We’re back with more coverage from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2026 annual meeting in the Big Easy (New Orleans, Louisiana).
In case you missed it: Our first rundown featured quite a few clinical research presentations—from glaucoma, dry eye, neuro-ophthalmology, and retina-based gene therapies. Read it here.
Next up: We hit the show floor for a look at a few of the 100+ exhibitors’ showcased products as well as the industry announcements making waves over the weekend.
Can we start with those industry updates?
You bet. First up: Oku Digital Health made its official debut at Academy after the digital health company launched as a spin-off of Topcon Healthcare, Inc. ahead of the meeting.
A brief rundown: Led by Topcon’s Ali Tafreshi, the artificial intelligence (AI)-based oculomics company is utilizing Topcon’s Healthcare from the Eye initiative and network of +50k diagnostic devices and +10k care locations to turn routine retinal exams into screening for diseases elsewhere in the body.
Its key areas of focus:
- Earlier identification of chronic disease-associated signs
- More coordinated clinical care
- Real-world insights supporting commercial drug development
Check out more about the company.
Speaking of Topcon … didn’t the company also debut a new device?
Indeed they did. Topcon partnered with RadiusXR to unveil InspirePRO, a wearable perimeter for glaucoma visual field (VF) testing.
To note: This isn’t to be confused with the original Inspire headset.
Designed by RadiusXR, here are a few details to know about this new lightweight VR headset:
- Its design: a novel hardware built specifically for VF testing along with a custom display to enable deeper defect measurements
- Its capabilities: offers a full and comprehensive measurement range so practices no longer need a separate standalone perimeter for advanced patients
- Fast eye tracking: monitors continuous fixation without obstructing a patient’s field of view—so each stimulus is presented and stored where a patient is looking
- Other features: independent refractive adjustment, an adaptable fit system, modular light seals, and integrated sound-isolating speakers
Topcon refers to the device as “establishing a new standard” for VF testing by offering reliable, repeatable data from early through advanced glaucoma.
Check out more product details.
Let’s stick with this VF theme.
Carrot (formerly Virtual Field) announced plans to purchase GreenMan Vision, the company behind InSightVR.
A quick refresh: Carrot underwent a brand (and name) change this past March that included:
- A relaunch of its signature virtual VF platform as an end-to-end visual diagnostic platform
- An expansion of its virtual reality (VR) diagnostics via a real-time analytics dashboard (in June)
And the focus of this pending deal?
InSightVR is a VR patient-education platform that helps cataract surgery patients visualize and compare potential vision outcomes with different intraocular lens (IOL) options prior to surgery.
As for the reasoning behind the acquisition: It all comes down to scale, according to GreenMan CEO Matt Larson.
Click here to read more about the acquisition (and no, monetary details were not disclosed).
While we’re on the subject of VR …
Haag-Streit USA announced the global launch of Eyesi Surgical 3.0, the latest generation of its VR-based ophthalmic surgical training platform.
What to know: This VR surgical simulator is equipped with:
- Two hand-operated injectors to enable injections into the eye via a plunger
- An anterior and posterior segment interface
- A “proper” ergonomic experience with a redesigned operating table, foot-switching positioning, and tiltable microscope
- Virtual instrument tray for surgeons to browse through and sign their tool of choice to the handpieces
Check out more about the advanced system (including a visual).
What other debuts?
Volk Optical (part of Halma plc) unveiled the ClearField Pro Lens, a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope (BIO) lens designed for retinal examination and laser treatment.
- See here for a rundown on its features (including anti-reflective coatings and redesigned aspheric optics).
And Heidelberg Engineering also featured the OPERA digital surgical microscope amidst its showcase of several ophthalmic imaging and surgical visualization products on the show floor.
Introduced to the U.S. commercial market space earlier this spring OPERA is referred to as the “first fully digital surgical visualization platform.”
- Get a rundown on its features.
What’s next?
Sight Sciences announced the U.S. commercial launch of the OMNI Ultra Surgical System for minimally-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) that received FDA clearance in August.
- Get some background on the OMNI product line.
What to know about this latest addition: It’s designed as a hand-held, single-use therapeutic device for reducing intraocular pressure (IOP). See how.
