Walker described how frames equipped with new internet-enabled devices could be used to expand the optician’s role as a healthcare provider. Technology trends in eyecare Technology has an increasingly important role to play in eyecare. Walker says.Īnd given that patients have more choice than ever before across lenses and frames, opticians will have no shortage of options for meeting their patients’ needs. “Some people need a lot of help, but unfortunately, they get help from the wrong places,” Mr. With new materials on the market, it’s important for opticians to understand what options are available to them and make those choices clear to their patients. Though certain standbys are still popular (and zylonite isn’t going anywhere), opticians can expect to see a broad spectrum of new materials to enter the scene, such as translucent materials, nylon blends, wrapped frames, and laminates. He also detailed several advancements in sunwear technology, including dielectric designs that eliminate specular reflection, thin film coatings, and better blue light filtration treatments.įraming a solution Frame materials, styles, and designs are expanding fast. These lenses eliminate nearly all off-axis blur and aberrations beyond what most conventional lenses achieve. “The best surfaces that we have today are toric tangential geometry,” he says. Walker also noted that atoric lenses were among the most advanced options available to opticians. “Today, opticians can cut 4.00 D and 5.00 D lenses down to 1/1000ths of a millimeter.” The increment that it can measure is limited,” he says. Walker explained that these digital lenses challenge the status quo of measuring in diopters and verifying via lensometer. In fact, lens design optics are improving so fast, possibly faster than opticians can handle. “We’ve come a long way - not only in the materials we use, sustainability and so forth - but also the shape, the geometry,” Mr. With advancements in material science, treatments, clarity, and shape, modern lenses have led to options that, 20 years ago, could never have been imagined. We have to understand what people want,” he says.Īn eye on lens technology Lens technology is in an exciting place today. “The 21st century optician has to understand what’s new in technology. They are tools for improving the way opticians deliver eye care across lens quality, frame choice, and integrated health monitoring. Today, lenses and frames aren’t mere aesthetic concerns.

Lens and frame technology has come a long way since the days of glass and metal, says Phernell Walker II, ABOM, NCLC, of Portland, OR, at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas.

Spectacle lenses