Vision in the valley, debuts in the desert: An AOA 2026 recap

Clinicians, researchers, and industry leaders got fired up about the latest developments shaping patient care at the 129th Annual American Optometric Association Congress and 58th Annual American Optometric Student Association Conference: Optometry's Meeting. Held in sweltering Phoenix, Arizona, from June 17-20, 2026, the meeting featured advances in contact lens technology, evolving approaches to keratoconus management, and new insights into dry eye disease treatment. From expanded toric lens parameter ranges and research on multifocal toric performance to discussions on emerging keratoconus therapies and data highlighting early response patterns to lifitegrast, the meeting offered attendees a look at both current clinical challenges and potential future directions in eye care. Here is a recap of several notable developments from the conference.

Contact lens

Contact lens news was plentiful at this year’s conference, with highlights including parameter extension announcements, posters on the latest data, and sessions on comfort and retention rates. In an announcement, Johnson & Johnson unveiled an expanded parameter range for Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism contact lenses, extending cylinder powers up to –2.75 D, according to a news release. The company said the expanded portfolio will be available in the US and Canada this summer and is intended to help eye care professionals fit more patients with astigmatism.¹ Alcon also announced expanded astigmatism parameters for Precision1, Precision7, and Total30 contact lenses. The additions span daily, weekly, and monthly replacement modalities and are intended to provide eye care professionals with broader fitting options for patients with astigmatism.²

The cross-study comparison suggests that the multifocal toric design extends daily disposable multifocal lens options for presbyopic patients with astigmatism who are not well served by nontoric multifocal lenses. The poster, titled “The Performance of a Novel Daily Disposable Multifocal Toric Contact Lens Compared to an Existing Multifocal Contact Lens,” was presented by a group of authors, including Eugene A. Osae, OD, PhD, of the University of Houston College of Optometry.³

Additionally, Langis Michaud, OD, MSc, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA, FEAOO, gave a presentation titled “Managing Dry Eye With Contact Lenses,” which highlighted the multifactorial nature of contact lens discomfort, the benefits of daily disposable lenses, and the role of tear film stabilization. A practical clinical pearl Michaud offered is to observe patient behavior during refraction: Frequent blinking to clear letters or fluctuating responses to “1 or 2” strongly suggest marginal or more advanced dry eye, which can later be confirmed at the slit lamp. He stressed that tear film issues should be addressed before proceeding with contact lens prescribing.

Keratoconus

Also at this year’s meeting, Clark Y. Chang, OD, MSA, MSc, FAAO, discussed recent advancements in keratoconus management. He highlighted the FDA approval of epithelial-on corneal cross-linking with oxygen supplementation and its topography-guided variation, which showed promising results in a 24-month study. Chang also mentioned a preclinical study in Australia that used an eye drop containing TGF-β3 and dexamethasone to potentially treat keratoconus less invasively. Additionally, he weighed in on patient misconceptions regarding keratoconus.

“[Something] that [has] recently been brought up to me by patients over and over again that I find somewhat disturbing is that patients often blame themselves,” Chang told Optometry Times. “They see the information on how eye rubbing is related to—or at least is part of the cause for—keratoconus and rethink how many times they've rubbed their eyes over their lifetime. They live with a tremendous amount of guilt. Now, while it is true that eye rubbing is a factor, so is the interplay between genetics and environment. We must control eye rubbing, whether it's due to a seasonal allergy…or dry eye and other ocular surface diseases that we can control. While that is true, we definitely need to educate patients to avoid eye rubbing. But we also need to educate patients in a way that does not place the blame on patients so they don't think that they have inflicted themselves with a disease that is visually devastating. I know we can do it.”

Dry eye

Notable news from the dry eye subspecialty includes results presented in a 2026 Top 5 Poster titled “Patterns of Response to Treatment With Lifitegrast Ophthalmic Solution in Patients With Dry Eye Disease.” In an exclusive interview with Optometry Times, Anna Tichenor, OD, PhD, FAAO, explained that a key finding of the analysis is the presence of a subset of patients who demonstrate a very early response to lifitegrast. Some individuals begin to experience symptom relief as early as 2 weeks after initiating therapy. Importantly, this relief is not marginal: Many patients achieve a robust improvement, defined as greater than 60% reduction in their visual analog scale scores for eye dryness. Tichenor emphasized that this degree of improvement is clinically meaningful in day-to-day practice.

References

1. Johnson & Johnson expands Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism parameters, increasing access for more patients. News release. Johnson & Johnson. June 16, 2026. Accessed June 16, 2026. https://www.jjvision.com/en-us/johnson-johnson-expands-acuvue-oasys-1-day-for-astigmatism-parameters-increasing-access-for-more-patients/

2. Alcon showcases innovations across contact lenses and dry eye at AOA 2026. News release. Alcon. June 17, 2026. Accessed June 25, 2026.

3. Franklin R, Osae E, Olivares G, Cannon-Hill J, Karkkainen T. The performance of a novel daily disposable multifocal toric contact lens compared to an existing multifocal contact lens. Presented at: 129th Annual AOA Congress & 58th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting; June 17-20, 2026; Phoenix, AZ.