Rayner is reportedly planning to launch the first-ever intraocular lens (IOL) designed using artificial intelligence (AI): the RayOne Galaxy and Galaxy Toric.
First up, this company.
Rayner is a medical device manufacturer headquartered in Worthing, United Kingdom, with a U.S.-based office in Memphis, Tennessee.
Its specialization includes delivering a broad portfolio of ophthalmic products for surgeons and patients, including:
- IOLs
- Monofocal and premium
- Ophthalmic viscosurgical devices (OVDs)
- Ocular surface disease (OSD) solutions
- Patient outcomes digital platform (RayPRO)
Most notably: The company is the only IOL manufacturer in the United Kingdom.
Now this IOL.
The RayOne Galaxy (and Galaxy Toric) was developed by João Paulo Lyra, MD, PhD, a Brazilian surgeon, and features a unique spiral design created using a proprietary AI-based engine trained on patient outcomes.
Its purpose: To provide a continuous full range of vision while minimizing dysphotopsia, achieved via a non-diffractive optic with 0% light loss, according to Rayner.
Talk more about how this was designed.
Though not confirmed, reports have speculated that the RayOne Galaxy was the subject of clinical research published earlier this year in Optica, in which a spiral-shaped IOL was developed and introduced as a new concept for freeform multifocal (MF) lenses.
- The potential: To provide clear vision across varying distances and light conditions
Go into specifics on this spiral-designed IOL.
Advanced digital machining with high precision was used to mold a freeform design approach that involved focal power distribution on the output dipper in a spiral pattern, dividing the surface into two equal zones.
To validate its efficacy: The IOL was used to image a digital “E”—similar to light-up boards used by optometrists for Snellen charts—to ensure image quality was consistent across multiple aperture sizes.
And how does it compare to an astigmatism and trifocal lens?
First: The lens features multiple points of focus (akin to multiple lenses in one) and an improved image quality.
- Comparatively: A standard symmetrical lens design includes various focal regions and resolution / non-uniform defects.
And up against a conventional trifocal lens design: The spiralized lens is reported to demonstrate advantages at larger apertures for most focal points while preserving the MF behavior, including at smaller apertures—typically not seen in a trifocal lens design.
- See more from those research findings.
Now to this Rayner lens launch: How will the IOL be delivered?
Per Rayner, it will be available fully preloaded across the entire power range in the company’s single-use injector system: the RayOne.
Even further: The IOL will also be accessible in toric powers.
Any other specific details worth mentioning?
Just one more—the RayOne Galaxy and Galaxy Toric are also reportedly designed to be non-diffractive and provide a continuous full range of vision, minimizing dysphotopsia, with 0% light loss.
Has this been (officially) clinically investigated yet?
Indeed it has, according to reports.
Rayner noted clinical investigations commenced earlier this year and that outcomes are expected to be reported at next month’s 2024 European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ESCRS) annual meeting, Sept. 6-10, in Barcelona, Spain.
The presentation: The Galaxy Spiral IOL: World’s First Clinical Data, to be presented during the How the next generation IOL works symposium on Sunday, Sept.8, from 7 to 8 am EDT.
- What to expect: The session will cover initial clinical findings based on collaborations with eight surgeons from around the globe as well as research labs in Europe and Brazil.
So what’s the overall significance?
According to Rayner CEO Tim Clover: “RayOne Galaxy represents a next-generation technology in (IOLs) to enable patients to see without spectacles.”
And when will this new data be available?
Stay tuned for those findings to be revealed in September …