Medix21's Camille Furnandiz with a few of the new-to-Aotearoa Optego products at CCLS NZ 2024

It was the colourful diagnostic flipper sets that attracted New Zealand-based ophthalmic equipment distributor Medix21’s Camille Furnandiz to Optego’s stand at February’s Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology congress in Bali. “I love a rainbow. They just really stood out,” she said.

The sheer practicality of the flipper set was also echoed across Optego’s other products, said Furnandiz, including its magnetic-prism block set. Made from clear acrylic material, each prism is laser engraved with the appropriate diopter power and contains a small magnet that ‘snaps on’ to a magnetic handle, so they don’t need to be handled, she said. “So no more sticky fingerprint marks.”

This practicality, coupled with a great price point – often far better than their more established competitors, said Furnandiz – led to Medix21 taking up the agency and thus Optego’s introduction to Aotearoa at the 2024 CCLS NZ conference. “I was very impressed with them, they are a really great, family-owned and run business.”

As well as the fully coloured diagnostic flipper sets and the magnetic-prism blocks, Medix21 is also introducing Optego’s stick-on prisms and Epiglare glare-tester technology. The stick-on prisms attach very easily to glasses, are made from a very flexible silicone-like material and are simple to cut with 30% more surface area than competing products, said Furnandiz. The Epiglare tester offers a standardised, repeatable approach to measuring and documenting glare disability with best corrected vision, she said.  “Designed to simulate glare from oncoming headlights, it’s easy to switch between three glare intensity levels and can be used as a handheld test or directly on the phoropter.”

Founded in 1995 by Tucson ophthalmologist Dr Johan van Dalen, Optego recently opened a second base in Singapore, run by Dr van Dalen’s daughters Lindy and Marsha, to service the wider Asia-Pacific market.

“As a company, it’s got a really good vibe and I love the fact they are making established products far more user-friendly at a more affordable price. What’s not to love about that!” said Furnandiz.