Eyeworld

46 | EYEWORLD | SUMMER 2026 R EFRACTIVE benefits, drawbacks, and properties of these IOLs [and] in a very short period of time, un- derstand what we're saying to make a decision about a lens they're going to use every day for the rest of their lives," he said. Dr. Branch said he's tried to refine his com- munication process with patients over the years. "I've always felt like if they understand, they can make the right decision." Over the years, Dr. Branch has used videos and internal tactics to help with this. But when VR started to become more popular, he questioned how it might be applied in practice. Dr. Branch partnered with Matteo Ziff to create the VirtuaLens concept. "I think VR is at a point that we can develop a product that's good with good enough resolution to convey images in a way that patients can understand," he said. "We've been working on this the last couple of years, and we've been testing it in my clinic." The VirtuaLens VR system uses a tablet and headset connected with Bluetooth, with Wi-Fi only used for updates. Dr. Branch explained that the system could be used with a simple Bluetooth connection without internet, making security a non-issue because it can run outside of a network. It can simulate different lens op- tions, as well as different ocular conditions. Dr. Branch has been using this technology in his clinic since February 2025. He finds the immersive environment helpful for patients to test different lens options, noting that there are various scenes for patients to try, including a day scene, a driving scene, a kitchen scene, and more. He usually has a counselor take patients through the options, but there is a portion that patients and their family members could go through without needing doctor or staff guidance. Dr. Branch also noted expanding op- tions within the immersive VR environment to simulate other scenarios that could be person- alized to each patient. "We try to take people to their own environments to understand how these lenses would work in their day-to-day lives," he said. The technology has helped increase the number of patients choosing premium options. The technology has resulted in an increase in premium lens conversion averaging 15–25% in practices using it, and it takes staff only 3 min- utes to use with patients. He added that his staff also sees the advan- tage of this product, and patients love it. "It's been fun refining, revising, and getting feedback from patients and staff," Dr. Branch said, adding that the VirtuaLens is easy to use and easy to understand. "It takes about 5–10 minutes to train a staff member to use this," he said. VirtuaLens is being used in eight different countries and in almost every region in the U.S. "We've had a really robust response to it so far," he said. SimVis Gekko2 by 2EyesVision Susana Marcos, PhD, highlighted the SimVis Gekko2. Several tools exist for simulating visual performance, she noted, but they operate in fundamentally different ways. She said that what distinguishes the SimVis Gekko2 is its ability to allow patients to experience the real world through simulated lenses binocularly. "It is neither virtual nor augmented reality," she said. "Instead, patients can move freely and view real objects, use their mobile phones, and observe the environment, gaining a genuine sense of how different commercially available lenses perform in everyday life. The SimVis Gekko2 is fully programmable. The clinician or technician operates a tablet application con- nected to the headset via Bluetooth, selecting the lenses to be tested and seamlessly delivering them to the patient's right and left eyes." This allows patients to really get a sense of how different lenses available on the market perform in day-to-day situations. Patients are looking at the real world through the optical simulation, avoiding limits imposed by pixelation, display resolution, and screen dynamic range. Dr. Marcos is a co-inventor of this simula- tor technology. For years, we developed visual simulators in the laboratory using adaptive optics—a technique originally derived from astronomy that allows programmable manipu- lation of the eye's optics. "These early systems were bulky desktop instruments, yet they clearly demonstrated the visual effects of different op- tical corrections," Dr. Marcos said. "The concept of the SimVis emerged from these prototypes and from recognizing a key challenge: Patients often struggle to imagine how they will see after surgery. At the same time, clinicians face the ongoing difficulty of managing patient expectations." To create a system suitable for clinical practice, Dr. Marcos and her research team col- laborated with engineers to design, miniaturize, continued from page 44

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