• The Deseyne contact lens increased depth of focus by 0.78 D on average.
• The lens significantly improved near and intermediate visual acuity vs. a control monofocal lens.

The Deseyne contact lens for presbyopia significantly improved near and intermediate visual acuity vs. a control lens and extended depth of focus by an average of nearly 1 D, according to a trial published in Optometry and Vision Science.

“Many soft lens wearers drop out when they experience early presbyopia due to decreased intermediate and near vision,” study author Mark Bullimore, FCOptom, PhD, FAAO, adjunct faculty at University of Houston College of Optometry, told Healio. “The Deseyne lens will improve intermediate and near visual acuity, giving them increased function.”

Bullimore and colleagues conducted a randomized trial of 78 adults with presbyopia who habitually wore soft monofocal contact lenses.

Study participants were fitted with the Deseyne EDOF lens (vifilcon C, Bruno Vision Care) and the 1‐Day Acuvue Moist (etafilcon A, Johnson & Johnson) control lens, with evaluation of visual acuity, depth of focus and contrast sensitivity in each lens. Participants were tested in randomized order, with a 30-minute break between the two rounds of testing.

The primary outcome was negative lens-induced depth of focus at visual acuity of 0.2 logMAR, a threshold derived from standards for EDOF IOLs published by the American National Standards Institute.

According to the results, average depth of focus was 2.22 ± 0.78 D with the Deseyne lens vs. 1.44 ± 0.67 D in the control group, yielding an average increase of 0.78 D with the Deseyne lens. The average increase in depth of focus was higher among those aged 60 years and older (0.88 D) and those with distance-corrected near visual acuity worse than 0.44 logMAR (0.92 D).

The Deseyne lens led to an average improvement of 0.16 logMAR in monocular near visual acuity and 0.14 logMAR in monocular intermediate visual acuity.

Contrast sensitivity was significantly lower with Deseyne lenses in mesopic lighting conditions with or without the presence of glare. The reductions were “similar to those observed with FDA-cleared multifocal soft contact lenses,” the researchers wrote.

“Practitioners have an exciting new option to prescribe to their patients,” Bullimore said.

Mark Bullimore, FCOptom, PhD, FAAO, can be reached at bullers2020@gmail.com.