US-based healthcare company Abbott has secured CE Mark approval in Europe for the Tecnis Symfony extended range of vision intraocular lens (IOL) to treat cataract patients with presbyopia.
Presbyopia is a condition where the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
According to the company, the Tecnis Symfony IOL lens offers patients a continuous range of vision including far, intermediate and near distances with reduced incidence of halo and glare comparable to a monofocal lens.
Abbott’s Tecnis Symfony IOL is currently not approved for use in the US.
Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg professor Gerd Auffarth said with the available advances in IOL technology, many patients are not satisfied with having to wear reading glasses after cataract surgery, which is often the result when using conventional monofocal IOLs.
“The Tecnis Symfony extended range of vision IOL enables physicians to offer patients a continuous range of functional vision for far, intermediate and near distances, with reduced risk of undesired halos or glare,” Auffarth said.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataTecnis Symfony is designed to be placed in the lens capsule of the eye to replace the natural crystalline lens that has been removed because of a cataract.
The company claims that the Tecnis Symfony is the first and only presbyopia-correcting extended range of vision IOL designed to provide patients increased independence from eyeglasses and quality vision over a continuous range of distance including far, intermediate and near.
Compared with standard monofocal IOLs that provide improved distance vision only, the new IOL is designed to increase the distance over which an object appears in focus without sacrificing the patient’s visual clarity or contrast.
Abbott senior vice-president of medical optics Murthy Simhambhatla said: “This new IOL demonstrates Abbott’s consistent innovation in bringing new treatment options to market, enabling physicians to offer their patients clear vision after cataract surgery.”
The company has started a trial in Europe to assess patients’ quality of vision at far, intermediate and near distances after being implanted in both eyes with the TECNIS Symfony extended range of vision IOL.
The 150-patient trial will also evaluate both patient and surgeon satisfaction and its preliminary results are expected later in 2014.
Abbott is also carrying out a post-market observational trial with about 400 patients across Europe, including the UK, France, Germany and Spain, with results expected at the end this year.
