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Biofinity Energys may reduce microfluctuations that cause digital eye strain
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SAN ANTONIO – The Biofinity Energys contact lens from CooperVision helps address the changing visual needs and digital demands of contact lens wearers, according to Heather Kowalczyk, APR, associate vice president at McDougall Communications, who moderated the CooperVision global professional services roundtable here at the American Academy of Optometry meeting.
CooperVision first launched the Energys lens in the U.S. about 2 years ago, she said.
“Digital eye fatigue is certainly a hot topic in the media, around the U.S. market and beyond,” Jen Palombi, OD FAAO, senior manager, professional and scientific communication, CooperVision, said. “The thing with digital eye fatigue is that there isn’t a single symptom or a single entity, and there are a lot of things that come into play ... there are complaints of dryness, tiredness and other symptoms from digital use.”
The aquaform technology in the lens helps with the sensation of dryness with digital device use, Palombi said.
She cited new research from the company that helps quantify the physiologic aspects of digital eye fatigue, specifically accommodative microfluctuations, which are tremors in the ciliary muscle, she said.
“With prolonged digital eye use, you see more tremors and stress to the ciliary muscle,” Palombi said.
The goal of this research was to quantify change in accommodative microfluctuations in the muscle. They found a clinically significant difference in the amount of accommodative microfluctuation with patients wearing the Biofinity Energys lens versus the Biofinity sphere lens.
The prospective, multicenter, subject-masked and bilateral wear study compared the difference of the change in accommodative microfluctuation frequency measured by the Accomodative Function Analyzer instrument.
They reported a statistically significant difference in the mean change of accommodative microfluctuations when compared to Biofinity sphere after reading on an iPhone for 20 minutes held at a distance of 25 cm, according to a press release from the company.
“We think Biofinity Energys may help reduce the effects of digital eye strain, thereby reducing some of the accommodative strain and load on the ciliary muscle itself,” Palombi said. “There’s stunning and overwhelming stats on digital device use at this point. Digital device use is the new norm; one-third of adults report more than 10 hours a day of screen time. Anything we can do to keep the eye more comfortable through those long hours on the screens we are using is an important innovation and one we are happy to offer with the Biofinity Energys lens.”
There is a large need in the U.S., where hundreds of thousands of wearers have adopted the Energys lens, Palombi added.
“We are seeing an uptick in eye care providers using Biofinity Energys more as a first-line approach for sphere wearers, before these symptoms starts to take place,” Palombi said. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: Palombi is employed by CooperVision, and Kowalczyk is employed by McDougall Communications, which represents CooperVision.