Inside Out: Trends in Lens R&D

A look at the progress and potential of new products in the lens marketplace spurred by the digital processing revolution

By Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

The lens product arena is highly competitive. As products become more complex, the impetus is on each manufacturer's research and development (R&D) sector to straighten the winding path from idea to possibility to reality to buyable and bring a superior product to market in record time. Lens innovations, mainly spurred by the digital processing revolution, are launching at record pace.

It is research and development's duty, as one manufacturer puts it, "To deliver higher-level products, services, and technologies; to identify and capture emerging technologies; and to develop and protect know-how and innovation."

Grasping what goes into the lenses you sell every day can give you an appreciation of that "piece of plastic" that helps eyeglass wearers see well. Passing this enthusiasm on to patients can make more solid, value-added, and upgraded sales. Deciding on what new lens idea to pursue can be an informal or formal process, but is often a blend of both. Technology and marketing are the two R&D drivers.

Here's the scoop on lens R&D from the inside out.

IDEA GENERATION

Research and development isn't just research and development by a scientist in an isolated lab. It also isn't just one Eureka! moment after another.

Instead, "some ideas can generate entirely new products. Other ideas focus on improvements to existing products and/or services," says Bill Retsch, PhD, associate director R&D optical materials with PPG Industries.

Ideas—formal or informal—are always balls in the air waiting to be tossed to the right arena and players.

"Because the process of designing and manufacturing the lens extends beyond the R&D department and factory to the ECP's office and the lab, the concept of ‘development’ has to be approached differently," notes Jeff Hopkins, senior manager of customer communications with Carl Zeiss Vision,

"Ideas for new projects can come from anyone, from research associates to technical service associates to sales representatives and even from our customers," Retsch says.

"Our start is a creative process based on a deep understanding of the optical business and lens technology," David Rips, president and CEO of Younger Optics describes.

"Innovation is an individual effort, and then more people look at things from different viewpoints," he adds. "For example, our designer views R&D from a deep optical viewpoint, and I have a marketing standpoint. Finally, a decision is made by our support team to develop the best possible product."

According to Gabriel Keita, director of technical marketing for Essilor of America: "To foster ideas, expert communities are created and symposia held to create transversal exchange of ideas in different R&D centers in France, the U.S., Singapore, and Japan (a joint venture with Nikon). This includes a product and service plan initiated by the strategic marketing departments based on the need of each zone."

The engineers then initiate a technology plan based on the needs of the labs and manufacturing plants, and there is top management orientation.

Ideas may also flow from the process of trying to solve a completely different problem.

"As a start-up company, we discover beneficial things on the way," says Clay Musslewhite, director of marketing for PixelOptics, Inc.

"For example," he says, "in working on developing electronic eyewear, we found other composite lens technology—the AtLast lens."

Dennis Jarvis, vice president of marketing for Ophthonix, Inc., reviews the firm's creative process:

EVALUATION: Evaluate similar products in the market and how they perform.

DETERMINATION: Determine unmet practitioner and patient demand; this feedback can be captured through direct marketing research and practitioner input to sales reps.

RE-EVALUATION: Evaluate practitioner interest in the new offering, followed by evaluating the compatibility of the product type with our brand image and platform.

FINAL DETERMINATION: Conduct a technical feasibility assessment to determine the resources required to develop and commercialize, and the time frame from project start to finish.

Typically, proof of feasibility, verification of prototype concept, and extensive validation studies are performed before moving the knowhow and processes to manufacturing.

From the financial side, companies usually research targeted goods and pricing, develop a preliminary volume forecast, and determine return of investment, with patent filings formalizing the process.

MOVING FORWARD

Once ideas become reality, it's time to start the research and development process for a new lens product in earnest.

For some firms, this means a large team, consisting of lab and company personnel working together.

"Shamir's R&D facility, located in Upper Galilee, Israel on Kibbutz Shamir, is home to hundreds of people who are solely dedicated to making the best optics," says Matt Lytle, vice president of marketing for Shamir Insight.

"The new product process is very much a team effort that includes manufacturing operations, IT, engineering, quality and regulatory, clinical, and R&D and marketing," adds Jarvis. "We continuously work with our sales leadership to map out the launch plan."

For others, the fledgling products are assigned to a compact work teams. "Ideas are reviewed quarterly and an internal R&D committee evaluates the ideas and promotes the most promising to the next stage," PPG's Retsch says. "The project is then initiated among a small team of researchers."

