As demand for customised contact lens solutions continues to grow, topography-guided lens design is changing the way practitioners approach specialty contact lens fitting.
Wave is an advanced topography-guided software platform that puts the power of customised lens design directly into the practitioner’s hands, enabling optometrists to create highly personalised solutions based on each patient’s unique corneal profile. Manufactured under licence by Gelflex exclusively in Australia, Wave combines sophisticated design capability with the expertise of one of Australia’s leading specialty contact lens manufacturers.
Providing Clinical Freedom
Wave has been designed to integrate seamlessly into a practitioner’s existing specialty lens workflow. After capturing a patient’s corneal topography scan, practitioners can open Wave directly from their topography platform and import the corneal map into the software, creating a personalised starting point for lens design.
Practitioners can develop and save their own design templates based on their individual fitting philosophy and clinical approach. Whether managing a young myope for myopia control, a high myope, a keratoconic cornea, or another complex case, optometrists can begin with an established design profile and refine it for each patient.
Unlike many topography-guided design platforms that limit practitioner customisation, Wave has been developed to offer genuine clinical freedom. Practitioners retain complete control throughout the design process, with the ability to independently customise eight corneal segments, allowing a greater degree of refinement for even the most complex cases.
The software also includes practical tools designed to make lens design more intuitive and efficient. Practitioners can compare multiple designs by overlaying tear profiles to visualise changes, and can confidently refine parameters using the built-in undo function. Corneal, limbal, and scleral lenses can all be designed within the one platform, with sagittal height information available throughout the design process.
“Our philosophy has always been to put the practitioner in control,” said Mark Masel, Technical and Sales Manager at Gelflex. “Wave doesn’t replace clinical judgement – it enhances it, giving clinicians the freedom to design the lens they believe is best for each individual patient.”
Once the design is complete, the order is submitted directly to Gelflex, where the lathe file transfers seamlessly into the company’s DAC manufacturing lathes. As a local laboratory, typical turnaround times are just two to three working days, while the Gelflex technical support team remains on hand to review designs before manufacture and provide guidance for more challenging cases, including high myopic and hyperopic orthokeratology.
Advanced OK Design Flexibility
Wave offers advanced orthokeratology (OK) design capabilities, supporting both myopic and hyperopic OK applications, including the ability to offset optic zones when required. This additional control can prove particularly valuable when managing patients with specific corneal profiles, or when adjustments are needed to improve treatment centration and visual outcomes.
Custom Designs for Complex Corneas
Beyond OK, Wave provides custom freeform rigid gas permeable design capabilities for some of the most challenging corneal conditions, including keratoconus and post-corneal graft cases.
Designing lenses from detailed corneal topography enables practitioners to develop highly customised solutions for irregular corneas, where conventional fitting approaches may fall short of the desired outcome. Wave-designed lenses have contributed to numerous successful keratoconus outcomes, while also equipping practitioners with an advanced tool for managing post-graft patients.
Personalised Scleral Lens Fitting
To further support practitioners working in specialty contact lenses, Wave includes a digital scleral lens trial environment that allows practitioners to build and customise their own fitting approach.
Using the digital trial set, practitioners can refine designs before creating their own physical trial set for use in practice. As practitioners gain experience and identify successful designs, their digital library can continue to evolve alongside their practice.
Technology Supported by Expertise
Beyond lens design, Wave is backed by a comprehensive practitioner portal that streamlines the specialty lens workflow. The portal provides access to fitting guides, patient management tools, and order tracking, helping to improve efficiency and management of specialty lens patients.
“The technology is only one part of the solution,” said Mr Masel. “Equally important is having experienced technical support available when practitioners need it. Whether it’s a practitioner’s first topography-guided design or a challenging high myopic OK or scleral case, our team is on hand to review designs and provide guidance before the lens is manufactured.”
Contact: Gelflex orders@gelflex.com