Its claim to fame (per the company): being the first FDA-cleared MIGS device for circumferential canaloplasty in a single pass.
- Check out more about the system’s features (hint: the patented, higher-capacity viscoelastic delivery TruSync Plus technology is key).
Let’s move on to … IOL news?
Yes! On the product front, Johnson & Johnson launched SmartLOAD Delivery Technology with TECNIS Eyhance IOL.
The company’s claim: This is the “first and only IOL delivery system to pair a reusable titanium inserter with preloaded disposable cartridge.”
To refresh:
- TECNIS Eyhance IOL is J&J’s advanced monofocal IOL platform encompassing both monofocal and presbyopia-correcting premium IOLs.
- The latest portfolio addition (TECNIS PureSee IOL) received FDA approval and commercially launched to the U.S. market earlier this year.
As for this new system: It’s described as representing “a new approach to efficiency and sustainability in cataract surgery,” to address common challenges.
Plus: The technology is also designed to reduce risk factors associated with contamination during lens preparation (check out surgeons’ feedback thus far—and its product page).
- See what else the company showcased during Academy.
Tell me more.
A new eye tracking technology also made its entrance to the ophthalmic space: Luma Eye Tracker, developed by Hundred Vision (formerly Smart Optometry).
Debuting on World Sight Day (Oct. 8), the professional eye tracking solution is designed to provide objective, repeatable, and standardized eye movement assessments for eyecare providers and other targeted professions.
What it offers:
- Objective and quantifiable results
- Age-matched normative database
- Repeatable testing protocols (based on real-world visual challenges)
- Longitudinal progress monitoring
- Actionable result reports
- Guided testing workflows
Learn more about the technology’s intended benefits—and click here to request a demo.
I heard a few partnerships were also announced?
Nextech, developer of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) software for clinical practices (ophthalmic included), also shared two back-to-back updates:
The company will offer agentic AI patient-access tools via multi-year partnerships with Assort Health, an AI agent platform for patients, and EliseAI, an agentic AI platform that integrates into PM workflows.
- How this will work: Both platforms will be integrated into Nextech's system, giving clinical practices the means to handle tasks such as scheduling, intake, referrals, insurance verification, and 24/7 follow-up.
Separately, Nextech named EliseAI as a co-development partner in patient access to expand its AI voice agent technology for clinical practices.
Specifically, the two will focus on developing deeper application programming interface (API) integrations and aligning their respective support teams. See here for more partnership details.
And speaking of AI …
Verana Health also debuted a few data and AI updates for ophthalmic research:
- Trial prescreening partnership with Bitfount: The two companies are teaming up to identify patients with ophthalmic clinical trial eligibility.
- Bitfount's AI will review optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus images, while Verana will combine those results with EHR data.
- New Qdata datasets: Verana launched two datasets for retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and Stargardt disease, plus VF data for glaucoma.
- Data on macular telangiectasia and atopic keratoconjunctivitis will also be available on request.
- Agent Claire: An AI tool that lets researchers ask questions about real-world patient data for disease-specific datasets—think: diabetic retinopathy and wet age-related macular degeneration—without needing coding. (No further details are available as of now).
Keep in mind: Verana is actually the exclusive data curation and analytics partner for AAO’s Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) Registry.
What else?
At the risk of straying too far from our brevity theme, we’ll need to stop there. Keep in mind, though: there were plenty more product showcases and other updates from the meeting.
Case in point: Alcon highlighted its ophthalmic portfolio (we see you, TRYPTYR, Voyager DSLT, and Valeda PBM)—while Bausch + Lomb came in strong with its enVista Aspire and IC-8 Apthera IOLS, XIIDRA, MIEBO, and the ELIOS procedure.
And did we mention ZEISS was there as well? Check out their innovations on display (including the newly FDA-cleared ZEISS CLINIC 360).
And from the Academy itself?
For more from the event—including award recipients and details on the closing reception—head over to AAO’s social media pages.
So how shall we end things?
It’s never too early to start thinking about Academy 2027. The meeting is already on the calendar for Nov. 12-15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.