In-office lens processing systems help ODs offer competitive services

Today’s in-office lens processing technologies allow practitioners to lower production costs while offering a unique service to customers in a competitive lens market.

Optical Dynamics Corp., based in Louisville, Ky., manufactures and markets the Q2100R in-office lens casting system. OptiCast Inc., of Findlay, Ohio, manufacturers two in-office systems: the OptiCast and the smaller, less expensive version, the OptiCast II. Super Systems Optical Technologies, based in Cincinnati, offers an in-office surface grinding system, the Fastgrind 2200. All of these systems are marketed as compact and affordable for in-office use as a way to offer patients 1-hour lens processing that is competitive with larger facilities that use laboratory equipment.

“There are quite a few advantages to casting in the office — cost being tantamount of course, but customer service being just as important,” said Carmel Monti, president of OptiCast. “It benefits the doctor tremendously. You have the flexibility to make 92% of the product range in your store within half an hour.”

The Q-2100R

The Q-2100R can produce four pairs of photochromic or clear aspheric single-vision, flat top or aspheric progressive lenses in less than an hour. The system is self-diagnostic, has report capabilities and requires minimal training time. Small enough to fit on a countertop, the system, which uses 1.56-index monomer, can be upgraded to a larger system that uses the same molds, gaskets and monomer. Power range is +4 D to -6, up to -2.50 D cylinder and up to +3 D add.

“Our material, process and advanced lens designs produce some of the best lenses available. We also offer an atoric progressive,” said Paul Michelson, chairman and CEO of Optical Dynamics.

Eye care professionals can lease the Q-2100R starting at $499 per month, which includes both the system and the monomer needed to make the lenses.

“The eye care professional is only buying the monomer to produce lenses, not equipment,” said Mr. Michelson. “This makes a lot of sense from a business investment perspective. As we move toward future generations of technology, our customers will more easily be able to upgrade. Typically, we find that we can save doctors a minimum of 50% on their wholesale lens lab bill, and the Q-2100R allows them to provide better, faster service to their patients.”

Stuart Gindoff, OD, MBA, FAAO, purchased the Q-2100R about a year ago and said he would recommend this system. “I can’t imagine any office without it,” he said.

Dr. Gindoff feels that the Q-2100R can be used for at least 98% of his patients.

Glenn D. Ellisor, OD, in private practice in Kingwood, Texas, has had the Q-2100R system in his practice for nearly 3 years. He also would highly recommend the system to almost any optometric practice.

“It has been one of the most successful programs I have implemented in my practice, as it has allowed our clinic to provide better service to our patients and, at the same time, enjoy record profits,” he said.

Dr. Ellisor also noted that a practice cannot enjoy these advantages for those vision care plans that require the use of specific laboratories. Other lesser limitations include the choice of only one monomer for clear and photochromic lenses and a slight limitation of parameters.

The OptiCast and OptiCast II

The OptiCast and OptiCast II have capabilities to cast three formats, including a single-vision finish, a bifocal standard and a progressive design. These units also use the 1.56-index monomer in clear and photochromic.

The available power range includes +4 D to –4 D, with up to 2 D of cylinder, explained Mr. Monti. This allows the practice to be able to cast about 92% of the prescription range in office, he said. The company is also making an extended range that goes to–5.50 D and out to 2.50 D of cylinder for the military, and it will probably be available in bifocal only to the regular customer base in a few months.

The company’s original system, the OptiCast, retails for $31,500 and includes a series of three cabinets and a closed-circuit type of air-flow laboratory system on the top. It comes with all three formats: single vision, bifocal and progressive.

The smaller system, the OptiCast II, was recently debuted. It is a one-cabinet system with a UV chamber, but it is designed for lower volume practices. It retails for $15,995 and comes with the progressive and single vision formats.

The OptiCast II is a system that you can build upon, explained Mr. Monti. “Most people who buy the OptiCast II usually end up adding the bifocal capabilities,” he said. The price of the unit with the bifocals added is about $20,500, Mr. Monti explained.

Cindy Kible, an optician at Brevard Eye Center, runs the optical facility for the Palm Bay, Fla., practice. Brevard Eye Center has seven facilities, five of which have opticals. Ms. Kible said the power ranges on the OptiCast have been able to accommodate about 98% of their customers since they purchased the system in October 2002.

“We have been doing a ‘buy one, get one free’ promotion since last November using the system,” she said. “It has been very profitable for us because we are spending very little on the frame and the lenses, while offering the patients a good product.”

Ms. Kible predicts that with the volume they are selling, the system will pay for itself in 3 years. She estimates that it costs them about $13 to make a pair of lenses. “Even for some of the older progressive designs, probably the best price I could get elsewhere is about $38 a pair,” she said. “With the OptiCast, we are making them for about $13 a pair.”

Brevard Eye Center still offers premium lenses, and the system was not intended to replace that market, Ms. Kible explained. Additionally, the parameters of the casting system cannot accommodate certain patients. “For the 2% of patients who fall out of the range, we have to order lenses and bite the bullet,” she said.

Brevard Eye Center markets the lens as a mid-index lens, because the user is unable to control the thickness. “If someone has a –6 D cylinder, I’m probably not going to use the casting system anyway, because I would put that patient in a higher index lens,” Ms. Kible said.

The OptiCast has allowed the practice to be competitive, and Ms. Kible would recommend the in-office casting system to other practices. “We are able to compete with LensCrafters, Wal-Mart, EyeGlass World, Sears and other department stores,” she said. “We can offer a comparable lens in the frame of the patient’s choice at a matching price.”

