Zeiss showcases latest innovations

Zeiss took advantage of the annual European congress to announce some product debuts and technological enhancements to currently marketed products.

Specifically, the firm showcased the latest addition to its optical coherence tomography (OCT) portfolio (Cirrus HD-OCT), two new surgical microscopes (OPMI Lumera and OPMI Lumera T), its new generation intraocular lenses (IOLs) (XL Stabi ZO and Invent ZO), and a data storage and review system (VISUPAC Star). Meanwhile, technological advances were announced for the firm's anterior segment imaging device, Visante OCT, and its lens power calculator IOLMaster.

In a press briefing, chairman and CEO Ulrich Krauss, confirmed Zeiss' dedication to R&D, specifically in the areas of IOLs, glaucoma, cataract, retina diagnosis and microscopes.

In particular, the firm believes that it can revolutionise the OCT market with the Cirrus HD-OCT, which offers precise segmentation algorithms and high quality live fundus images, presenting, according to the firm, a unique view on anatomical details of the human retina in high definition. The system uses advanced spectral domain OCT technology to perform high-resolution B-scans and densely sampled macular cube scans. The three parallel acquisition channels: the Iris Viewer, Line Scanning Ophthalmoscope (LSO) and OCT, contribute to the system's speed and accuracy.

With regards to its lens business, Zeiss showcased its Zeiss Optic (ZO) aspheric IOLs, the XL Stabi ZO and the Invent ZO. Patterned using the Liou & Brennan (LBE) eye model, the firm believes it has created lenses that closely mimic the anatomical and optical imaging properties of the young, natural human eye. The ZO lenses are also negative spherical aberration and aberration-free lenses, thus reducing and controlling the spherical aberrations of the eye.

The firm also unveiled a workstation that connects several Zeiss technologies by behaving as a data storage and retrieval system, thus allowing rapid patient data analysis and comparisons. Zeiss believes the VISUPAC Star will aid practice management and patient care by providing ophthalmologists with one single tool that stores information from various diagnostic tests.

Finally, Zeiss' microscope business received a boost with the addition of the OPMI Lumera and OPMI Lumera T, which are equipped with Stereo Coaxial Illumination (SCI) technology for high-quality, high-contrast, red reflex. "The depth of field, the contrast and the red reflex are really unique in ophthalmology. I have never seen the eye like I have with SCI," said Dr Warren Hill, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, in a press statement. "These microscopes revolutionise the concept of red reflex," claimed director of surgical microscopes Peter Andrews. "The feedback we have received so far from doctors who have used them has been overwhelming," he enthused.