|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
CONTACT LENSES
CONTACT LENSES This new lens is made of balafilcon A. The manufacturing process involves proprietary "AerGel" technology to blend silicone and hydrogel material. B&L says this enables PureVision to combine the oxygen
transmissibility of silicone with the wetting properties of hydrogels. PureVision has a Dk value of 110 at -3.00D. A proprietary surfacing technology, called "Performa," transforms the hydrophobic silicone on the lens surface into
a hydrophilic silicate, B&L says. Powers range from -0.50D to -6.00D in 0.25D steps and -6.50D to -9.00D in 0.50D steps. Base curve is 8.6mm and diameter 14mm. Call 1-800-553-5340. 30-Day Extended Wear in Mexico Focus Night & Day has
a Dk value of 175. The lens had been available in the two countries for six-night extended wear. The lens is made of lotrafilcon A, a fluorosiloxane hydrogel. The fluorosiloxane phase allows for high oxygen transmissibility, CIBA
Vision says. The hydrogel allows for lens movement on the eye. Lotra-filcon A has a water content of 24 percent vs. 38 percent for conventional hydrogel contact lenses. Focus Night & Day is available in powers -1.00D to
-5.00D in 0.25D steps; and -5.50D and -6.00D. The lens has an 8.6mm base curve and 13.8mm diameter. Call 1-800-241-5999 (in Canada, 1-800-268-3968). CONTACT LENS CARE This solution employs Aldox, a patented, broad-spectrum anti-microbial agent
designed to penetrate cell walls of fungi and Acanthamoeba cysts without harming corneal cells. It works for up to 30 days, Alcon says. Alcon has started shipping the new Express this month. It's packaged in the familiar green
box with the bright red "Express" label, and comes in 4- and 12-ounce bottles and starter kits. It will replace the current Opti-Free Express formulation with no price increase. It also satisfies new FDA labeling criteria for
"disinfecting solution." Call 1-800-451-3937.
OPHTHALMIC LENSES Outlook is available in all materials,
including the Tegra polycarbonate. It is available in powers up to -4.00D with add powers +0.75D to +3.50D. Diameter is 80mm and minimum fitting height is 18mm. Contact 1-800-633-5829.
A Try at Flattening the Adaptation Curve The full variable inset adjusts depending on the distance power and add when a wearer views an object at close range. Other attributes
include a fully aspheric front surface and flat base curves. Gradal Top is available in powers from -16.00D to +10.00D, with adds +0.75D to +3.50D. Materials are CR-39, 1.67mm high index plastic, 1.6mm polycarbonate, Transitions
gray and brown, and glass. Call 1-800-338-2984. Two New Twists for SOLA Polycarbonate Tough Eyes features a new scratch coat aimed at athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. These lenses are also available with options such as anti-reflective, mirror and hydrophobic coatings, and precision 4- and 5-axis
edging. Contact SOLA Sunlens Division at (305) 593-2377. For the younger set, SOLA has signed a licensing agreement to be the exclusive supplier of Fischer-Price lenses. These lenses come with SOLA's Ultra-Tough hard coat. The
Fischer-Price lenses are available in 68mm and 72mm diameters, in powers ranging from +3.00D to -4.00D, with up to 2.00D cylinder. Call 1-800-358-8258. DIAGNOSTIC AIDS You can print results on the unit's high-speed internal printer or download them to a computer through the RS-232 port. Contact
(716) 686-4500, or go to Large-Molecule Fluorescein Nidek Introduces New B-Scan
Lenses in an Hour with the Q-2100 This compact unit produces clear and
photochromic lenses, and high-index prescriptions. It can produce up to six pairs of lenses in approximately an hour, and your technician can control the quality throughout the process. Available lens designs and materials include
bifocal, progressive, clear, photochromic, aspheric and super-soft progressive. The Q-2100 is about the size of a desktop computer and can be plugged in to any electrical outlet. Call 1-800-587-2743, or go to SUNWEAR
Nautica's Polarizing Effect N5003S, a variation on the double-bridge aviator. With a softened rectangular shape, it features an
8-based lens, wraparound look and logos on the left temple. Colors include chrome, satin black and shiny brown. N5004S, a heavy milled rectangular shape with left temple logos. This unisex style is available in mat brown,
