New Lens Niches

Consider these new lens niches to ramp up your cutting edge dispensary products and profits

Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

Lenses designed for specific tasks have been part of eyewear dispensing for many years, and traditional niches, like low vision, computer vision, and industrial safety are still solid ways to meet lifestyle needs while expanding practice profits.

While double-D segs for presbyopic electricians, safety spectacles for surgeons, and sunwear are ancillary items after the everyday eyewear, getting up-to-the-minute on the latest lens technology can jumpstart sales.

Here's EB's look at cutting-edge lens niches for the optical marketplace.

HANDHELD DEVICES

The American Optometric Association shares a wealth of data on vision issues at its website, aoa.org. Consider their recommendations of the following when working with special population segments.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE

Mobile telephones, PDAs, iPods, handheld games, and laptop computers…the list of handheld digital devices and how they factor into our lives is long, and there is every indication that the list will get longer. A subset of computer lenses, lenses designated for handheld devices focus primarily on fine-tuning a visual solution to digital-viewing details. The point is to escalate wearer's performance (more efficient computer use and gaming play) and increase comfort (anti-fatigue). Eyewear for the digital age has lens features such as patented designs, or even proprietary materials, with specialized coatings and tints, that are all geared to make digital viewing more effective and pleasurable.

Details such as counteracting the harshness of backlit computer monitors and office lighting, as well as eliminating distracting "visual noise," are part of the build-out. High-wrap lens-and-frame configurations create a mini-moisture chamber which helps alleviate discomfort attributed to reduced rates of blinking during digital device usage.

SUPER DIGITAL

Digitally produced lenses, those created using proprietary and personalized software programs, can now offer lens wearers true personalization, resulting in the crispest, clearest visual experience yet.

Research and development-driven lens offerings utilize wavefront applications, patented designs, and production efficiencies. Personalized prescriptions, fine-tuned measurements, and lifestyle tailoring are additionally used to create the digital perfect storm for lenses.

Today's technology puts more of a demand on the eyes, and calls for new types of lenses. Image courtesy of Essilor of America

Research and development has been driven by remarkable technologies and environments, such as 3D evaluation and virtual testing labs. Some super digital lenses require manufacturer-supplied tools combined with specialized fitting and measurement techniques in order to adapt each pair of digitally produced lenses specifically to patient needs. As digital lenses become more sophisticated, so will evaluation and measurement tools.

Recent developments in the digital lens arena include designs attuned to frame shape, eye shape, and eye rotation, focus on mid-range viewing, wider fields of view, variable inset, aspheric-atoric combinations, front and backside power positioning, ultra-thin cosmetics, and single vision designs with focus on high-wrap configurations.

Visual fatigue is an increasingly common issue, but can be remedied with the right lens selections. Images courtesy of Signet Armorlite

Poised to enter the U.S. marketplace are digital lenses that more heavily utilize wavefront technology to eliminate higher-order aberrations and fine-tune vision from clinical (diagnosis) and lens application (dispensing and wear) standpoints.

Other breakthrough lens technologies will address the visual needs of ethnic markets, such as the spectrum of Asian eye shapes, based on eye and facial anatomy and convergence at near. Therapeutic spectacle lenses to slow or arrest the progression of myopia in children are already being used successfully overseas and are set to make a U.S. debut soon.

Lens technologies will address the specific needs of wearers, from face shape to occupation. Image courtesy of Shamir Insight

SPECIALTY SPORTS

Sports-savvy practices have been marketing and selling eyewear for specific sports for years. Think brown polarized lenses for flats fishing and gray polarized lenses for deepwater fishing.

Today's specialty sports lenses go far beyond that. For example, one recently released polarized lens offering has been designed so that wearers can better view LCD screens, which has traditionally been a challenge with polarized lens wear.

The combination of polarized and photochromic technologies have made everyday and sports eyewear more user-friendly, and honed the sunlens market to answer specific wearers' sports needs.

Polarized photochromic lenses targeted for driving, golfing, hunting and shooting, cycling, and water sports are now on the market, with more sports niches to be filled in soon.

While HEV (High Energy Visible) light management lenses have been in the marketplace for a few years now, manufacturers report that there's an upswing of sales in this sun-protective sector due to consumers being more aware that eye health is part of their total health picture. High definition and improved contrast are the two key current benefit buzzwords in sunwear.

TOP TREATMENT

Some sources now estimate that anti-reflective (AR) use in the United States is as high as 50 percent. The rise in AR sales may be due to continued innovations in AR layers, including highly advanced scratch resistance.

Now premium ARs are so tough, it takes the dilemma away from dispensing them and brings ECPs confidence that they'll offer durability to wearers without the nagging question: "will AR lenses hold up under normal wear?" Premium AR scores high in contact angle, cleanability, and abrasion testing, and reduces glare and increases transmission.

Continued improvements in antireflective performance indicate that the category will gain market share as both ECPs and patients realize AR's visual value. EB