R&D is in part based on the history of each company, and launching a research and development project is often based on years of experience.

Adds Hopkins: "In many cases, engineers draw on the experience of manufacturing many thousands of customized lenses in the past. This means using a real-time design engine and rigorous quality control."

INSIDE R&D

R&D based on proven technology versus R&D in a totally new arena differs not only in length of time from start to finish, but also in how an R&D project is approached.

Essilor of America reports that a typical R&D project takes from one to five years from ideas to commercialization based on several factors.

Expanding on the Known: A program generally using existing solutions can be one to three years.

Starting from Scratch: An exploratory program could in some cases last five years.

Generally, Essilor says, it relies on three plans to drive its R&D program, with an overall five-year strategic plan.

Musslewhite adds: "The R&D process is fluid; it has to be. Look at the forest and there are too many trees. Then step back and look at each tree with intense focus. Question, dig deeper, dig other ground, and brainstorm."

Stepping back and assessing can be as high tech as simulators to as low tech as the R&D team holding its own down-home tests.

Machinery: "Essilor's virtual reality simulator is a keystone in the development of PALs," Keita says.

The machinery allows the lab to test design hypotheses rapidly with wearers without having to specifically generate lenses. "This makes it easy to test subjective evaluation of lenses—for example, the robustness of the design, and the influence of base curves and patient behavior. We're just beginning to discover the potential of this approach," Keita adds.

Grassroots Action: John Ligas, director, research & development, Transitions Optical, Inc., carries five or six pairs of Transitions lenses to try himself and on family members. "We put the lenses in real-life situations: on the dashboard, in the swimming pool…we even hang them on trees to observe performance," he says.

R&D CHALLENGES

Glitches can pop up during any part of the research and development process, and each challenge must be met and conquered before the product can be marketed.

Challenges are most often evident in the lens materials and coatings areas, Younger's Rips says. "For a lens treatment that requires high heat during processing, such as photochromics, a heat-resistant polarized film must be developed. Coordination of the film, casting, heat, visible dye package, and logistics with various manufacturers is essential."

After releasing its first plastic corrective lens in 1975 and Japan's first PAL in 1980, Epson's pursuit of functionality expanded its product line. But first, functionality had to be addressed.

"Epson's development team began to focus on clearing two issues: shrinking the manufacturing cycle time of glass molds used to produce lenses and improving lens performance," says Craig Fahan, marketing communications manager for Seiko Optical Products of America.

"To shrink lens mold cycle time, Epson developed a numerically controlled system to produce lens molds, and the system was later adapted so it could directly machine the lenses. From that came providing the PAL surface on the backside of lenses."

Beyond machining, material costs and red tape can impact a research and development project.

"If an R&D project takes a couple years, the cost of raw materials can change dramatically as they are often tied to the price of oil," Retsch says. "Sometimes new legislation is enacted. For example, with REACH (a new European Community regulation on chemicals and their safe use) certain chemicals used in formulation of a lens material may now be impossible to import."

FROM R&D TO MARKET

A close collaboration between R&D and marketing is necessary to make a product thoroughly successful. Naming the product, identifying needs, volume, and the technology's public standpoint are all part of the marketing plan.

The R&D process should include marketing ideas and input from sources other than those within the firm—including consumers, labs, manufacturers, and ECPs.

"This should be in the prototype stage," says Ligas "Outside sources can offer a refreshing take on marketing trends and what's possible or not. The number-one consumer desire is to have no problems with a product.

"Consumers aren't looking at eyewear as technology," Ligas states. "They may be more forgiving if their iPhone breaks down or doesn't perform to their expectations, but not their eyewear."

After the launch, service takes over.

"New product introductions must have follow-through," Rips says. "ECPs need consistent and constant follow-up education. Product improvement and support is imperative."

R&D, in the end, is an idea, a direction, a process, and an opportunity that remains fluid and constant.

"We have clear direction in mind," Musslewhite summarizes. "Then we find an opportunity that can't be ignored. We get better, we learn more, and we continue to develop."

"The lens customization process has to be engineered into the dispensing process," Hopkins points out. "This assures that lenses can be precisely personalized without imposing a burden on doctors and opticians."

Thus a burden on companies is to develop straightforward systems of measuring frame parameters and wearing habits to make the process easy, extraordinarily accurate, and consistent. EB