chrome, and shiny black. Both styles have hydrophobic and AR coating, as well as 100 percent UV protection. Call Marchon at 1-800-645-1300. CK Focuses on the Rectangle Zyls. 731S for women is available in azure-over-blond tortoise, medium tortoise, dark tortoise, strawberry blonde-over-tortoise, burgundy and black. The
men's style 630S features extended end pieces and a polarized lens option. It comes in two variations of tortoise, burgundy and satin black. Ultra-lightweight metals. 255S is a navigator style with an ultra-thin second
bridge-bar, which comes in satin black or chocolate with polarized lens, dark silver and antique tortoise with antique gold. Milled eye wires. 257S is a soft rectangle ophthalmic style intended for both men and women. It's
available in satin black or chocolate with polarized lenses, antique tortoise with antique gold, dark silver. Call (516) 755-2121. FRAMES
The 6014 is available in sizes 47/19 and 49/19, and temples 135. Colors include light rose, brown marble, charcoal, gep mauve blue and dark navy. Call 1-800-422-2020. Titmus Taking it to the Street Vanessa is a women's soft oval-shaped metal frame with contoured spring hinges and silicone nose pads. It's available in sizes 52/17-135mm
and 54/17-140mm, and colors tortoise, blue-green and teal. Cecilia is another women's style in an oval shape with end-piece coining. It comes in sizes 50/18-135-mm and 52/18-140mm, and colors rose, blue and tortoise.
Jerry is a unisex metal for children and small-featured adults. Made of stainless steel and monel, it has spring hinges and silicone nose pads. It comes in three sizes: 41/19-120mm, 44/19-125mm, and 47/19-130mm. Colors include
rose, yellow and tortoise. Call 1-800-446-1802. Three for Spring from Kenneth Cole Eye Carumba is an elongated
rectangle with extended end pieces, featuring double and triple laminations in black, amber, crystal and brown-blue. It comes in sizes 51 and 53. Tony Bend-It is a thin, lightweight rectangle available in sizes 47 and 49.
Colors include dark brown, gunmetal matte and blond antique. A sun clip is available. Outta Sight is a small, laser-cut metal in a narrow octagonal shape, which comes in copper, gray and brown. Sizes are 41 and 43. All three
styles come with a Kenneth Cole hard case. Call ClearVision at 1-800-645-3733. New Bifocal-Friendly Frames from ESE OFFICE FURNISHINGS |
||||||||
Product Spotlight: Low Vision Aids
New Lenses for Eschenbach Magnifiers ClearImage II lenses are available in five power increments from 3X to 7X (2X and 8X may be specially ordered). The
magnifiers come in adjustable frames with wire temples and bridges, with a free pair of foam Wedgees for keeping the microscopes in place. Frame colors are taupe or frost. Nose pads are adjustable. Call 1-877-422-7300, or go to
A Pick-Up-and-Go Unit Aladdin uses a 5-to-1 zoom
lens to magnify any printed or written material from 2.8X to 14X. It also has built-in lighting and a 9-inch CRT viewing screen. Available accessories include a moveable viewing table, carrying case and a television cable. Call
1-800-804-8004. |
||||||||
7 Signs That Your Office Needs a Facelift
by Alison B. Lazarus, Associate Editor adley Saitowitz, O.D., recently refurbished his dispensary. It was easy for him to tell that the time was right. "If your office looks terrible, you don't sell anything," he says. "Patients
don't even look." His dispensary had looked rundown for years, and it was affecting his bottom line. "Your frames are only as good as your place looks," the Del Ray Beach, Fla., doctor says. Dr. Saitowitz traded in his faded pink
carpets and old Formica furniture for oak fixtures and warm purples and blues. He's dispensing more eyewear each month since the remodel. "The patient response has been positive," he says. "They now go into the dispensary; before,
they wouldn't." Does you office need an upgrade? Any of these seven signs will tell you it's probably time. 1. Declining sales. Are your patients going elsewhere to get glasses? Designer Lori Estrada of Fashion Optical
Displays, Paradise, Calif., offers this benchmark: 80 percent of your patients should get their glasses in your dispensary. She suggests tracking your "capture rate." If your numbers don't match up, something is not right.
