AOA 2023: Practitioner assessment of fitting a novel silicone hydrogel daily disposable multifocal contact lens (ePoster)

Bill Reindel, OD, caught up with Optometry Times®' assistant managing editor Emily Kaiser to share key highlights of his e-poster, "Practitioner assessment of fittting a novel silicone hydrogel daily disposable multifocal contact lens," which he presented during the 2023 Optometry's Meeting held in Washington, DC.

Editor's note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Emily Kaiser, Assistant Managing Editor:

Hi everyone. I'm Emily Kaiser with Optometry Times and I'm sitting down with Dr. Bill Reindel, who is presenting an e-poster entitled, "Practitioner assessment of fittting a novel silicone hydrogel daily disposable multifocal contact lens," at Optometry's Meeting, which is hosted by the AOA in Washington DC. Welcome, Dr. Reindel. Thanks for taking the time to me.

Bill Reindel, OD:

Thanks. Great to meet you.

Kaiser:

Yeah. So first, can you give us a brief overview of your poster?

Reindel:

Well, it's very exciting because Bausch + Lomb is just launching the infused multifocal contact lens, and the poster focuses on the performance of the multifocal lens. Now, it's very exciting because the presbyopic population continues to grow, and as a result, it offers terrific opportunity for practice growth. So the objective of our study was to evaluate the product performance of the infused multifocal lens when it's used by multifocal contact lens wearers. So, there were 294 patients that participated in the study and there were 20 investigational sites. With the results of the vision measurements and feedback from the patients, and the evaluation of the fit, the investigators' assessments were excellent for delivering clear vision, overall satisfaction, and importantly, the lens was easy to fit. So the investigator ratings were all high in the 90s. In summary, kind of the [inaudible] progressive infused multifocal lens, it offers a next-generation material, pro balance technology, and it's a novel option for the growing presbyopic population and their vision needs.

Kaiser:

That sounds really, really interesting. What do you hope that optometrists take away from your poster?

Reindel:

Well, I think it's important to understand that the population is growing and there are multifocal contact lens wearers that are experiencing some symptoms. So a new contact lens—particularly the infused multifocal lens—has some unique technologies associated to address those needs. And it also offers an option for new wearers. Our research shows that there continues to be a lot of interest among presbyopic patients in trying contact lenses.

Kaiser:

Yeah, for sure. As another optometrist once told me, presbyopia comes for us all, so I'm sure that group is definitely growing quickly.

Reindel:

Well, it hits us around 40, so we spend about half our lives being presbyopic. So it's great to have an option like the infused multifocal.

Kaiser:

For sure. And how will this data trickle down into patient care?

Reindel:

Well, as I mentioned, we've just launched the lens so we have a number of different opportunities. Our Bausch + Lomb respresentatives will be talking to the eye care practitioners. The eye care practitioners that are attending the American Optometric Association can find out about it at the meeting, and we'll have social media information that goes out, as well.

Kaiser:

Sounds great. So thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and I really appreciate it.

Reindel:

It was great meeting you.

Kaiser:

Great meeting you, too.