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New hydrophobic IOL improves on monofocal technology
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LISBON, Portugal — The new Clareon monofocal IOL was launched by Alcon during the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting as a further step forward in monofocal IOL technology, with all the positive attributes of the AcrySof IQ but with an improved, glistening-free material composition and subtle changes in design.
“The biomaterial has a different formulation, with a slightly higher water content. This results in improved clarity and no glistening at all. The edge is also slightly modified to decrease halos and glare issues,” Alcon’s chief medical officer Stephen S. Lane, MD, said in an interview with OSN.
The IOL has been tested clinically in a cohort of 99 eyes at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
“This was a non-selected, real-life academic cohort, in which 31 patients had comorbidities such as AMD, high myopia, amblyopia, Fuchs’ dystrophy and other issues. This of course has to be taken into account when evaluating the results; it was a test in our routine population,” Rudy Nuijts, MD, said in an Alcon-sponsored presentation.
However, 64% of the patients achieved 20/20 of monocular CDVA and 100% achieved 20/40.
During surgery, the IOL behaves like the AcrySof IQ in the eye, with a slightly shorter unfolding time.
Nuijts confirmed that his patients reported no complaints of positive dysphotopsia. In addition to being glistening-free, the IOL material has been shown in Europe and Japan to have a low rate of posterior capsular opacity (2.7%), leading to YAG rates between 0 and 0.5%.
The dedicated injector system, the AutonoMe, provides “a unique combination of features,” according to Lane. “It is disposable, preloaded and automated. There is no twisting motion to implant the lens, but simply a pressure on a lever that activates the piston that pushes the lens down. The speed of insertion can be graduated based on how much you push down on the lever.”
The lens is not approved in the U.S., but earlier this month the Clareon IOL with AutonoMe delivery system received CE mark and is expected to become available in Europe this year. – by Michela Cimberle
Disclosures: Lane reports he is chief medical officer for Alcon. Nuijts reports he is a consultant for Alcon.