and cyls up to 9.00D. We are showing our expertise as R+D specialists. We can make a lens work in those parameters. You maybe won’t get a -18.00 too often, but these patients will be getting a lens design that works the way they need it to.’
Storey said the reaction to the lens, priced between a varifocal and a bifocal, had been ‘absolutely phenomenal’, adding that it was not a niche offering. ‘It’s not a commodity product, it’s a premium dual focus design, and in addition to the uses previously discussed, would be good for first-time presbyopes who are price conscious but cannot afford a freeform progressive. It would also be good for children with accommodation problems, where the parents and children don’t want to wear a traditional bifocal.
‘You don’t get loss of image as you have a complete surface and visual continuity. If you are someone who is happy in progressives you’re not going to step back into this, it’s for people who don’t want progressives,’ she added.
Nikon was showcasing Presio Master, which it described as its latest, most advanced progressive lens. ‘Offering stress free vision, the widest usable area and fastest adaptation, this family of lenses from Nikon offers standard measurements with Presio Master through to full customisation when using Seemax Master. Our latest technology incorporates the third generation of aberration filter, deformation and binocular tuning, using NODE (Nikon Design Optical Engine) designed in Japan and manufactured in the UK, allowing us to meet the needs of today’s modern wearer,’ the company added.
Rodenstock managing director Dietmar Rathbauer highlighted the company’s Sunny Days promotion for the summer months, adding that UV protection was an underdeveloped segment in the UK. The company introduced ColorMatic IQ Sun, a pre-tinted photochromic material available in six shades and described as providing the perfect sunglass solution whether sunbathing by the sea during the day or enjoying a coffee in a shady pavement cafe in the afternoon. The lenses have a base tint of 40-50 per cent, and were described as darkening continuously up to 90 per cent.
Rathbauer added that later in the year it would focus on DN Eye, a scanner that would provide a digital fingerprint of the eye to produce a more individualised lens at the premium end of the market.
Freeform latest
There was also news of lab development at the show, with Caledonian Optical, whose business development manager Mark Robertson explained that the lab was undergoing an investment of £1m, part of a £5.6m investment in the Duncan & Todd group. A second line of digital freeform surfacing equipment was being added for more capacity, and increased efficiency, and the company was also investing in in-house AR coating to give complete control. ‘At the moment we can manufacture premium individualised freeform designs in house but need to ship the lenses out to coating companies, adding to the turnaround, so we’re installing an environment controlled clean room complete with coating equipment.’
Robertson highlighted Caledonian’s Zone branded freeform lenses, with a portfolio of designs comprising SV Zone, Office Zone and Zone Varifocals. ‘We have new improved product with second generation designs and a new brand. We do a basic freeform entry level non-compensated varifocal through to designs that use complex eye compensation calculations to enhance clarity in all zones. This is a higher quality lens, the same as the major manufacturers, which for a small independent lab is very exciting. Every varifocal made is freeform so that the lab doesn’t have to hold thousands in stock and can create all the different designs. We only sell freeform varifocals in the practice group, every one of them is digital as standard – we’ve got the technology so why offer anything less?
‘We need to take on staff for the AR lab and need to get busier for a return on the investement. We are a small company competing with the majors and will be turning around the same quality of lens in two to three days.’
Another dispensing demonstration unit was on display at Omega LED. The Smart Mirror device is available as a freestanding e-Column or as an iPad app. It was described as a user friendly measuring device that minimised re-check, re-takes and customer returns, which could be easily integrated into any practice. Omega director Jim Monaghan pointed out that it did not need daily calibration and opened up discussions of lens types to customers by showing its simulations of varifocals. The app can be used to take fitting height, bridge, pantoscopic angle, near and far PDs. ‘From September we can enter the customer’s Rx and see what it will look like in 3D, which will be ideal for the first-time varifocal user.’ The low-cost application could easily take all the fitting parameters necessary to personalise the most advanced digital lenses, he said.
Also on display was the in-house Optical Dynamics digital desktop lens casting system. Monaghan described it as enabling the production of single-vision, bifocal or progressive lenses in under an hour, with the Rx entered and the system specifying the freeform manufactured moulds and gasket. The proprietary digital process creates a finished Rx direct from liquid plastic, in a computerised cast-to-Rx programme. The coating, using non-hazardous lacquer, is chemically applied inside the mould before the lens is cast, which meant there was no waste, making it environmentally friendly.
He said the technology allowed for the production of 1.6 index lenses in-house, with or without AR coating, while providing improved customer service and satisfaction, and increased business profitability. Different coloured photochromic and mirrored lenses were also possible. ‘People don’t use it for single vision – they target progressives because of the savings, which are potentially half the cost,’ he said, adding that the units could be operated remotely, for example altering the bloom of the AR. There was also the option of putting the customer’s logo on the lens.
In spite of being over 100 years old, Greek company Union-Optic was showing in the UK for the first time. Sammy Varsano, CEO, explained that the company used German technology and already exported finished lenses to 27 countries worldwide, the largest export markets being Germany and Scandinavia. ‘We’re dealing with a few clients in the UK but came to London to expand our range of customers. We’re proving ourselves and have had lots of enquiries that hopefully will transform into sales,’ he said, adding that Union-Optic was the largest lens manufacturer in Greece and the Rodenstock distributor in the country.
‘We sell the most advanced designs including freeform progressives in all available materials through our B to B site, with remote scanning and payment via Paypal. We have 130 staff in offices in Athens and Crete and are very good in quality coatings. Our Max top coating comes with a three-year guarantee. Everything is freeform – we’ve been doing it for eight years and were among the first to introduce it.’
One of the lenses on display at the stand was the high impact Power Max, which easily withstood a hammer test. He described the material as like polycarbonate but it could be edged on a normal edging machine. ‘The price is not high for the money and it gives better protection from UVA and B.’
A range of tinted and mirror coated lenses was also highlighted. They have been doing well in recent years in Union-Optic’s home market in options of silver, brown, red and green.