Custom Contact Lens News & Views from Art Optical Contact Lens, Inc.
eissue 9/Spring 2012
Mark your calendar and join us at an upcoming meeting:
 
March 23 - 25, 2012
Booth #MS6712
New York, NY
 
Ortho-K Academy of America
April 19 - 22, 2012
Scottsdale, AZ
 
April 26 - 28, 2012
Booth #29
Orlando, FL
Intelliwave� Multipacks Now Available!
Intelliwave Custom Soft Lens Multipacks now offered in Convenient Patient Dispensing Packs with a new LOWER Price! Read the press release here.

GSLS Double Feature:

Intelliwave Toric Success 

Two scientific posters presented at this year's Global Specialty Lens Symposium highlighted the strong performance of Intelliwave Toric Soft Lenses! Special thanks to Dr. David Kading of Specialty Eyecare Group in Seattle, WA and Dr. William Edmondson from Southern College of Optometry! View the posters here. 
Custom Soft Lens Laser Marking ID System
For ease of on-eye assessment and OD/OS handling, Intelliwave and KeraSoft IC lenses are laser-marked at 6 o'clock with the following system:

ALL OD Lenses:
Single Orientation Scribe

OS Lenses with Cylinder:
Double Orientation Scribe

Spherical OS Lenses:
No Laser Mark

Click here to see a technical drawing of the markings.
Menicon Progent
Progent
Biweekly deep cleaning for longer GP lens life! Now approved for patient in-home use under the supervision of an eye care professional! Progent is available exclusively at the Menicon WebStore. For more information click here.
2012 Pricing Schedule
Online Ordering
Our user-friendly Online Order Form is a convenient way to place contact lens orders around the clock and insures a secure delivery of patient information.
Like us on Facebook
Like our Facebook page to stay updated on the latest news from Art Optical. We will be sharing articles, event photos, fitting tips and more. Join the conversation now! 
AO on the Road!

Acting as both patient and presenter, Dr. Diane Anderson gave a unique perspective on the GP Presbyopic lens options available from Art Optical. As she partnered with Mike Johnson, Art Optical Director of Consultation Services, for a hands-on multifocal workshop at the San Diego Specialty Lens symposium.

 

Dr. Anderson reviewed design characteristics and fitting principles of Art Optical's top-performing presbyopic lenses - Renovation Multifocal; Biexpert Bifocal, and the SoClear Progressive. Her lecture outlined the lens selection criteria and highlighted the value of working with laboratory consultants to streamline the fitting process and improve success for your presbyopic patients, and maximize profitability for your practice.


Drs. Choa, Garbus and Stern in the Art Optical booth at the San Diego Specialty Contact Lens Symposium.
  

Mindy Spicer with Erik Anderson and Dr. Jason Jedlicka at the GSLS in Las Vegas.

 


Art Optical's speaker for the evening, Dr. Josh Lotoczky, Dr. Terry Draeger, Mike Johnson and Dr. Amy Dinardo, WMOA President, at the January WMOA Meeting.

The Lens Everyone is Talking About! 

KeraSoft� IC, the new custom soft lens for keratoconus and other irregular corneas, is here! As the first U.S. manufacturer of this innovative and award-winning product, we would like to invite you in on the ground floor of an Irregular Cornea revolution!

 

Available in the UK and other parts of the world for nearly 3 years now, KeraSoft IC has a proven history of successfully transforming lives for those patients with few remaining options. To hear from some of these patients, please take a moment to view their testimonials located at the bottom of the KeraSoft IC page at www.artoptical.com.

 

Not only is the improved quality of life KeraSoft IC provides genuine, it is transcending oceans, boarders and barriers. We are receiving calls from patients all over the world wanting to know who is fitting KeraSoft and telling us they will do just about anything to try it! KeraSoft IC not only offers your patients inflicted with Keratoconus, PMD, or less than satisfactory post surgical results another treatment option, it also opens your practice to increased patient referrals, retention and growth.

  

To gain an understanding of the nuances of the lens mechanics and fitting principles and to help you understand the role KeraSoft IC can play in your practice, take a moment to review our KeraSoft IC Introductory Webinar presented by Craig Norman, FCLSA. This is a great way to review the product features and benefits and to learn how the lens is uniquely improved over previous category offerings.

 

As you'll note in our webinar, KeraSoft IC is unlike any other soft lens option for Keratoconic and irregular corneas; therefore, practitioner certification is required. To become certified, simply visit the KeraSoft IC Training and Certification Site and successfully complete the series of training modules. After certification, the next step to fitting is to order your KeraSoft IC diagnostic set, in-stock & ready for immediate shipment from Art Optical. Lens details, pricing and ordering information can be downloaded here.

 

Once you become certified and have ordered your diagnostic set, you will be added to our KeraSoft IC Practitioner Locator, so interested patients and referring colleagues can easily find you. As you begin fitting, our experienced consultation team will be standing by, ready to answer questions and guide you and your patient to a successful outcome.

 

Art Optical is proud to offer such an amazing new correction option and look forward to helping you better meet the needs of your specialty lens practice. Should you require additional information, please feel free to contact us - we're happy to help!   

Key Components to GP Fit Assessment

by Bethany Peebles, ABOC, NCLE-AC, 

Fitting Consultant 

When troubleshooting a patient with a GP lens that is not fitting appropriately, a singular fitting aspect is not typically enough to indicate what changes need to be made. A combination of fitting characteristics should be analyzed in order to determine the correct changes. The three components of the fit that we generally ask for are position, movement and fluorescein pattern. Below are examples of poor fitting results and how we commonly troubleshoot.

