ZEISS redefines progressive lenses!

ZEISS lens designs are constantly optimised to ensure that they continue to meet the changing demands being made on our eyes by the modern world. ZEISS leaves nothing to chance: many years of experience in optics, a huge database filled with feedback from spectacle wearers and special in-house technologies, processes and software tools lay the foundation for creating products that are precisely tailored to today's needs. ZEISS guarantees that only technically advanced products and fully tested technologies reach the market. ZEISS has now redefined its entire progressive portfolio, dividing it into four performance categories. BETTER VISION asked Laura Rocha, Group Product Manager for Progressive Lenses at ZEISS, what makes the new progressive lenses so special.

Laura Rocha: If we look around us and just stop to think for a moment, we soon realise how much our lives have changed over recent years. Our sharper focus on the image we convey and the increasing digitisation of our everyday lives are two prime examples. Today, we are almost completely dependent on digital devices. Whether we use desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones, we are in constant mobile contact with our business partners, friends or family. Although modern technologies entertain us and facilitate our everyday work, it is important to know that they exert additional strain on our eyes, resulting in fatigue and other symptoms. Having to move our eyes constantly from near to far and vice-versa requires major effort from our eyes. They cannot unfortunately develop at the same pace as the digital world and cannot simply be 'updated' like a tablet computer! ZEISS, a leading company in the fields of innovation and technology, has introduced its new Progressive Portfolio in order to better meet the needs of spectacle wearers in this 'new' world and offer them comfortable, stress-free vision.

Laura Rocha: Differentiation is the key word here. Compared to previous ZEISS lenses and progressive lenses from other manufacturers, the design of the new ZEISS Progressive Portfolio does not only take smooth, natural vision at all distances into account. We have now sharpened our focus on the near range. This covers both the short viewing distances we need for our daily work and our smartphones and tablets and the standard reading distance. The design is optimised to ensure dynamic eye movement from near to far and back again. You can move around freely without any signs of fatigue or dizziness. This is guaranteed by our unique innovation: Digital Inside^® Technology.

And: Precision Technology enables an exceptional balance between an attractive appearance and excellent optics for all prescriptions. We all care about how others see us, how we see ourselves and how well we see!

Many factors, from tiny points of detail right up complex technologies, ensure that ZEISS progressive lenses are unique. Not only because they offer the benefits already mentioned, but also because the lenses fit into any frame. As we all know, fashion trends are changing at increasing speed. The special feature of progressive lenses is that the wearer enjoys comfortable vision across all ranges of vision. However, this may change if he or she buys a new frame. Until now, opticians were faced with the challenge of finding a balance between the 'old' accustomed progressive lenses and the new lenses in the new frame in order to minimise any impairment of the wearer's visual quality and comfort.

The world innovation Adaptation Control Technology developed by us allows opticians to take the wearer's former visual habits and new prescription into account when positioning the new near zone. This prevents any impairment of near vision if the wearer's requires higher powers. The result: fast, easy adaptation!

Furthermore, FrameFit^®+ Technology makes it easier to configure the vision zones of the progressive lenses for unusual frame shapes, e.g. for the aviator glasses currently in fashion. Fashionable frame shapes and progressive lenses – an irreconcilable conflict? Not any more!

Laura Rocha: We are demanding more and more from our lenses. Just a few years ago, we would never even have dreamed of some of the challenges we now face in our everyday lives. We are working on the near zone to incorporate the increasingly short distances required by devices such as smartphones and tablets (around 35 cm). This means more effort for our eyes. We all want to have clear vision at all times, also when we have to move our eyes constantly from one distance to another. This leads to eye strain. We would like to be dynamic, and don't want our progressive lenses to be a hindrance. We want to look good and see well, regardless of what prescription we need. Individualisation and adaptation to the wearer's lifestyle are becoming more and more relevant. Each of us is unique, and we all have our own very personal needs.

Laura Rocha:  The cosmetic factor is very important – not only when selecting the frame, but also in lens development. We at ZEISS always look for the perfect match between the frame, the lenses and the wearer's visual quality. That's why Precision Technology is so vital and why it is a standard feature of all new progressive lenses. This technology enables the perfect balance between the cosmetic properties of the lens and the visual quality experienced by the wearer – for all lens powers.

