Melissa Doyle, the awarded Australian journalist, TV presenter and radio host, has been appointed as the official ambassador for OptiLight in Australia and New Zealand.
With over 30 years’ experience, Melissa has become one of the most trusted voices and faces in the Australian media, recognised for her long-standing positions co-hosting the Seven Network’s Sunrise and Sunday Night programs, and as the weekend breakfast host for radio station Smooth FM.
Ms Doyle is an ideal ambassador for Lumenis’ new OptiLight technology, having recently been diagnosed with dry eye disease after more than 10 years of enduring irritating symptoms.
“For over a decade, I have endured gritty, watery and puffy eyes that have impacted my day-to-day life significantly,” Ms Doyle said. “It was common knowledge on the set of Sunrise that my eyes would flair up and cause me problems, and there were even days when my eyes were so bad, I couldn’t go to work.
“I was always told the problem was likely allergies, so have endured just about every allergy test under the sun, however after a recent visit and testing with Dr Jim Kokkinakis at The Eye Practice in Sydney, I have now been diagnosed with dry eye disease due to ocular rosacea.”
Nobody should have to suffer in silence when there is a powerful and safe, TGA-listed device out there that can turn your life around
Dr Kokkinakis said “Ocular rosacea is a very common cause of dry eye disease, highly under diagnosed and therefore often inappropriately treated, as in Melissa’s case”.
According to Lumenis Ms Doyle is not alone – many thousands of Australians are unaware that the sore, red, watery, and puffy eyes they live with is not the result of allergies, eye strain or some other temporary condition – but a serious chronic and progressive eye condition affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world.
In Australia, dry eye disease affects more than four million people and that number is rising each day. In January 2020, it was reported that more than 77%1 of Australians have suffered from dry eye symptoms, yet only 26%1 have visited an optometrist to discuss treatment options. Current literature suggests that up to 86%² of dry eye patients demonstrate signs of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).
About OptiLight
The recently launched OptiLight, with OPT technology, is the only intense pulsed light (IPL) device that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and listed by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the treatment of dry eye disease.
The technology uses broad spectrum IPL to break the vicious cycle of DED by:
- Alleviating abnormal blood vessels and rosacea,
- Restoring meibomian glands,
- Improving tear break-up time,
- Reducing inflammatory mediators,
- Restoring tear osmolarity to normal levels, and
- Decreasing demodex mites and bacterial burden.
Richard New, Country Manager of Lumenis ANZ, says “Lumenis has launched many ‘firsts’ in eye care, and we never stop innovating. We are proud that our IPL device with patented optimal pulse technology (OPT) is the first and only device to receive FDA approval for improvement of dry eye disease. We’re exceptionally pleased to elevate dry eye management and to improve the quality of life for millions of Australians who suffer from this debilitating disease.”
OptiLight boasts numerous proprietary features including OPT for stable, safe and repeatable energy delivery, along with SapphireCool technology, which provides the patient with greater comfort and protection along with faster results. The OPT handpiece has been designed to fit every delicate facial contour, to get as close to the eye area as possible for even better results.
Quick and Accessible
OptiLight treatments take around 15 minutes, with around four treatments recommended to complete a treatment plan, making this treatment an easy appointment to slot into busy patients’ days.
“I have already experienced improvement in dry eye symptoms from having just one treatment, and I’m looking forward to my remaining treatments to get my DED under control for good,” said Ms Doyle.
“Because of my personal experience, it’s become very important to me that the message gets out about the prevalence of DED, what the symptoms are that are often overlooked or mistaken for less serious conditions, and what people can do to improve their eye health in day-to-day life. Nobody should have to suffer in silence when there is a powerful and safe, TGA-listed device out there that can turn your life around.”
Lumenis Study Results
Lumenis’ multi-centre, double-blinded, randomised controlled FDA trial showed that Lumenis IPL with patented OPT significantly improved tear breakup time, meibum quality, and meibomian gland expressibility.³ The clinical trial joins a long list of studies of Lumenis’ IPL with OPT that have shown the same results, as well as reduction of inflammatory markers.4-7
Subsequent to the FDA approval and TGA listing, Lumenis is launching OptiLight, a bright solution for dry eyes. OptiLight with Lumenis’ patented OPT® technology is designed for a consistent, precise, and controlled light-based treatment of signs of dry eye disease.
Dr Jason Holland, Lead Clinical Optometrist at The Eye Health Centre in Queensland described Lumenis OPT as “an essential tool” in his practice’s dry eye toolkit.
“In my clinic we deal with dry eye disease every day and have found that in order to make a meaningful impact on the disease, we need to address the underlying inflammation. Lumenis’ OPT technology helps us to address inflammation, as shown in published clinical trials, which improves the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease due to MGD.”
References
- Optometry Australia, the 2020 Vision Index Report
- Lemp et al. 2012
- FDA study sponsored by Lumenis: internal reference LUM-VBU-M22-IPL-17-01.
- Yan et al. (2020), Eye & Contact Lens 2021, 27(1):45-53.
- Arita et al. (2019) Ocul Surf 17(1):308-13.
- Gao et al. (2019) Int J Ophthalmol 12(11):1708-1713.
- Liu et al. (2017) Am J Ophthalmol 183:81-90.
