Hoya has spoken about the significant impact of digital devices on adult eyes and introduced a new range of occupational lenses – “Hoyalux iD WorkStyle V+ and Hoyalux Dynamic WorkStyle” – via a national roadshow.
The company flew its Regional Professional Training Manager, Vivien Chiang, in from Singapore to educate eye care professionals on their new product offering.
In Sydney CBD, Ms. Chiang entertained a packed room of 200 guests with her engaging presentation style.
She began by emphasising the growing use of digital devices, suggesting with humour that as adults, most of us “don’t kiss our spouses in the morning”, but instead, “kiss our smart phones”.
Many people did not realise that eye strain could be reduced
Ms. Chiang referred to findings from The Vision Council’s 2015 Digital Eye Strain Report to emphasise the growing role of digital devices, their impact on vision and the role optometrists can play in reducing that impact.
Findings for the report were drawn from a large-scale, representative and ongoing study of 110,000 American consumers, aged over 18 years, called VisionWatch. Eleven questions were tacked onto the study and asked of a total sample of 9,749 American adults in October 2014.
The study found that on average, more than nine in 10 adults (93.3 per cent) spend more than two hours each day using a digital device, with more than six in 10 adults (60.8 per cent) spending five or more hours on digital devices each day. Gen Xers (those born between 1965–1980) and Millenials (born 1981–1996) were the biggest users of digital devices with 37.4 per cent of millenials and 32 per cent of Gen Xers admitting to spending at least nine hours each day on digital devices.
Sixty-three per cent of Gen Xers and 68 per cent of Millenials reported symptoms of digital eye strain, defined as: eye strain, 32.8 per cent; neck/shoulder/back pain, 32.6 per cent; headache, 24 per cent; blurred vision, 23.3 per cent; and dry eyes, 22.8 per cent.
The study found that 31.9 per cent of adults did not take any action to reduce symptoms of digital eye strain. Many people did not realise that eye strain could be reduced.
Eye care providers are best able to identify digital eye strain through a comprehensive eye examination and conversations about lifestyle and digital device use.
Ms. Chiang said Hoya’s new “V+ indoor solution” enabled optometrists to tailor lens solutions in relation to each patient’s working environment, by selecting optimal depth and width of vision from three options: the Hoyalux iD Workstyle V+ Close (up to 1 metre); V+ Screen (up to 2 metres) and V+ Space (4 metres and above).
Ms. Chiang said 73 per cent of people do not share the same prescription between eyes, and as a result, experience symptoms of binocular vision imbalance, some of which mirror symptoms of digital eye strain. She said that in recognition of this, the company’s Binocular Harmonization Technology considers how the eyes work as a pair, while also taking into account the prescription for the left and right eye as individual components. She said fitting these new lenses can be as simple or as complex as the eye professional chooses with seven corridors to select from or a “default easy fit” that specifies a 20mm corridor for ‘Close’ design and a 22mm corridor for ‘Screen and Space’ designs.