 

Low Riding Lens: A lens that is positioning inferior may be too flat, too steep or possibly having too much mass. This is when we rely on a second fitting component, the lens movement, to help determine the issue. If the lens has adequate movement and picks up on the blink but then drops again to an inferior position, the lens is most likely too flat. In this case, we would tighten the fit by steepening the base curve or increasing the diameter. If the lens is sitting inferior and not moving with the blink, the lens is most likely too steep. In this case, we would loosen the fit by flattening the base curve or reducing the optic zone. In either scenario, decreasing the lens mass by using Thinsite2 or a lenticular design with reduced center thickness will aid in repositioning the lens to a centered or lid attached fit.

 

High Riding Lens:  A lens that is positioning superior may also be too flat or too steep. This is when we rely on the fluorescein and lens movement to determine the primary issue. If the fluorescein pattern shows an adequate to excessive amount of inferior edge lift, the lens is most likely too flat. To help confirm this, the upper lid can be pulled away from the lens to assess the lens movement. If the lens moves freely without the lid interaction and drops to center or inferior, then the notion that the lens is too flat is probably accurate. In this case, the lens would need to be tightened by steepening the base curve or increasing the diameter. If the fluorescein pattern shows little to no edge clearance with central pooling, the lens is most likely too steep. Again to help confirm this, evaluate the lens movement without the lid interaction. If  the upper lid is pulled away and the lens shows little to no movement while maintaining a superior position, the conclusion that the lens is steep is most likely accurate. In this case, the lens should be loosened by flattening the base curve or reducing the optic zone. In both scenarios, increasing the lens mass can aid the other parameter changes in repositioning the lens. If the lens is determined to be too flat, then a larger diameter is a good way to increase lens mass and if the lens is too steep, increasing the center thickness may be a better way to add lens mass. It should also be noted that when working with a multifocal lens design such as Renovation, don't be fooled by the results of pulling the upper eyelid away from the lens. Due to posterior and anterior design variations, this does not always indicate the appropriate change. If the lens stays superior without the lid interaction, a high riding multifocal lens will benefit more from an increase in the overall diameter and lens mass rather than flattening the base curve.

 

Steep Fluorescein Pattern:  The position of the lens can greatly alter the analysis of the fluorescein pattern which is why other fitting aspects, lens position and movement, need to be considered along with fluorescein. If the fluorescein pattern is assessed as looking steep and the lens is centered on the cornea with limited movement, then the overall fit is likely too steep. In this case the lens needs to be loosened which can be achieved by either flattening the base curve or decreasing the optic zone diameter. If the pattern indicates a steep fit and the lens is inferior with adequate to excessive movement, the lens is most likely too flat. This is because the lens has decentered to the peripheral cornea which is flatter than the central cornea making the fluorescein pattern appear steep and this can be very misleading. In this case, despite the fluorescein pattern, the lens needs to be tightened by either steepening the base curve or increasing the overall diameter.

 

As with any poor fitting lens scenario, the base curve to primary K relationship should be evaluated to help determine the best way to address the fitting issue, whether it be a change to the base curve, diameter, optic zone or a combination. By providing multiple fitting aspects rather than focusing on one, we can connect each piece of information to get a clear picture of what changes need to be made.

KeraSoft IC for a Post-Lasik Presbyope
by Janet Gilman, COT, FCLSA,
Consultation Operations Leader

History: Patient JG, age 49 is a post LASIK female. The procedure was done in August of 1998. Since the LASIK procedure, the patient complains of aberrations and some haloing at night.

 

Pre-surgical Info 1997:

Rx:  OD: -4.25+1.25x10 20/20      OS: -4.75+0.50 x170 20/20

Ks:  OD:  43.87/43.50                  OS: 43.87/43.62

 

Post-surgical Info 2003:

Rx:  OD: Plano-0.75x100 20/20     OS: Plano-0.50x100 20/20

 

Most recent Info 2011:

Rx:  OD: +0.25-1.00x100              OS: -0.25-0.75x090

Add of +1.75 OU

 

At this time, corneal topography was taken to aid in the fit of the patients Kerasoft IC lenses to establish the corneal profile. The Kerasoft IC lens is manufactured in the Definitive Silicone Hydrogel material.

 

 

The parameters selected for the first trial Kerasoft IC lens out of the fitting set was the 8.6 base curve steep 2 with a plano power. This lens was chosen to accommodate the corneal profile in a reverse geometry design.  The following MoRoCCo (Movement, Rotation, Centration, Comfort) VA guidelines were documented as follows:

 

Movement:           OD: 1-2 mm                 OS: 1-2 mm

Rotation:              OD: 2 degrees CCW     OS: no rotation

Centration:           OD: Central                 OS: Central

Comfort:              OD: Good                     OS: Good

VA:                      OD: 20/20-1                 OS: 20/20-1 

Over Refraction:   OD: +1.25-2.00x92       OS: +0.25-1.00x104

No fluctuation after the blink OU

 

Final lenses ordered were as follows:

OD: 8.6 Base curve Steep 2 14.50 Diameter +3.00-2.00x090 Monovision J2

OS: 8.6 Base curve Steep 2 14.50 Diameter +0.25-1.00x104 Distance 20/20-1

 

The patient is able to wear the lenses comfortably all day with all ranges of distance, intermediate and near demands met for her visual needs.