Page 24 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition September-October 2022
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ALCON GETS revisions to their waste management process to work
GREENCIRCLE towards this goal. We commend Alcon for earning
this certification for all three of these manufacturing
CERTIFICATION plants with their first GreenCircle audit.”
Three of Alcon’s LED CONTACT LENSES FOR
manufacturing facilities have
recently been awarded the TREATING DR
GreenCircle Certification – an
internationally recognised third-
party certification, verifying A research team from the Pohang University of Science
sustainability claims behind & Technology (POSTECH), has developed a smart contact
a company’s products and lens-type wearable device to prevent diabetic retinopathy
operations. The healthcare (DR) and treat it in its early stages by irradiating 120 µW far
company achieved this for its red/LED light to the retina.
zero waste to landfill operations. The team was led by Professor Sei Kwang Hahn and
Ph.D. candidate Geon-Hui Lee (Department of Materials
Each of the ophthalmic drop
and solutions manufacturing Science and Engineering) in collaboration with Dr
facilities, two in Fort Worth, Texas, Sangbaie Shin of PHI BIOMED Co. As per the team, the new
and one in Singapore, diverted technology for smart LED contact lens may prove to be
100% of total waste from landfills. valuable for treating other ophthalmologic diseases as well.
Presently, diabetic retinopathy is being treated with
These sites produce several
of Alcon’s over-the-counter eye repeated therapeutic injections to the eyeball which are
care products including, Opti- highly invasive or through thousands of small burns made
Free contact lens solutions, with a laser to destroy capillaries near the edges of retina
AO Sept Plus and Clear Care under anaesthesia. Unfortunately, both these procedures
contact lens solutions, Pataday are traumatic and painful for the patient.
allergy eye drops, and Systane The research study was conducted with diabetic animal
dry eye drops. Additionally, models. The researchers were able to confirm that the
one of the Fort Worth facilities diabetic retinopathy did not appear in animals that wore
also manufactures surgical the smart contact lenses for 15 minutes 3 times a week for
procedural and pharmaceutical a total of 8 weeks. In comparison, the animals that did not
eye drops, as well as a sterile wear the lenses displayed retinopathic conditions.
intraocular irrigating solution. “This study has demonstrated the feasibility of a lens-
“Alcon teams continually focus type wearable device for the applications not only to
on innovative ways to streamline monitoring oxygen saturation, heart beating rate, and
our manufacturing processes to ophthalmologic diseases, but also to treating depression,
reduce operational waste, and insomnia, neuronal diseases and more,” remarked Professor
I’m extremely proud to achieve Sei Kwang Han who led the study.
GreenCircle certification as a The research was published in the international
testament to our commitment,” academic journal Advanced Science. The study was done
said Ed McGough, Alcon’s senior with support received from the Nano · Material Technology
vice president of manufacturing Development Program, Disease Oriented Translational
and technical operations.
Research, Mid-career Researcher Program, Brain Korea 21
Tad Radzinski, certification Fostering Outstanding Universities (FOUR) project, and the
officer at GreenCircle, said: Korea Medical Device Development Fund of the National
“Often, manufacturing sites do Research Foundation of Korea, and by the World Class 300
not qualify when audited for Project of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of Korea.
the first time and need to make
20 | THE INDIAN OPTICIAN | SEPT-OCT 2022 CONTACT LENS NEWS
