OSSD Meeting
December, 2005

 

"Vision Optimization Through Wavefront Measurement and Correction"

by Laurence Warden
VP of Engineering, Ophthonix

ABSTRACT The refractive properties of the human eye have been traditionally corrected utilizing a "best fit" approach. Early correction was achieved with spherical correction only. Eighty years ago cylindrical correction was introduced which greatly improved vision for many patients.

However, the eye being comprised of biological tissue contains more than simple sphero-cylindrical refractive error. Conventional refraction technology does not adequately address the imperfections of the human eye. As a result, patient's visual acuity and contrast sensitivity is reduced and the patient is forced to compromise even at the accepted standard of 20/20.

Additionally, patients complain of double images, distorted field of view, low contrast, lack of color perception, glare sensitivity, night driving problems, 'halos'/'star burst patterns'/'comet tails' around lights at night. There is a need for measuring low and high order aberrations and ophthalmic lenses that correct both low and high order aberrations.

Ophthonix has developed a highly accurate wavefront Aberrometer, the Z-View, capable of measuring traditional sphere and cylinder as well as the higher order aberrations responsible for vision degradation. Additionally, Ophthonix has developed spectacle and contact lenses which utilize these wavefront measurements of the eye giving the highest level of vision possible.

 

SPEAKER BIO: Laurence Warden, Vice President of Engineering

With more than 18 years experience in the development of medical and laboratory instrumentation for emerging technology companies, Mr. Warden's career has specialized in commercializing new technologies based on early phase development concepts. He holds over 18 patents and has published numerous articles and presentations of his work.

Prior to Ophthonix, Mr. Warden was Director of Engineering at Genicon Sciences where he led the commercialization efforts of instrumentation designed to read DNA microarrays using Genicon's proprietary molecular labeling technology. Other engineering development experience includes developing the first point-of-care whole blood platelet function test for Accumetrics, developing a superconducting bioimaging system for the brain at 4-D Neruoimaging, and engineering development of the first commercial 2 channel infusion pump for IMED, Inc. Mr. Warden holds a Bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering from San Diego State University.

 

Meeting Review:

http://www.ophthonix.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(A past article from the San Diego Union Tribune)

A clearer future for eyewear
A fusion of technologies results in ultrafine diagnosis and correction

By Penni Crabtree
San Diego Union-Tribune
March 25, 2005

On the production line at San Diego startup Ophthonix, lenses await further steps in the manufacturing process.

EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune

 

These are not your grandma's spectacles.

Fusing laser technology developed as part of the Star Wars weapons program with optics, physics, biology and some elegant engineering, the San Diego startup company Ophthonix has hit on a new vision for, well, vision. The privately held eye-care company has created a device called the Z-View Aberrometer, a laser-based diagnostic machine that allows eye doctors to map the unique foibles of the individual human eye.

Traditional vision testing machines allow eye doctors to write prescriptions for glasses or contact lenses that correct common problems such as farsightedness and nearsightedness. But Ophthonix's device also measures other conditions – known as high order aberrations – within the eye that affect the clarity and crispness of a person's vision. "You aren't asked during an eye exam, 'Is that line perfectly clear?' you are asked, 'Can you read it?' " said Andreas Dreher, chief executive of Ophthonix. "Some people can read the 20/20 line, but it's not crisp. They see blurriness. Or, while driving at night, every light looks like a star or a comet's tail.

"Those are the fine distortions, the optical aberrations, that our machine detects and we can correct," Dreher said. The technology is similar to that used in a new generation of LASIK treatments, the laser surgery that is performed to correct vision problems. But unlike machines that map the eye so a surgeon knows where to direct the laser, Ophthonix's device is the first to be used as a prescribing tool for corrective lenses.

Ophthonix began selling its machine to eye doctors in November, but the diagnostic technology is only the first step in the process and in the company's potential revenue stream. Once an eye doctor uses the Aberrometer to map a patient's eyes – capturing more than 11,000 tiny measurement points across each pupil – the device's software generates a digital prescription. The doctor then sends that prescription to Ophthonix, which feeds it into its proprietary lens production equipment to create a custom pair of spectacles.

Unlike traditional lenses, which are made from ground or molded glass or plastic, Ophthonix lenses are made from two pieces of thin plastic that are fused with a proprietary liquid plastic between them. The liquid plastic trapped within this lens sandwich is then "programmed" through a point-by-point computerized system to correspond with the patient's prescription. Once programmed, the liquid plastic is cured and hardened, and the finished pair of Ophthonix's branded iZon eyeglasses is mailed to the doctor to be delivered to the patient. The company produces about 60 pairs of custom-made eyeglasses each day, and is scaling up to manufacture more. Dreher said patients can expect to pay a premium over conventional lenses for the iZon eyeglasses, but the prices are set by individual eye doctors and can differ from doctor to doctor. The list price for an Aberrometer is $27,900.

Phil Smith, a Hillcrest optometrist, said he bought an Aberrometer in January because the technology is "cutting-edge." "I have a number of patients that complain that their night vision is not good with glasses, or it's not crisp, and we just can't put our finger on it," Smith said. "But we're starting to learn that a lot of these complaints are due to higher order aberrations that can't be corrected with ordinary glasses or contacts. "I think Ophthonix's technology has the potential to solve patient problems, to have a significant impact," Smith said. "That's my hope, and I want to be there when it happens."

Dreher, who founded Ophthonix, obtained the company's technology from Trex Enterprises Corp., a San Diego research and development company focused on applied optics and lasers. In 2000, Dreher, a founder and former president of Rancho Bernardo-based Laser Diagnostic Technologies, left his job and was looking for a new technology to build a company around. He was introduced to Trex, which ran a project on guiding laser beams through the atmosphere for the federal government's Star Wars program. Dreher saw some of that technology and thought it could be applied to vision care. "When a laser beam is projected through the atmosphere, there is a lot of air that changes in its optical density and properties, and therefore the light beam is deviating," Dreher said. "So you want to be able to detect how a beam is disturbed and then correct it. " And it is the same problem an eye doctor faces. The eye is an optical system that has disturbances, and you want to diagnose them and correct them."

Dreher pitched the idea to Trex, which transferred commercial rights to the technology to Ophthonix in exchange for an equity stake in the new company. In 2002, Ophthonix raised an initial $7.5 million in venture capital funds from San Diego's Enterprise Partners and Menlo Park-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a premier venture capital firm that has financed high-tech and biotech powerhouses such as Sun Microsystems, Compaq Computer and Genentech. Dreher is proud that the company not only attracted VCs with impressive pedigrees, but did so after the high-tech and biotech stock market bubble had burst. "We started at a time where virtually no funding was available, when hardly any venture capitalist would talk to you if you came with a new idea," Dreher said.

Dr. Drew Senyei, managing director of Enterprise Partners, said his firm decided to back Ophthonix because the technology represents "the first innovation in eyeglasses in decades." "It is a very unique concept," Senyei said. "The difference between traditional glasses and the iZon glasses is like the difference between regular television and high-definition television." Ophthonix, which employs 52, is slowly introducing the Aberrometer to the market – 25 units have been sold in San Diego – and will begin to offer the device nationwide this summer. In September, Ophthonix formed an alliance with San Jose-based Optical Connection, which will manufacture iZon disposable contact lenses.

 

 

 

 

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