Contact lens discomfort is the primary reason for contact lens dropout.1 Is there a new way for eye care practitioners to provide the best possible vision in a contact lens and decrease contact lens drop-outs?
Patients with astigmatism and/or presbyopia can now benefit from a new contact lens coating on hybrid lenses, Tangible Hydra-PEG, that is designed to significantly improve the custom contact lens experience.2 Benchtop tests and early clinical studies of Tangible Hydra-PEG point to improvements in wettability, lubricity, deposit resistance, tear film quality, subjective comfort and overall patient preference.2
Tangible Hydra-PEG (developed by Tangible Science, LLC) is a 90% water PEG (polyethylene glycol) based polymer mixture that is covalently (permanently) bonded to the surface of the contact lens, effectively creating a wetting surface on the underlying lens material and separating it from the ocular surface and tear film.2 The optically-clear coating encapsulates the core contact lens with a mucin-like hydrophilic shell.2
PEG has been used in ocular lubricants for decades and has been reported by several sources to improve lens surface wettability, which improves tear breakup time, increases lubricity and reduces protein and lipid deposition.2,5,6
Extensive research by the developers of the coating, Tangible Science, and others indicate that patients who currently experience ocular dryness or discomfort associated with contact lens wear, and moderate to heavy depositors, can benefit from the technology.7-9
Hybrid Products with Tangible Hydra-PEG
In August 2016, SynergEyes, Inc. received FDA clearance to use this breakthrough polymer coating on the Duette and UltraHealth lines of hybrid lenses. During a pre-launch program, 141 patients were fit with Duette and Duette Progressive with Tangible Hydra-PEG and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with patients and doctors citing great optics and all-day comfort.9
In January of 2017, Tangible Hydra-PEG became available to independent eye care professionals who prescribe hybrid lenses in the United States.
Tangible Hydra-PEG In-Market Study Results
Since January, eye care professionals across the United States have been successfully prescribing Duette with Tangible Hydra-PEG for their astigmatic patients. Their feedback and the testimonials from patients confirm the results seen in the initial pre-launch program.
During the program, seventeen optometrists fit one hundred and forty-one patients. Each patient wore Duette with Tangible Hydra-PEG for one month. The patients filled out four surveys: one each at dispense, week one, week three and a final one at week four. Each doctor filled out two surveys for each patient.
Results:
The data included many enthusiastic comments from both practitioners and patients around vision and comfort of Duette lenses with Tangible Hydra-PEG. Of the current Duette patients in the study, eighty-one percent of them chose to continue wearing the new Duette with Tangible Hydra-PEG, while seventy-three percent of Duette Progressive patients continued wearing the coated lenses. Ninety percent of Duette wearers described Duette with Tangible Hydra-PEG as comfortable. 80% wore the lenses comfortably for 9+ hours per day, with the majority wearing them for over 13 hours per day.
Duette and UltraHealth with Tangible Hydra-PEG are now available to Independent ECPs in the US.
References
1. Dumbleton K, Woods CA, Jones LW, Fonn D. The impact of contemporary contact lenses on contact lens discontinuation. Eye Contact Lens 2013;39:93-9.
2. Sindt CW. Tangible Hydra-PEG: A novel custom contact lens coating technology designed to improve patient comfort and satisfaction. Whitepaper. 2016. Available at http://www.tangiblescience.com/tangible-hydra-peg-white-paper-down
3. Pence NA. Plasma Treatment Facts: No sugar coating. Contact Lens Spectrum, May 2008.
4. Fonn D. The clinical relevance of contact lens lubricity. Contact Lens Spectrum 2013;28(13)25−27.
5. Jones L, Brennan NA, Gonzalez-Meijome J, Lally J, Maldonado-Codina C, Schmidt TA, Subbaraman L, Young G, Nichols JJ. The TFOS international workshop on contact lens discomfort: report of the contact lens materials, design, and care subcommittee. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2013;54(11) TFOS37−70).
6. Caroline PJ, Andre M. Cloudy vision with sclerals. Contact Lens Spectrum. Vol 27; pg. 56. June 2012.
7. Miller WL. Scleral contact lens fog. Contact Lens Spectrum. Vol. 28; pg 52. Sept 2013.
8. Rosenthal P, Croteau A. Fluid-ventilated, gas-permeable scleral contact lens is an effective option for managing severe ocular surface disease and many corneal disorders that would otherwise require penetrating keratoplasty. Eye & Contact Lens. 31(3):130−34. 2005.
9. Data on file.
