Crystalens

Crystalens is an accommodating intraocular lens that, unlike a standard IOL, can treat both a person's cataracts and presbyopia—loss of near and intermediate vision. You probably noticed in your forties that you started to lose some of your up-close vision and had to start wearing reading glasses. Crystalens not only treats your cataracts (a clouding or hardening of your lens), but can also reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses. It does so by recreating accommodation similar to your eye's natural lens. The unique Crystalens can reduce or eliminate glasses for most activities, including: reading a book, working on the computer, and driving a car.

Crystalens was modeled after the human eye. Like the natural lens, it uses the eye muscle to flex and accommodate in order to focus on objects in the environment at all distances. Crystalens dynamically adjusts to your visual needs.

Crystalens is designed to allow the optic, or the central circular part of the lens that you see through, to move back and forth as you constantly change focus on images around you. Crystalens flexes as you focus your vision.

Crystalens is:

• The first and only FDA-approved accommodating intraocular lens
• The only FDA-approved intraocular lens that uses the natural focusing ability of the eye
• The only FDA-approved presbyopia correcting IOL for cataract patients that provides a single focal point throughout a continuous range of vision

Few patients with Crystalens have experienced problems with glare, halos and night vision. Crystalens focuses only one image to the back of the eye, unlike a multifocal lens that projects multiple images, requiring your brain to “adjust” to the differences.

The effectiveness of Crystalens was proven in clinical trials:

• Significantly more patients implanted with a Crystalens (88.4%) could see better at all distances than patients implanted with a standard IOL (35.9%).
• Most patients have continued to report excellent vision 7 years after implantation with Crystalens. More than 100,000 Crystalens implants have been implanted worldwide, and that number is growing daily.

Crystalens accommodates like the natural lens. After implantation of Crystalens, most patients will see brighter and clearer from distance, intermediate to near like they did when they were younger.

STAAR Toric IOL™ for Cataract Astigmatism Eye Surgery

STAAR® Surgical Company developed the world 's first toric IOL (intraocular lens) for the reduction of astigmatism. This exclusive IOL can maximize surgical results by treating astigmatism during cataract eye surgery. Approximately 20 percent of patients who need cataract surgery have a clinically significant degree of preexisting astigmatism.

Background of Astigmatism Eye Surgery

For the past decade, ophthalmic surgeons have tried several methods to correct preexisting astigmatism during cataract eye surgery, including making incisions into the cornea to alter the shape of the eye. Now due to the unique design of the STAAR Toric IOL, astigmatism can be reduced or corrected without further surgical intervention. Like other intraocular lenses, the STAAR Toric IOL restores focus to the eye when the natural lens or cataract is removed, but it is also designed to correct preexisting astigmatism using the same technology that has been successfully used in contact lenses.

The STAAR Toric IOL is designed for those cataract patients with 1.5 to 3.5 diopters of regular pre-existing astigmatism. The STAAR toric IOL is manufactured of time-tested silicone (RMX-3UV) and have been implanted worldwide.

Outcome of Cataract Eye Surgery with Pre-existing Astigmatism

A randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study conducted by STAAR Surgical Company has demonstrated that the implantation of the STAAR Toric IOL is associated with clinically significant reduction in astigmatism as compared to implantation of a non-toric IOL during cataract eye surgery for astigmatic patients. Review the images below to view the difference.

If you are an astigmatic cataract patient, the STAAR Toric IOL may be the right intraocular choice for you. The toric IOL has the capability to provide freedom from corrective lenses after cataract surgery.

The STAAR Toric IOL: May be the Single Best Option for Correcting Cataracts and Astigmatism

The surgery to remove cataracts is an outpatient procedure, and involves replacing the clouded natural lens with an artificial one. However, if you also have astigmatism you may still experience blurred or distorted vision, since the lens typically implanted during ordinary cataract surgery cannot correct this secondary condition.

Astigmatic patients who are planning cataract surgery can request the use of a STAAR Toric IOL during their lens replacement - treating the cataract and the astigmatism at the same time. The STAAR Toric IOL is ideal for cataract patients with regular, pre-existing astigmatism. It has been used safely and effectively in a countless number of procedures.