The FluidVision accommodating IOL designed to restore the eye’s ability to accomodate

The first of a new generation of intraocular lenses (IOLs), which accommodate with the eye’s muscle movements, has been implanted in a patient by Auckland Eye as part of a multi-centre trial.

PowerVision’s FluidVision accommodating IOL is designed to “restore the vision of youth” by being adjustable to see near, far or anywhere in between for middle-aged or elderly patients affected by presbyopia or cataracts.

While other IOLs allow patients to regain clear vision, they cannot mimic the eye’s natural accommodative process of dynamically adjusting focus at all distances, said PowerVision. “The FluidVision IOL is designed to give the patients freedom from ever needing glasses, contact lenses or any vision correction procedure again.”

Auckland Eye is the lead and only New Zealand site for PowerVision’s trial, which is being led by Dr Dean Corbett, who was also the first surgeon in the world to implant a previous IOL-technological advancement, the Tecnis Symfony presbyopia-correcting lens in 2013*.

Though it’s still early days for the patient, Dr Corbett said the procedure in August was an exciting day for all and so far, the outcome looks excellent. “It all went well, and the IOL looked magnificent in the eye.

“This is an entirely new concept in presbyopia correction. Potentially the only truly accommodating IOL designed to replicate the action of the young crystalline lens.”

The FluidVision IOL contains a tiny amount of fluid inside the lens that moves in response to the natural muscle forces in the eye, providing “true accommodation” by mimicking the eye’s natural accommodative process, changing shape and becoming thicker when the patient needs to see up close or thinner to see far away, said PowerVision.

The study involving Auckland Eye is a prospective, randomised, bilateral, multicentre, subject and assessor-blinded, parallel-control design. It is being conducted across 15 study sites in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Earlier clinical results have shown the FluidVision lens, which is implanted into the lens capsule like a standard IOL, provides excellent visual acuity and offers three to four dioptres of accommodative power, said PowerVision.

*See Tecnis Symfony story at www.eyeonoptics.co.nz/articles/archive/fda-approved-iol-first-trialled-in-nz/