Rodenstock has unveiled the latest innovations in its ophthalmic lens portfolio in Australia, featuring new B.I.G. NORM lenses that incorporate a precise AI-based biometric model of the eye using only the four standard refraction values.
The new lens portfolio falls under the company’s B.I.G. Vision For All philosophy that was introduced in 2020 with the aim of providing people worldwide access to “biometric lenses”.
These lenses have only been possible with measurements taken with Rodenstock’s DNEye Scanner device, but new calculating capability has enabled it to open its personalised lenses to a broader market, even if only standard refraction values are available.
With its B.I.G. Vision based on DNEye technology, Rodenstock said it established a paradigm shift in the calculation of progressive lenses by taking into account the unique shape and size of each eye.
By manufacturing lenses based on the exact measurement of the eye with the DNEye Scanner, lenses are created to provide the wearer with sharp vision, taking into account the eye length and several thousand data points, which Rodenstock says is unique to the industry.
As part of its new portfolio, biometric lenses based on the DNEye technology are now called B.I.G. EXACT.
“This portfolio still contains the most precise Rodenstock lenses, but is significantly slimmer. This makes product finding for the optician even easier and more efficient,” Rodenstock stated.
The new standard of spectacle lens calculation
At the beginning of its biometric research, Rodenstock said a challenge was the use of an old norm – where the only input most lens manufacturers used to tailor lenses was a standard calculation based on just the four prescription values from the standard vision test.
If spectacle lenses are only manufactured based on these four values, the company said standard values from the reduced eye model are used for the biometric data of the individual eye, which only fit 2% of eyes. These fail to take into account the fact that every eye is different – in shape and refractive capabilities.
“This was the starting point for an effort to fully exploit the potential of the four standard refraction values and to look for a new way to bring sharper vision to more progressive lens users,” Mr Anders Hedegaard, CEO of the Rodenstock Group, said.
“We wanted to create a new standard for conventional progressive lenses that would achieve a much higher level of biometric precision in lens calculations. The goal was to be able to offer B.I.G. Vision to everyone.”
One of the largest biometric data pools in the industry
With measurements taken with the DNEye Scanner, Rodenstock has built one of the largest biometric data pools in the industry. With the data obtained from more than 500,000 eye measurements, it has uncovered correlations between the biometric parameters of the eye and standard refraction values.
Using statistical analyses, Rodenstock said it can now determine new, precise values for all important biometric parameters of the eye. In addition to the eye length, the astigmatic as well as the spherical refractive power of the cornea, the pupil diameter, the thickness of the cornea and much more.
“By identifying correlations in the data and transferring them into a sophisticated AI algorithm, Rodenstock is able to move away from the old norm,” the company stated.
“The new standard of lens calculation allows Rodenstock to create an AI-based biometric model of the eye using only the four standard refraction values provided by optometrists as input. This new standard allows Rodenstock to achieve a much higher level of biometric precision for standard progressive lenses and can therefore deliver biometric lenses even when accurate measurements are not available from the DNEye scanner.”
The new AI-based lenses are called B.I.G. NORM and have now been launched in Australia.
Click here for a digram showing how the lenses are produced.
In an external wearer trial with the AI-based B.I.G. NORM lenses, Rodenstock researched the benefits of AI technology in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences in Munich.
“The benefits to the subjects’ vision were clear: 97% of spectacle wearers felt less peripheral aberration and 91% felt a reduced swimming effect. Other study results included a wider progression zone in the lens in 94% of cases and reduced aberrations at far in 97% of cases,” Rodenstock said.
“While the precision and advantages of the B.I.G. EXACT lenses – calculated on the basis of exact measurements of the DNEye Scanner – are still unparalleled, Rodenstock can achieve its goal with the new B.I.G. NORM lenses. With these, Rodenstock initiates a biometric revolution and creates B.I.G. Vision For All – even if only standard refraction values are available.”
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