Alcon’s new Clareon AutonoMe intraocular lens (IOL) and delivery system was launched in Australia and New Zealand on 30 June at its Synergeyes Clinical Symposium in Sydney.

AutonoMe is the first and only automated, disposable, preloaded IOL delivery system, said Alcon in a statement, enabling easy, intuitive controlled IOL delivery into the capsular bag in patients undergoing cataract surgery.

The AutonoMe delivery system has an automated CO²-powered delivery mechanism and intuitive, ergonomic design, said the company, to allow precise and simplified single-handed control of IOL placement during cataract surgery. The new device delivers Alcon’s Clareon IOL, made from a new, patented biomaterial, an innovative hydrophobic acrylic optic polymer material that Alcon says has “unsurpassed optic clarity” and “low edge glare”.

“We have received great feedback from our local surgeons who have had early access to the technologies. Clareon AutonoMe builds on the comprehensive legacy of AcrySof by offering surgeons easy, intuitive control of IOL delivery with the newest optic material,” said Karen Fowler, country business head, surgical ANZ.

"Comfort and efficiency during the cataract surgery are key to achieving better outcomes. This new device is expected to improve the procedure and ultimately to reduce surgical time," said Professor Rudolph Nuijts from the University of Maastricht in Holland, when the Clareon AutonoMe system was first unveiled at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting in Lisbon, in October 2017.

Alcon is planning to introduce the region’s ophthalmologists to the new technology in a series of roadshows across Australia and New Zealand over the next year.