Crystalens: The First Accommodating Intraocular Lens Implant

The Crystalens® is an FDA-approved intraocular lens for the visual correction of adults with cataracts (clouding of the eye's natural lens secondary to age) with or without presbyopia, or lenses that have aged or become more rigid.

The Crystalens was modeled after the human lens. Like the natural lens, it uses the eye muscle to flex and accommodate in order to focus on objects in the environment at all distances. The crystalens dynamically adjusts to your visual needs.

The Cystalens accommodating intraocular lens is made with hinges on each side that are designed to allow the optic, or the part of the lens that you can see through, to move back and forth as you constantly change focus on images around you. The Crystalens is a small lens enabling it to flex or bend as you focus your vision.

Crystalens is:

• The first and only FDA-approved accommodating intraocular lens
• The only lens that uses the natural focusing ability of the eye
• The only lens that provides a single focal point throughout a continuous range of vision from far to near, and everything in between

Few patients with the Crystalens have experienced glare, halos, and night vision problems. Crystalens focuses only one image to the back of the eye, unlike a multifocal lens that projects multiple images that are not entirely in focus, requiring your brain to "adjust" and learn to interpret the differences. In addition, Crystalens vision is sharp and crisp because 100% of the light rays are available and distributed—when you need it.

The effectiveness of the Crystalens was proven in clinical trials:

• 98.4% of patients implanted with Crystalens in both eyes could pass a driver's test without glasses
• 100% could see at arm's length (24" to 30") without glasses, the distance where most of life's activities occur
• 98.4% could see well enough to read the newspaper without glasses
• 74% of patients never or almost never wore eyeglasses

Significantly more patients implanted with a Crystalens (88.4%) could see better at all distances than patients implanted with a standard intraocular lens (35.9%)

Lens implantation is the standard of care with cataract surgery

Long-term experience means a safe and effective procedure; some patients have continued with excellent vision 5 years after implantation with the Crystalens. More than 40,000 Crystalens have been implanted worldwide.

The contemporary treatment for cataracts is to remove the crystalline lens and replace it with an implantable lens. The Crystalens represents the state-of-the-art in implantable lens design and is the result of over 50 years evolution in the treatment of cataracts.

The medical procedure to implant the crystalens is the same safe, proven cataract surgery performed annually on over 7 million eyes globally. Over 40 million procedures have been done in the last 25 years. But because it is surgery, it is not completely risk-free.

Complications of cataract surgery range from minor, usually temporary side effects, to sight-threatening complications. Fortunately, significant sight-threatening complications are rare, and include, but are not limited to, infection, hemorrhage, and retinal detachment. These and other complications may occur as a result of the removal of a cataract, whether or not an intraocular lens is implanted, and may result in poor vision, total loss of vision, or loss of the eye. Dislocation of the lens and the need for additional surgery, such as lens removal and replacement are also possible risks of the procedure. In addition, people with existing medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic inflammatory conditions, and chronic infections are at a higher risk of developing complications. Current data indicates that 98% of people have no complications after cataract surgery and more than 95% have improved vision.