Richard Winig, co-president of Eye Designs in Collegeville, Pa., also suggests monitoring your retained prescription rate. Watch for any decline or shift in sales, like a move toward lower-end frames and away from designer lines.
There's a reason that shift happens. 2. Image. Walk into your office through the front door, and try to imagine that you've never been there before, Ms. Estrada suggests. Ask yourself, "Would I buy glasses here?" Does the
office put forth a professional or dumpy image? It should look modern and up-to-date so your patients think your products are new and designer. 3. Colors. If the colors are faded and "out," you are dating yourself. Patients can tell when the colors are old, Mr. Winig says. Also, if the carpets are stained
from years of tracking dirt and such, and the furniture upholstery is worn, you should look into redecorating with fresh, modern colors. 4. Lighting. Your office should be bright and inviting to patients, Ms. Estrada says.
Cold, fluorescent lighting in your dispensary offers no drama or excitement. Instead, halogen lighting makes the room warmer and more enticing, and it makes your products more noticeable, Mr. Winig says. 5. Flow. If
patients are constantly waiting or it seems like you're always running behind, your office may have poor flow, Ms. Estrada says. Maybe your furnishings and fixtures are not laid out right, or you need more modern furniture.
Remodeling can will increase efficiency. 6. Clutter. You may have collected too many things, possibly things you already have and don't need again. If they get in the way, it may be time to clean out and re-do the office,
Mr. Winig says. 7. New technologies. With the explosion of new technology in lenses and materials, you must be able to showcase these new designs. If your dispensary won't let you do that, it's time to change it. |
||||||||
Bausch & Lomb has
introduced an on-site merchandising support program for its PC Magni-Viewer computer screen magnifier. You can get a demo unit of the Magni-Viewer along with a self-running CD-ROM, a display counter card and patient literature.
Call 1-800-553-5340. A new 12-piece rotating display for Hush Puppies Eyewear is part of a point-of-purchase kit available from Lancer International, a division of Kenmark Optical. Another P.O.P. package offers a counter card and
a Hush Puppies plush dog. The materials are available with the purchase of any Hush Puppies frame. Call 1-800-627-2898 for details. Luxottica Group presents new point-of-purchase materials for its Georgio Armani Occhiali
collection. The one-, two- and three-piece displays are interchangeable, and you can combine them into a 12-piece display. Countercards and a Georgio Armani mirror complete the display. Luxottica Group also launched its spring
sequel of Anne Klein's "Significant Women" advertising campaign. Call 1-800-422-2020. Art Optical Contact Lens and Paragon Vision Sciences are running their "See the USA Sweepstakes" through the end of the year. Practitioners who
buy Paragon RGP lenses are eligible to win one of three all-expense-paid trips to New York City, Grand Canyon and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as other travel prizes. Two entry forms will be included in orders of Paragon HDS
and Paragon Thin, and one in orders of FluoroPerm 30. Call 1-800-253-9364. The AR Council has a new logo and new image. The idea is to make the materials easier to use for member companies when they promote anti-reflective
coatings and materials. Call 1-804-273-1545, or go to Vistakon
has launched ICARE (for commitment to acquisition, retention, and excellence), a program that will designate participants as either a diamond, platinum, gold, silver or bronze level partners. Each level carries different product,
pricing and program incentives, and merchandising support. ICARE will also include a dual spectacle-contact lens purchase program, a customized patient-retention and compliance system, Acuvue new patient purchase rewards and
practice-building techniques aimed at college students. Call 1-800-874-5278. Marchon's new Flexon memory metal ad campaign features the American Breed's tune, "Bend Me, Shape Me." Marchon also relaunched its Internet site.
It's at
The Contact Lens Manufacturers Association has launched a new web site at |
||||||||
|
||||||||
| | | | | | | |