A Closer Look at Ocumetics’ Lens Technology

Garth Webb
Photograph by Jared Sych

Ocumetics believes its accommodating lens technology could transform the eye care industry.

Dr. Garth Webb, Ocumetics’ Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, thinks nothing is as beautiful as the lens in the human eye.

“It’s this gorgeous, crystal-like orb that hides just behind the pupil,” he says.

But it doesn’t stay that way forever. Inevitably, as the years go by, we lose our ability to focus up close. This is called presbyopia, which occurs when the lens becomes increasingly stiff, inflexible, and unable to change its curvature and its power to focus on nearby objects.

“The natural lens of the eye is doomed to failure with time because it’s such a delicate material,” he says,“ and we are currently unable to rehabilitate it.”

However, Dr. Webb is of the opinion that he has created a technology that could restore clear vision at all distances. Here’s a little more about that technology.

 A simple explanation of the Ocumetics lens technology

The Ocumetics accommodating intraocular lens is an artificial replacement for the natural lens of the eye. It changes its shape and power in response to muscular movements in the eye, which occur when we change our focus from distant to near objects. Unlike currently available artificial lenses that are implanted in the eye when cataracts (cloudy lenses) are removed, the Ocumetics accommodating lens is designed to change its curvature and power when we focus on near objects — just like the natural lens did when we were young. The lens is expected to provide clear, uncompromised distance and near vision without glasses or contact lenses.

 What can we tell you about the technology?

The accommodating intraocular lens being developed by Ocumetics is a round, two-piece device made of medical-grade silicone. It can be folded and injected into the eye through a very small, self-sealing incision. 

“Silicone has been used in the past [for lens surgeries], but it hadn’t received positive feedback from the surgeons because it’s such an elastic material that unfolds quickly and uncontrollably into the eye. Most intraocular lenses available today are made of acrylics, providing the surgeon with slower unfolding and better control during implantation,” says Dr. Webb. “Our lens is designed to slow down the opening, or the release, of the silicone material, so that the insertion process for surgeons behaves similarly to that seen with the acrylic material.”      

He adds that he expects the surgical procedure required to implant Ocumetics’ accommodating lens technology will be no more complicated than the current procedure for implanting non-accommodating lenses. 

Additionally, this medical-grade silicone doesn’t degrade. Ocumetics is confident that its accommodating lens technology should never need replacement and expects that this corrective technology — and outstanding vision — should last a lifetime.

Are the Ocumetics accommodating lenses available?

Ocumetics’ patented accommodating lens technology is not yet available to patients. The technology will soon commence clinical trials and will be available in the future, subject to US FDA and other regulatory approvals.

 Ocumetics is developing an accommodating intraocular lens and believes this cutting-edge lens technology could end the need for corrective eyewear by helping people recover clear distance and near vision. The Ocumetics team says the replacement lens is designed to work with each person’s unique anatomy to provide the same biokinetic responses of the human eye for clear vision at all distances.

 For more information on Ocumetics lens technologies and the Ocumetics team, visit ocumetics.com. For more information on investing in Ocumetics’ lens technology, email info@ocumetics.com.