Industry News

01 Oct 2025

New IOL Delivers Broad Vision Range and Reduced Spectacle Dependence

A recently presented multicentre observational study reports that the TECNIS PureSEE extended-depth-of-field (EDF) intraocular lens (IOL) offers excellent vision from far to near for most patients, substantially cutting the need for reading glasses after cataract surgery or elective vision correction.

Unveiled at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), the study encompassed 238 patients across 17 surgical centres in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Key Findings:

• Vision outcomes: On average, the PureSEE IOL delivered excellent distance, very good intermediate, and functional near vision without spectacles. Refractive error was low, as measured by the Manifest Refraction Spherical Equivalent (MRSE).
• Spectacle independence:
  • 96% of patients reported needing glasses ‘none’ or ‘a little of the time’ for distance vision.
  • 93% reported this for intermediate distances.
  • 62% said the same for near distances (e.g. reading).
  • 85% for overall vision.
• Patient satisfaction: High satisfaction rates were recorded for distance (96%) and intermediate vision (94%), somewhat lower but still substantial for near vision (73%), and 95% satisfied overall.
• Willingness to recommend: 96% of those studied said they would recommend the lens to friends or family.

The PureSEE lens represents an alternative to both monofocal and multifocal IOLs. Key differentiators include:

• Design: Unlike multifocal lenses that rely on concentric zones or rings, the PureSEE IOL is purely refractive — it uses variations in lens curvature to focus light, which avoids features like steps or rings on the lens surface.
• Potential advantages: Reduced optical side effects such as halos, glare, starbursts, or other night vision disturbances which are sometimes reported with multifocal designs.
• Application: Particularly useful for patients who want reduced dependence on glasses post-surgery but are wary of side effects associated with multifocal lenses.

While clearly promising, the technology does come with caveats:

• Near vision (e.g. reading small print) still shows some limitations: only 62% of participants could do so without glasses most or all of the time.
• The study was observational and conducted “in real-world settings” rather than a tightly controlled randomised trial.

Professor Oliver Findl, Chair of the ESCRS Education Committee, a consultant eye surgeon and head of the ophthalmology department at Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, presented the findings to the congress. He said: “The PureSee EDF IOL gave patients excellent distance, very good intermediate and functional near vision, which resulted in high patient satisfaction with less need for spectacles. The data in this study came from several surgical centres throughout Europe and Asia in a ‘real world setting’ outside of the usual clinical trials.  The category of EDF IOLs, such as the TECNIS PureSee, are a great alternative to multifocal lenses for patients who wish to be less dependent on spectacles after lens surgery and do not want to take the risk of unwanted optical side-effects.”

For industry stakeholders, i.e. lens manufacturers, surgical device suppliers, clinics, this could signal shifting patient expectations. As technologies like fully refractive EDF IOLs proliferate, demands for spectacle independence may increase, especially among patients who are informed and tech-savvy.

Further follow-up studies, perhaps with longer term data, will be needed to assess things like durability of outcomes, performance under low light and night-vision conditions, and cost-effectiveness compared to existing multifocal and monofocal lenses.

The TECNIS PureSEE EDF IOL appears to deliver on the promise of a broader range of robust vision across distances with minimal spectacles dependence. For providers in ophthalmology and optometry, this presents both an opportunity to enhance patient satisfaction and a challenge to adapt in response to rising consumer expectations. It is a product of Johnson & Johnson Vision.