By Andrew Karp: Group Editor, Lenses and Technology
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.
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Wearers can manually adjust TruFocals eyewear by moving the small slider
on the bridge. |
“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.
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akarp@jobson.com