Coopervision unveils contact lens for the digital world

Ever-increasing exposure to digital screens via smartphones and computers has seen optical companies scramble to develop products that cater to the unique dands of 21st century life.However, CooperVision believes it now has the answer in the form of its new Biofinity Energys contact lenses. Described by company managent as an R&D breakthrough, the contact lenses have been specifically designed to address the issues most associated with extended time in front of digital screens – tiredness, dryness and redness.{{quote-A:R-W:450-I:2-Q:“Arguably [it’s] one of the very first contact lenses which is dealing not so much with the clear – that’s a given – but dealing with the comfortable… in terms of getting through your day in life as it exists in 2017,”-WHO:Mr Joe Tanner, Professional Services Manager of CooperVision}}According to professional services manager Mr Joe Tanner, the new range represented a “departure from conventional contact lens practice”, as it went beyond just attpting to correct vision.“Arguably [it’s] one of the very first contact lenses which is dealing not so much with the clear – that’s a given – but dealing with the comfortable… in terms of getting through your day in life as it exists in 2017,” he said at the event.Tanner cited statistics that found Australians spent on average 10 hours a day engaging with digital devices, and said the resultant discomfort stmed from three areas – vision probls, the damaging effects of screens, and the ocular surface.“If we’re going to try and prescribe a solution, we need to think about all of these elents and Biofinity Energys is an attpt to address th,” Tanner said before pointing out, “the task at hand with digital devices is testing out those elents of visual performance in a more strenuous way.”In order to combat the main symptoms that st from prolonged digital screen use, Tanner said there was a need to create a different optical design. As a result, the lens is fundamentally different, insofar as it integrates multiple front-surface aspheric curves across the entire optical zone.According to company information, these curves distribute power evenly and also simulate more positive power in the centre of the lens. This helps to ease accommodative burden as it enables wearers to move their gaze from on-screen to off-screen and back with less effort.The other main elent that optimises the performance of the lens for digital device users is Aquaform Technology. CooperVision says this attracts and binds water throughout the silicone hydrogel lens material to retain moisture and help alleviate dryness during times of reduced blinking, which is common with digital device use. Additionally, long silicone chains optimise oxygen transmissibility, while reduced silicone content results in a low modulus for softness and flexibility.Limited surveys conducted by CooperVision, which involved 13 optometrists from Australia and New Zealand, found the majority of their patients reported excellent vision, centration and movent, as well as good comfort.Tanner said while the lenses had predominantly been formulated for 18 to 40-year-olds who use digital devices, the lenses are suitable for most people except for presbyopes.Contact lens careA scheduling conflict meant the meeting also doubled as an educational event for the Victorian chapter of the Cornea and Contact Lens Society Australia (CCLSA).Ms Dorothy Carlborg, CEO of the CCLSA, lauded both the success of the evening and the ongoing relationships the society enjoyed with companies such as CooperVision.{{quote-A:R-W:450-I:3-Q:“The CCLSA is very fortunate to have fantastic sponsors in Australia like CooperVision who support our education efforts through state meetings, Masterclasses and our ICCLC.”-WHO:Ms Dorothy Carlborg, CEO of the CCLSA}}“The CCLSA is very fortunate to have fantastic sponsors in Australia like CooperVision who support our education efforts through state meetings, Masterclasses and our ICCLC. In this instance we had a clash of meetings in Melbourne but rather than let this effect either meeting, it was decided to join together to bring the latest product from CooperVision as well as the latest information from Dr Nicole Carnt,” she said.Carnt, a leading researcher at the University of Sydney, made a presentation on minimising risk and maximising healthy contact lens wear, in which she phasised the importance of compliance.According to Carnt, non-compliance in contact lens use is rife, with up to 80% of wearers not following even basic precautionary measures like washing hands before insertion. Patients are also inclined to become less compliant over time, especially if they don’t suffer the negative consequences of non-compliance.As a result, Carnt said it was important for optometrists to ensure patients were aware that they are susceptible to adverse events should they follow a path of non-compliance. Optometrists also needed to communicate the potential severity of the consequences of poor habits to help act as a deterrent to non-compliance.{{image4-a:l-w:400}}She went on to say extended use of contact lenses increased the risk of negative consequences by 4–5x and that the top two ways for reducing risk was avoiding overnight wear and maintaining proper hygiene standards.The most vulnerable dographics amongst contact lens wearers were; males, smokers, people with poor general health and those who were more genetically susceptible to infection. Those in the 18 to 25-year-old age group were also at a higher risk.Other contributing factors included the influence of climate – for example people in warmer humid regions were more likely to suffer from severe cases of keratitis – and holidays. Carnt suggested holidays were a risk as people were more likely to move out of their routine and also poor plane hygiene.