27 October 2021
A personal touch
Personalisation is a major area of opportunity for opticians, with consumers wanting to feel special as they look for unique products – and it’s no different for lenses.
Here, two ECPs reveal how they are using optical dispensing instruments from Essilor Ltd, including mobile apps and state-of-the-art technology, to offer personalised lenses for their patients.
Eyeland Opticians
Jan Henfield, practice manager at Eyeland Opticians in Rowley Regis and Sutton Coldfield, has been using the Eye-Ruler 2 compact measuring device for two years.
The Eye-Ruler 2 offers the first tier of personalisation to take quick and precise lens measurements.
Henfield said: “About a quarter of our patients opt for a bespoke varifocal lens.
“Once a patient has had an eye examination, and we have established that a bespoke varifocal lens is the best option for them, we use the iPad Eye-Ruler app to measure for the wrap angle, pantoscopic angle, vertex distance, the PD optical centre and heights.
“The patient sits a good metre away from the optical assistant operating the iPad during the process, so it helps to limit close contact and respect social distancing in practice.
“Using the app means we can deliver a personalised experience and patients do often comment and say it’s a clever piece of kit.
“It is a much simpler measuring process than the traditional method of a PD ruler. It also means the measurements are more accurate and we can calculate the near vision behaviour code, which you cannot work out manually. This measurement zones into people’s behaviour and will tailor the lenses to support this as closely as possible.
“Our patients are always really happy with their spectacles and the performance of their personalised lenses.
“The Eye-Ruler 2 offers us the right amount of innovation we need to give us a competitive edge and to keep our patient base loyal.”
First Optic
First Optic, in Brecon, offers top of the range lenses via Visioffice X (VOX). Practice manager Kiran Matharu upgraded to Visioffice X in January 2021 on a buyback scheme and is the first practice in Wales to use the kit.
Matharu said: “As a high-end optical practice, we predominantly have clients who are 60 plus, affluent ‘silver surfers’, happy to invest in a good quality product.
“For them, being measured by VOX helps personalise the whole process and reassures them that they are getting top of the range lenses.
“After the eye examination I pass the patient over to an optical assistant to talk through the measurement process, the different types of varifocals available and ask questions to try and personalise lenses with their daily tasks and what they need their spectacles for.
“Once they have selected a frame, we use VOX to take all the measurements needed to make sure the lens is as personalised as possible.
“It is a very impressive piece of kit in action. The operator inputs patient details via a tablet, allowing them to take a step back while the machine talks to the patient. This massively helps with social distancing in practice too.
“A video is played to explain the choice of lenses, the device also spins around and displays laser beams on the floor to help patients position themselves ready to follow instructions.
“You can also change the language, which is a useful function to break down any communication barriers.
“Using VOX to take measurements offers extra reassurance because there is less room for human error. Everything is personalised and double-checked.
“A lot of our customers are repeat patients, so they have experienced being measured using the previous model of Visioffice, but VOX takes it that step further, and they are even more engaged with the experience which feels a lot slicker.
“Measuring lenses in this way does help set us apart from local multiples and independents in terms of technology and innovation, which helps us attract new customers in-store and retain them as loyal patients.
“New patients have told us they notice the difference in the quality of lenses after being measured with the VOX and we are delighted to provide this level of service.”
Visioffice X captures the Eyecode with unique measurements that detail the movement of the eye and Near Vision Behaviour measurements to determine how the patient behaves when looking at something in their reading zone. All these personalised parameters are measured in one single solution, combining fitting, physiological and behavioural measures to build a complete vision diagnostic for patients.
For further information visit https://ecp.essilor.co.uk/products/instruments/dispensing
