IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The pinhole effect, a foundation of modern day photography used in today’s cameras and smartphones to capture clear images, is now a groundbreaking solution for the vision problem affecting 114 million Americans: presbyopia. AcuFocus, Inc., has developed the first-of-its-kind KAMRA corneal inlay utilizing the pinhole effect to focus rays of light entering the eye to regain a continuous and uninterrupted range of vision from near to far. Designed with the goal of reducing dependence on reading glasses for people 45 or older, the KAMRA inlay has become especially popular with professionals such as Dr. Donna Glenn, a Maryland-based optometrist.
Dr. Glenn has spent decades helping patients with their vision needs, but when she started to slip on reading glasses, she became frustrated. “I always enjoyed great vision, but then in my late 40s, early 50s, I started to need reading glasses,” Dr. Glenn said. “Gradually, I had to wear them all the time, especially in the exam room. I couldn't see, I couldn't even write neatly anymore unless I had my glasses on.”
“I began to really empathize with my patients and what they were going through with their reading glasses. I started to feel old and didn’t feel like me. That's when I found out about the KAMRA corneal inlay from Dr. Holzman.”
Dr. Andrew Holzman of TLC Laser Eye Center is the first and only ophthalmic and vision correction surgeon offering this near vision solution to patients in the greater Washington D.C. area. As a referring optometrist to Dr. Holzman, Dr. Glenn had worked with him for years. At a lecture for eye care professionals, Dr. Holzman explained how the KAMRA inlay could help presbyopic patients. As Dr. Glenn slipped on her progressive reading glasses, she realized she might be a KAMRA inlay candidate.
Presbyopia typically develops in the mid 40s, when the natural lens of the eye that flexes and focuses light allowing people to see near, starts to become stiff. As the first corneal inlay approved in the United States, the KAMRA inlay focuses light onto the back of the eye and provides a natural range of vision – from near to far – without blurry zones. The tiny mini-ring, smaller than a contact lens, is placed in only one eye by an ophthalmologist to help restore reading vision.
Dr. Glenn’s story was featured on Good Morning America last year where she helped millions of Americans learn how reading glasses are a thing of the past. And how has her vision been since her KAMRA inlay procedure? “It's been wonderful. I pick things up, I read them, I don't even think about stopping to put on reading glasses. I haven't put those progressive glasses on since.”
“The KAMRA corneal inlay is a lasting solution for presbyopia for patients like Dr. Glenn, who are not satisfied with the current, temporary fixes reading glasses and monovision provide,” Dr. Holzman said. “Instead of one clear focal point, with compromised distance vision, the KAMRA inlay delivers a clear, continuous range of vision, near to far, that lasts over time.”
ABOUT ACUFOCUS
AcuFocus, Inc. is a privately held ophthalmic medical device company that develops and markets breakthrough technologies for the improvement of vision. Using the small aperture concept, two products have been developed: the Company’s flagship product – the KAMRA® corneal inlay – and the innovative IC-8® intraocular lens. The IC-8 IOL is not available in the United States. Founded in 2001, AcuFocus is based in Irvine, Calif. For additional information about the KAMRA inlay or the IC-8 intraocular lens, visit www.AcuFocus.com, www.KAMRA.com, @KAMRAinlay and www.facebook.com/KAMRAinlay.
