Eyeworld

143 EW SECONDARY FEATURE Bausch + Lomb Bausch + Lomb entered into the phacoemulsification market more than 30 years ago in 1986 with the Daisy (Digital Aspiration Irrigation SYstem) machine. This system combined cataract capabilities with retinal surgery ap- plications in one console and employed a vacuum (venturi) aspiration pump and piezoelectric hand pieces operating at 28.5 kHz to provide surgeons with advanced control. These two features, which help to minimize the amount of energy introduced into the eye during surgery, remain hallmarks of today's Bausch + Lomb phacoemulsification platforms. By 1989, Bausch + Lomb had introduced its second-generation combined cataract and retinal surgery system—the Premiere Microsurgical System—which included these features at an improved performance level and upgradability as two key features. The Millennium Microsurgical System, launched in 1996 as one of the first mod- ular platforms on the market, offered both vacuum as well as flow-based aspiration systems and dual-linear control to allow surgeons to control vacuum and ultra- sound power parameters simultaneously during the case. Bausch + Lomb's current platform, the Stellaris Vision Enhancement system, fea- tures a six-crystal Attune Phaco Handpiece and a first-in-market wireless, dual-linear foot pedal for increased OR flexibility and setup. In 2010, the company introduced Stellaris PC, a system that allows surgeons and facilities the flexibility to perform both cataract and retina procedures to en- hance control while providing efficiency by offering time savings, space, and cost management. "Throughout our history of innovat- ing phacoemulsification technology, we've remained focused on two things: design- ing platforms that help to improve the safety of the procedure and meeting the ever-evolving needs of ophthalmic prac- tices," Chuck Hess, vice president and general manager, U.S. Surgical, Bausch + Lomb, said. "Bausch + Lomb maintains constant communication with the surgi- cal community to ensure they can take advantage of all the features our machines have to offer, while learning through their experience how we can build upon the strengths of our platforms to further im- prove performance. By regularly meeting with surgeons and staff and observing procedures to study how our platforms perform in the OR, we identify ways to maximize our systems' capabilities and improve ease of use and cost effectiveness. This practice and partnership has led to the introduction of advanced features and improvements in the ergonomics, efficien- cy, and usability of our systems." Mr. Hess said Bausch + Lomb con- tinues its commitment to advancing phacoemulsification this year with the anticipated launch of its next generation system, Stellaris Elite. April 2017 • Phaco turns 50 Bausch + Lomb's Meillennium system was launched in 1996 (top) follwed by its latest Stellaris PC system in 2010 (bottom). Source: Bausch + Lomb Johnson & Johnson Vision Abbott Medical Optics (AMO), recently acquired by J&J Vision, got into phacoemulsification pre-1988 while still American Medical Optics, a divi- sion of American Hospital Supply. Its first phaco unit was called the FOUR PLUS, but it was a product that was short lived, Dr. Borrmann said. By 1989, Dr. Borrmann said the company launched an expansion of this unit called the PHACO PLUS, which was marketed until the early 1990s. In 1992, AMO launched the PRESTIGE, which was commercialized until 2001, and it was this unit that saw some of the company's first major improvements. "Early phaco development focused on fluidics; specifically, how could we increase vacuum to better stabilize the chamber, and how quickly does the machine respond to what's happening in the eye? That's what the PRESTIGE was about," Dr. Borrmann said. From there, the focus moved toward better control of ultrasonic energy to re- duce risks that came with thermal energy. AMO's WHITESTAR hand piece, inspired by the size of the star on a Montblanc pen, and named after it, was introduced in January 2002 as the first-ever pulsed ultra- sonic handpiece. Software improvements followed to optimize the duty cycle of this technology. Then AMO moved on to improve effi- ciency, adding a transversal motion to the groove stroke, in addition to longitudinal, with its ELLIPS, launched in the mid- 2000s and followed by another iteration that allowed a figure-eight motion—the ELLIPS-FX. AMO's WHITESTAR Signature sys- tem, launched in 2007, incorporated all of these improvements as well as the first phaco machine offering both peristaltic and venturi pumps in a single system. "One thing about phaco … is that phaco has expanded and has been de- veloped through very close cooperation between the doctors and industry. Every product and every improvement that has been developed in the phaco industry has been through that close collaboration," Dr. Borrmann said. "We can develop [technology] to work in the lab just fine, but we don't develop products to work in the lab, we develop it to work with patients. That relationship is critical to the success of any product development effort and was never more obvious as in the collaboration that went on to develop the phaco technologies we use today," Dr. Borrmann said. EW Editors' note: The sources in this article have financial interests with each of their respective companies. Contact information Borrmann: visionpublicaffairs@abbott.com Boukhny: globalmedia.relations@alcon.com Fanney: globalmedia.relations@alcon.com Hess: tpanas@biocommnetwork.com The SOVEREIGN COMPACT System (top) launched in 2003 and the WHITESTAR SIGNATURE PRO System (bottom) launched in 2015. Source: Johnson & Johnson Vision C e l eb r a t i n g 5 0 Y e a r s o f P h a c o e m u l s i c a ti o n 1967–2017

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)