Last week we discussed the multiple factors that make easy fitting most successful. (www.bausch.com/enewsarchives) Today we’ll address our 5th and final topic:

In the past, toric lens patients have been challenged by lens/lid awareness, redness and end of day discomfort. Many of today’s toric lenses are designed to address these issues, through advanced material properties, surface technologies, and innovations in geometric design. At the end of the day, however, astigmatic patients simply want incredible vision. To deliver this core benefit, it’s important to follow these 3 simple rules:

Rule #1 – Fit astigmatic patients in a toric lens. This may sound obvious, but many astigmatic patients today are still walking around in spherical lenses, compromising their visual acuity for reasons varying from perceptions around cost, to time required to fit or discuss the options available. However, studies show that the vast majority of patients want to hear about new technology and are willing to pay more for an upgrade once they see what the new lenses can do for them.¹ In addition, today’s toric lenses are designed for an easier fit.

Rule #2 – Fit them with highly stable, well-centered lenses. Variable vision and blurring can be caused by an unstable lens. As we learned earlier in this series, today’s toric lens designs have been refined to provide extremely stable, clear vision.

Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric lens, with the patented Lo-Torque^® design, provides exceptional rotational stability. It is, in fact, consistently preferred across a variety of stability metrics when compared to alternative toric lens designs, such as the dual thin zone design.³

A well-designed lens will also achieve full centration which provides better optical quality. Centration is the main determinant of high contrast vision performance. Centration plays an important role in aligning the lens optics with the visual axis creating better optical quality for better visual acuity.

Rule #3 – Incorporate spherical aberration controls. Anterior aspheric optics compliment lens stability by focusing on higher order aberration correction. In general, aspheric optics have been shown to help reduce glare and halos, particularly in low light conditions.⁴

An independent study of 177 eye care professionals verified that nearly all (97%) agree that spherical aberration negatively impacts the quality of their patients’ vision, and 90% say it’s best to reduce both lens-induced and inherent spherical aberrations. The Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric lens is designed to help reduce the amount of positive spherical aberration among the general population by adjusting the shape factor of the anterior surface across the range of powers. The aspheric optics combined with all of the other sophisticated design characteristics help PureVision Toric lenses deliver improved vision quality in a variety of settings as shown in the patient study below.

These results firmly support the value of transitioning astigmatic patients to the newer aspheric toric technology.

¹ Data on file Bausch & Lomb.

² Data on file Bausch & Lomb.

³ A quantitative survey conducted among 95 optometrists. On average, respondents have been in practice for 14 years, and fit 21 toric patients per week. For a variety of factors, doctors were asked to indicate a preference for PureVision Toric, Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism, or no preference.

⁴Reduction of both inherent and induced spherical aberration has been shown with PureVision spherical lenses and certain interocular lenses in studies. Similar studies for PureVision Toric have not yet been conducted.

© 2007 Bausch & Lomb Incorporated. ®/™ denote trademarks of Bausch & Lomb Incorporated.

Dr. Kelly Kerksick —
Case Study

As one of the only private practices in her town, Dr. Kelly Kerksick of Columbia, IL treats patients with all kinds of vision needs in her office.

“A gentleman came in wearing Acuvue 2. He had over a diopter of cyl in his right eye and 0.75 cyl in the left: a masked astigmatic. His vision was 20/25 in the right eye and 20/30 in the left eye, however he was seemingly satisfied.

He just wanted more lenses. He’d worn the same type for many years, and had a set budget based on his noncompliant wear schedule. He had no major complaints – just some headaches and redness – but thought those were simply the compromises of wearing contacts.

The first thing I said to him was, ‘We can make your vision much better.’ And I did a little test to prove the value of moving an astigmatic patient from a spherical lens to a toric lens.

After I finished the refraction, I gave him a masked choice – first a toric lens, then a spherical lens – knowing very well he’d prefer the toric correction. I wanted him to see the difference for himself. My success rate for making recommendations is much higher when I get the patient involved in the process. They like to feel a sense of control and understanding over their health care decisions.

Once he made his choice, I pulled back the phoropter and said, ‘The lens you chose has toric technologies,’ and went on to explain those technologies and recommend his use of them.

I finished the exam with slit lamp and eye health assessments. The patient was fit into a trial pair of Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric lenses, and he liked the results. It was 20/20 right off the bat, and the lenses looked great.

As he left, I encouraged him to go out and do what he loves to do. If patients see improvements in their pastimes, they really begin to appreciate the benefits of the technology. And though it may have been an initial issue, budgets were no longer a concern once he saw what the new lenses did for his vision.