Industry News: Focused on Integrated Customer-oriented Solutions: ZEISS Impresses More and More Doctors with its Ophthalmic Surgery Offerings

Truly integrated and clinically proven systems from ZEISS in focus at the 2014 ASCRS in Boston.


ZEISS Medical Technology showcases outstandingly clinically accepted developments during the annual Congress of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery: one year after its introduction, the ZEISS Cataract Suite intraocular lens implantation solution proves to be a resounding success in the market. The company is also registering growing demand in its FORUM data management solution.


The ZEISS Cataract Suite enables surgeons to more efficiently achieve the precision implantation of premium intraocular lenses (IOLs). The ZEISS Cataract Suite integrates the fastest, most accurate optical biometer, the IOLMaster^® 500, with the gold standard OPMI LUMERA^® 700 surgical microscope and the new computer-assisted surgery system, CALLISTO eye^®.

Steven D. Vold, MD, President & Medical Director Vold Vision describes the benefits of the cataract solution from ZEISS as follows: “With the ZEISS Cataract Suite, the level of integration is amazing CALLISTO is really spectacular and gives me control of the surgery from the microscope.”

Data management systems are gaining increasing importance in the field of ophthalmology. Here as well, ZEISS offers its customers comprehensive solutions. By precisely linking systems, the FORUM^® Eye Care Data Management System from ZEISS enables the optimization of clinical workflows. The review and analysis of data and clinical decision making is simplified by the data processing carried out in FORUM. As the data are saved in a central location, they are immediately available to the doctor anywhere needed.

For smaller practices, ZEISS offers the pre-configured FORUM^® GO package as a customized data management solution. Up to three ZEISS diagnostic systems may be connected. This solution allows doctors to quickly and efficiently access the examination data for further evaluation. "FORUM has diversified the commitment of ZEISS to ophthalmology from strictly a box sales approach to overall improved eye care and practice management solutions," says Rishi Singh, MD, Medical Director, Clinical Systems Office at Cleveland Clinic, Cole Eye Institute, Ohio, USA.

The US clinical trial on the minimally invasive SMILE procedure has also shown promising results to date. SMILE stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction and combines state-of-the-art femtosecond laser technology and precise lenticule extraction to produce an innovative correction procedure in refractive surgery that does not require a flap. The ZEISS femtosecond laser VisuMax is used to create a very thin disc of tissue (lenticule) inside the intact cornea, which can then be extracted through a small opening. In December 2013, the FDA granted approval to extend the trial to include myopia of up to –10.0 diopters. "That is what we always dreamed about," says study participant William Culbertson, MD, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Health System. He continues, "It might extend our ability to treat patients, even with eyes a bit drier or a cornea a little bit thinner than optimal.

"The reports from doctors who use the ZEISS Cataract Suite, the FORUM Data Management System and our innovative SMILE procedure confirm our approach combining powerful technologies into complete integrated solutions that provide tangible value for our customers in support of their daily practice and to achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients," says Dr. Ludwin Monz, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.