VAN NUYS, Calif.—A novel new approach to correcting presbyopia involving eyeglasses with manually adjustable, dynamic focus lenses is being marketed by Zoom Focus Eyewear, a Van Nuys, California-based startup. Since mid-2009, the company has been selling its proprietary glasses, called TruFocals, both online and through a small but growing group of eyecare professionals. The company’s profile is quickly rising, though, partly as a result of articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Popular Science Magazine, which honored Trufocals with its 2009 Best of What’s New Award in the Health category.

One look at TruFocals reveals that the lenses are significantly different than bifocal, trifocal and progressive lenses. The glasses feature a patented two-lens system consisting of a polycarbonate front lens that holds the distance prescription, including astigmatic and prism corrections, and a flexible back lens with a transparent, distensible membrane attached to a clear rigid surface. The pocket between the lenses holds a small quantity of an inert, clear fluid. Wearers adjust their focus by moving a small slider on the bridge which inflates the membrane and changes the focal length of the assembly. The movement mimics the way the natural lenses perform in the youthful human eye, according to Stephen Kurtin, PhD, the physicist who invented them.

“The way to think about TruFocals is that they are on-demand, single vision glasses that give you whatever focus you need in an instant,” said Kurtin, who is chief technologist for Zoom Focus Eyewear and the inventor of other products ranging from software to sound systems. He explained that the sliding movement allows the wearer to choose the exact correction that works best at any distance and under any lighting conditions. The front lens, which is attached by magnets, can be removed for cleaning, or changed for sunlenses or photochromic lenses, Kurtin noted.

“TruFocals are exceedingly easy to dispense,” said Kurtin. “All you need is the wearer’s distance prescription.”

Another distinctive feature of the glasses is their round shape, which Kurtin said provides the best quality optics. Although frame choice is limited to a single style and one eye size, customers can choose from four colors—gray, black, red and blue—plus six different lens tints. The $895 price to the consumer includes a hard coated, anti-reflective lens with hydrophobic and oleophobic properties. Options include photochromic, glare reducing, and contrast enhancing lenses and a sun shield.

“The style of the glasses ranges from cool to geek,” remarked Zoom Focus Eyewear’s CEO Adrian Koppes, a veteran optical industry executive with an extensive background in marketing contact lenses, intraocular lenses and refractive surgery.

TruFocals are manufactured at Zoom Focus Eyewear’s Los Angeles facility, with lens blanks sources from various suppliers across the country. “It’s exactly the same as having a local lab,” said Kurtin. Although turnaround time is about four weeks, Kurtin said he is aiming to cut it to two weeks.

As part of its direct-to-consumer sales approach, Zoom Focus Eyewear is advertising in high visibility publications such as The New York Times. As the consumer buzz about Trufocals builds, Zoom Focus Eyewear is working to expand the number of practitioners offering the glasses.

“We are inviting every optometrist and optician to register with us online,” said Koppes. “We’ll alert them as to how different these eyeglasses are, and send them a technical brief and fitting instructions.”

Additional information for both practitioners and consumers, including a demonstration of the glasses, is available on the company’s Web site, he noted.