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Ease of use, planned replacement lead contact lens trends
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Practitioners and patients both want the same things from contact lenses — convenience, a variety of lens designs and a healthy ocular condition — and manufacturers have responded, said Janice M. Jurkus, OD, MBA.
"It's a fun time to be in contact lenses. Practitioners should give credit to researchers in academia and others who have said this is what we need, because the manufacturers have heard and responded," Dr. Jurkus told Primary Care Optometry News.
Dr. Jurkus, an associate professor at the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, keeps up with contact lens trends through four sources — journals, trade shows, manufacturer sales representatives and other doctors.
Ease of contact lens use is a major trend now, she said. For example, replacing a lens at least on a quarterly basis, if not a 2-week basis, is what many in the profession believe is most appropriate for health, not to mention convenience.
This trend comes from three places, Dr. Jurkus said. "One is the practitioner, because if patients are wearing cleaner lenses on a routine basis, it's healthier. Two, the patients hear about new lenses and products through advertising. And, finally, the manufacturers are giving us a greater variety of lenses."
According to a report, "U.S. Soft Contact Lens Industry Update" released by Wesley Jessen, the sales of soft lenses surpassed $1 billion for the first time last year, marking an 11% increase from 1995. The premium specialty segment, which includes torics, bifocals and cosmetics, accounted for 30% of sales and has shown rapid growth since 1994.
The report also noted that, among specialty lenses, toric and cosmetic lenses account for more than 80% of the specialty lens market.
More RGP fits, planned replacement
Joseph B. Studebaker, OD, FAAO, of Englewood, Ohio, said a trend in his contact lens practice is an increase in the number of presbyopic patients being fit with lenses, specifically rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lenses.
"We are seeing a lot of patients in the core presbyopic age range, and during the past 5 years there's been a resurgence in the industry with new presbyopic designs and new materials," Dr. Studebaker said. "We are doing more RGP multifocal fitting, especially simultaneous vision lenses and aspheric designs."
Both doctors also noted a trend away from extended wear to disposable lenses and planned replacement programs.
Dr. Studebaker said his practice decided several years ago that they were not comfortable with any material in a soft, hydrogel lens for extended wear.
He now offers soft contact lens patients a daily wear planned replacement program, and nearly 90% of his soft lens wearers replace their lenses every 3 months.
"We have been extraordinarily successful with planned replacement," Dr. Studebaker said. "We also supply patients with solutions and bill them in a global fashion for their care and lenses."
Dr. Studebaker added that another benefit of planned replacement systems are healthier patients. "I see very few complications with lenses anymore," he said. "For example, the incidence we've seen of giant papillary conjunctivitis in our practice has decreased dramatically."
Specialized markets will grow.
Where is contact lens research heading? According to Dr. Jurkus, one direction is toward a smaller, specialized market that includes bifocal lenses, both soft and rigid. "I also believe that frequent replacement or disposable lenses are going to be the norm in the mass market for almost everyone."
Dr. Jurkus also expects the technology behind contact lenses, specifically corneal topography, to play a major role. For example, she described a system whereby a topographic image of a patient's eye is taken and transmitted to a laboratory, which determines the RGP lens that best matches the topography, and sends the lens to the office for an initial fitting.
For Your Information:
- Janice M. Jurkus, OD, MBA, may be contacted at the Illinois College of Optometry, 3241 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616-3878; (312) 225-1700; fax: (312) 949-7653. Dr. Jurkus has no direct financial interest in any products mentioned in this article, nor is she a paid consultant for any company mentioned.
- Joseph B. Studebaker, OD, FAAO, may be reached at 639 West National Road, Englewood, OH 45322; (937) 836-3041; fax: (937) 836-1937. Dr. Studebaker has no direct financial interest in any products mentioned in this article. He is a paid consultant for CooperVision.