By Mark Mattison-Shupnick, ABOM

Lens manufacturers choose lens materials and their raw chemical suppliers because of the products that they can manufacture that deliver superior lens attributes in final lens form. Those lenses must provide a promise of market preference and market success. Labs choose lens materials because of ECP demand and product sales opportunities but require in-lab processing efficiency and superior surface quality. ECPs choose lens materials because they are the foundation of the final lens that delivers patient satisfaction and saleable benefits. Each also requires an opportunity to make a profit.

Did you know that almost 6 of every 10 pairs of glasses sold in the U.S. today have lenses that boast the wearer benefits of thinner, lighter, more impact resistant lenses and are 100 percent UV absorptive? Opticians make this conscious choice of benefits built in when choosing lens materials for patients. However, the balance of material properties has some opticians preferring one material class over another.

When asked why opticians choose “premium high-index,” they suggest that the higher refractive index makes for thinner, better looking lenses, a higher Abbe number and surface finish ensures clarity. The high impact and reduced notch sensitivity or tensile strength makes them also perfect for rimless. How have high-index lenses evolved, and what makes them a lens material choice that supports the best of premium eyewear?

Learn about the DNA of the Mitsui MR Series of premium high-index lens materials and why they’ve become a standard by which lens material choice is measured.