Evaluation of two new soft contact lenses for correction of presbyopia: the Focus Progressives multifocal and the Acuvue Bifocal.
The clinical performance of Focus Progressives multifocal contact lenses and Acuvue Bifocal contact lenses was evaluated in a group of 42 presbyopes, with equal numbers of individuals having low, medium, and high spectacle add requirements. Following visual performance assessment with an optimal sphero-cylinder spectacle refractive correction, each individual wore each of the two types of contact lenses in successive random order. Each type of lens was used in a daily-wear mode for a period of 7 to 12 days, with follow-up and/or refitting visits occurring after 2 to 5 days, and again after 4 to 7 days of attempted wear. Testing for all three forms of refractive correction encompassed Snellen acuities at distance and near, Bailey-Lovie acuities under high and/or low ambient illumination conditions at near, intermediate, and far viewing distances, stereoacuity, a timed visuomotor task (needle threading), apparent glare/flare, and the nearwork range of subjectively clear binocular vision. The contact lenses also were evaluated for handling, comfort, distance and near ghosting, subjective visual quality, acceptability for common tasks (e.g., using a phone directory), and personal preferences.As might be expected, distance and near acuity, stereoacuity, and visuomotor task performance were somewhat better with sphero-cylinder spectacle correction than with either of the two types of contact lenses. However, several performance differences between the multifocal and bifocal lenses were noted. The Focus Progressives lenses provided significantly better distance acuity under both high and low illumination conditions, and received significantly higher ratings for visual quality (overall and at distance), comfort, and handling. The Focus Progressives lenses were preferred 5:1 over the Acuvue Bifocal lenses. No differences existed between the lenses with respect to near visual acuities, the perceived quality of the near vision, the nearpoint binocular range, stereoacuity, or the acceptability of vision for common nearwork tasks. The results suggest that although both types of lenses afford presbyopes a viable alternative to spectacles, the Focus Progressives lens is superior in many ways to the Acuvue Bifocal lens.