Fastgrind 2200

The Fastgrind 2200 fully-automated, in-office grinding system offers a different option for in-office lens processing using brand-name lenses, explained John Corsini, senior vice president of Super Systems.

The Fastgrind 2200 differs from casting because it uses patented pre-blocked brand-name lenses. It is suitable for in-office work because it is compact and enables the practitioner to offer 1-hour service to patients. It is priced between $21,600 and $23,500, depending on the automated features purchased. The system can be leased for about $420 per month.

To use the system, the operator enters the prescription into the system’s computer, which then directs the operator in selecting the appropriate lens and lap tools from the inventory. Using a diamond-grinding pad, the lens is ground to the proper sphere and cylinder and is finished with second and third polishing operations. The complete finishing and polishing operation takes about 12 minutes a pair. At this point, the lenses are inspected, and an edger is used before dispensing.

Super Systems has been offering this equipment for about 10 years and continuously updates the software. The Fastgrind 2200 is in its fourth generation.

“Because of our software, we have been able to keep our customers up to date with all of the new lens designs as they are introduced,” Mr. Corsini said. “Someone who bought our system 10 years ago has the same capability as someone buying the system today. With the introduction of the Next Generations lenses by Transitions Inc., Super Systems was able to offer those lenses to its customers the next day.”

Shawn Hellums, OD, at Southaven Vision Center in Mississippi, has been using the Fastgrind system for about a year. The system can grind lenses from about –9 D to +6 D and up to about –2.50 D cylinder, and Dr. Hellums sends prescriptions at higher powers or higher cylinders to a lab. The system cannot be used for patients with certain insurance policies, but with the Fastgrind system, about 90% of the practice’s lab work can now be done in the office.

“I would definitely recommend it to others,” Dr. Hellums said. “Our turnaround time is shorter, and I’m paying a little less than half of what I was paying before for lab fees.”

There is also very little maintenance. “Once you’re finished with a lens, you put away the tools, and that’s it,” he said.

Dr. Hellums leased the equipment and said that the savings on lab bills offset the cost of the loan. Also, having the capabilities in-office has cut the lab time in half as well. A pair of glasses can be made in about 20 minutes on the Fastgrind system. It takes another 15 minutes for edging, Dr. Hellums estimated.

“A man driving through town lost his pair of progressive bifocals,” Dr. Hellums said. “He came into our office and asked us if we could replace his glasses. We had him out the door with a brand new pair of glasses in 45 minutes. Without the system, we probably wouldn’t have been able to help him.”

Casting changes

Johnson & Johnson once played a brief role in the market when it bought Innotech, a maker of the in-office casting Innotech Excalibur LensSystem in February 1997. J&J discontinued the product in December 1998, citing that the Innotech product line was not profitable. The company, which stopped providing replacement accessories for the system on March 1999, offered partial cash reimbursements to customers and announced a supply agreement with Optical Dynamics Corp.

LensFab, an in-office casting unit, was brought to the market by Optical Electroforming Inc., based in Clearwater, Fla. OptiCast subsequently settled with LensFab out of court over an intellectual property suit, and LensFab is no longer in the market. Optical Electroforming has been purchased by Sola International Inc., of San Diego, for its polycarbons division, which focuses on mold making.

Safe for the environment

Neither the casting nor the grinding system requires any special Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The grinding system uses tap water and no chemicals or resins, said Mr. Corsini. Advisories are included in casting system manuals for the user to wear safety glasses and take precautions when using any of the chemicals. However, there are no highly toxic chemicals involved in the process, according to Optical Dynamics. OptiCast also said there are no Occupational Safety and Health Administration concerns with the monomers used. n

For Your Information:

• Carmel Monti is president of OptiCast Inc. He can be reached at 12042-R Tiffin Ave., Findlay, OH 45840; (888) 893-2278; fax: (419) 425-2250.
• Paul Michelson is chairman and CEO of Optical Dynamics Corp., located at 10100 Bluegrass Pkwy., Louisville, KY 40299; (800) 797-2743; fax: (502) 719-0731; www.OpticalDynamics.com.
• Stuart Gindoff, OD, MBA, FAAO, can be reached at 5540 Bee Ridge Rd., Sarasota, FL 34233; (941) 378-3937; e-mail: skipeye@comcast.net. Dr. Gindoff has no direct financial interest in any of the products mentioned in this article. He is a member of an advisory board for Optical Dynamics and has served as a consultant for the company in the past.
• Glenn D. Ellisor, OD, can be reached at The Vision Source-Kingwood, 1714 Kingwood Dr., Kingwood, TX, 77339; (281) 359-2020; fax: (281) 359-7019. Dr. Ellisor has no direct financial interest in the products mentioned in this article. He does serve on an advisory panel for Optical Dynamics.
• Cindy Kible is an optician at Brevard Eye Center, 160 Malabar Rd., Ste. 105, Palm Bay, FL 32907; (321) 984-3200; fax: (321) 984-0032. Ms. Kible has no direct financial interest in the products mentioned in this article, nor is she a paid consultant for any companies mentioned.
• John Corsini is senior vice president of Super Systems Optical Technologies. He can be reached at 3533 Cardiff Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45209; (800) 543-7376; fax: (800) 421-1047; www.superoptical.com.
• Shawn Hellums, OD, can be reached at Southaven Vision Center, 7090 Malco Blvd., Suite 109, Southaven, MS 38671; (662) 349-3737; fax: (622) 349-0712; e-mail drhellums@southavenvision.com. Dr. Hellums has no direct financial interest in the products mentioned in this article, nor is he a paid consultant for any companies mentioned.