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Alcon reports on diverse contact lens pipeline
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NEW YORK – Two technologies Alcon is developing in the contact lens arena involve glucose sensing and accommodating vision correction, according to a speaker here at the Global Contact Lens Forum.
Alcon’s Kevin Roe, OD, who addressed the audience at Vision Expo East, said Alcon has partnered with Google on developing smart lens technology.
“There are different directions this kind of technology can take, but one at the forefront is a glucose-sensing contact lens, which can monitor the patient’s glucose level 24 hours a day,” Roe said.
Roe said the patient is notified via a receiver if his or her glucose level is falling.
“The real-time, accurate data on the patient’s blood glucose level can be taken to the physician, who can see diurnal variations,” he said. “It provides the patient and doctor better feedback.
“What the OD’s role will be is yet to be seen,” Roe continued. “It’s an exciting opportunity for optometry. Some challenges still have to be met.”
Work is also being done at Alcon on a “true accommodating contact lens,” Roe said.
“Talk about the Holy Grail – a contact lens that can accommodate for the patient and adjust for what they’re trying to see,” he said.
Roe said prototypes have been developed.
“Along with that, if you can have an accommodating contact lens, you can also work with an accommodating IOL,” he added.
Roe noted that most Alcon contact lens products are being focused on fighting dryness. The contact lens dropout rate has been 15% to 20% over the last 20 years, and ocular discomfort is the #1 factor, he said. The contact lens market has remained flat for 10 years.
“Looking to the future, the goal at Novartis is to think: What if?” Roe concluded. “Our eyes are the window into the body’s systemic conditions. What can we do to maximize that?” – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Disclosure: Roe is an employee of Alcon.