We enjoy a high degree of freedom in our everyday lives these days. So why should we accept compromises in our lifestyle – or in our appearance?

Laura Rocha:  The new progressive lense makes this a thing of the past. Enormous progress has been made in the technologies used for the development and production of spectacle lenses. Opticians no longer need to say to their patients: "You may take a while to get used to them first." Physiological parameters and visual habits play an important role in the development of modern lenses. This makes adaptation easier and faster.

A simple example: For the very first time, a dual near vision zone has been introduced that is suitable for both analogue and digital use and offers the wearer not only comfortable vision in the near range but also enables optimal neck and back posture when using tablets, smartphones, desktop computers, etc.

Laura Rocha:  The secret can be found in ourselves. That may sound very mystical, but that doesn't make it any less true. The truth of the matter is that both technologies are based on our own personal 'reality'. The Luminance Design^®  Technology incorporates the actual pupil diameter of the wearer which varies from one person to another, while the IndividualFit^®  Technology takes into account the wearer's vision profile and his or her main field of activity.

The design process includes the pupil diameter, or the light incident on the retina. If a single ray of light is used for this purpose, a tiny or zero diameter results. Let's go one stage further. Luminance Design^®  Technology uses a mean pupil diameter of 3.3 mm or, in other words, light incident on the retina measuring 3.3 mm in diameter. This is much closer to reality, isn't it? To calculate this diameter, we use both the pupil diameter typical of the wearer's age and the lighting situation encountered at the site of his or her main activity. This results in a smooth transition from the blurred (undefined for optical reasons) zones of the progressive lens to the areas of clear vision. This means 'swim' for wearers when they move their eyes from one side of the lens to the other or when they are moving around. Last but not least: The wearer's visual performance is improved in poor light and indoors when the pupils are dilated.

Laura Rocha:  We all have different visual needs – especially at work and in our hobbies. This is where the secret of IndividualFit^®  Technology comes in. It enables the individualisation of the visual zones in line with the wearer's visual habits. One example: Identical twins have everything in common – including their DNA! Does this mean that they would need precisely the same type of progressive lenses, even if one worked as a policeman and the other as a writer? The answer is yes! With ZEISS this would be possible. Apart from the possibility of slightly different powers, the vision zones of Individual 2 lenses from ZEISS can be optimised to the different vision needs resulting from their professions. The writer's near zone would be increased by 30%, and the policeman's intermediate (or progression) zone by up to 28%. In this way, both receive the optimum progressive lens design for their daily work.

Laura Rocha:  I'm really glad you've asked me that! The new Progressive Portfolio from ZEISS fulfils the requirements of all wearers. We are all unique, and each of us has their own personal requirements. That's why I can't specify one particular technology. What I would like to stress, however, is how ingenious and yet simple the new ZEISS progressive lenses really are. These lenses have been tested with real people, are easy to understand, make the optician's work easier and surpass every wearer's expectations.

Laura Rocha:  The end? No way! This is just the beginning of a revolution in the field of spectacle lenses. You will understand that I can't give you a preview of forthcoming innovations. After all, it's always nice to surprise people. And ZEISS will surprise everyone, I assure you.
Have I whet your appetite for more?

Laura Rocha:  There's one more thing I'd like to say:
During the interview you asked me about the secrets behind the new progressive lens technologies from ZEISS. Thanks to the excellent global collaboration within the ZEISS development team, it will be very difficult indeed to copy the new Progressive Portfolio. This would never have been possible without the commitment and performance of all the employees from various countries who enriched the development with their ideas and experience. This was not the idea of a single department, but the result of many individual people working as a team in the company. Let me mention just a few: David Sinnott aroused our interest in the enormous potential this project offered, and it was Claude Labeeuw (USA) whose idea sparked the development of Inside Digital Technology. The marketing department has succeeded in making the portfolio clear and understandable with the aid of the icons (Abbildung Icons). The requirements and feedback of our French and Spanish colleagues later led to the development of the progressive lens app for the optician. And, of course, I would also like to mention the untiring efforts of our scientists and engineers in the technical development area. And thank you also to Manuela Weinreich who, in her role as Product Manager, merged all parts of the projects into a coherent whole and kept everything in focus at all times. This laid the perfect foundations for Christoph Winter, Anke Hensler and myself to implement the project launch country by country.