LENSES
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mium lenses e r P FOR A PREMIUM SERVICE More independent optometry practices are upping their businesses performance by investing in premium lens technology. Insight speaks to two practices that have recently made Rodenstock lenses and equipment the focal point of their ophthalmic lens offering.
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angaratta Eyecare, based in the namesake regional Victorian town, experienced the biggest change in its business eight years ago when it relocated to the main intersection in town. Suddenly, the practice was attracting patients prepared to pay $700 for a frame, significantly more than their previous location. “We knew people were already happy to invest in beautiful frames, so why not give them the option of having the best lenses?” says Ms Roxy Akers, who owns and operates the practice with her optometrist husband Paul. “We were having some issues with our previous lens brand and wanted to do better by our patients, so we knew it was time to start offering something different, something customised.” A frames sales rep visited the store one day and began talking about Rodenstock’s DNEye Scanner, which has been helping independent Australian optical practices differentiate their businesses since 2018. At its core, the device is an aberrometer, topographer, pachymeter, and additionally a tonometer. Within a matter of seconds, it takes more than 7,000 measurements of 80 parameters to create “a biometric model of the eye” that is then cleverly used to calculate the final lens. These premium, tier one lenses are known as B.I.G. EXACT in the recently revamped Rodenstock portfolio. The DNEye device has also helped the lens manufacturer create a new tier two lens, B.I.G. NORM, which leverages artificial intelligence to analyse data from more than 500,000 DNEye scans to put measurements from the subjective refraction – sphere, cylinder, axis, and addition – to much greater use in lens designs. Akers was impressed by what she was hearing. She did her research and eventually decided to trial the Rodenstock DNEye Scanner 2 for six months before making it a permanent fixture in the practice in 2022. Wangaratta Eyecare also invested in the Rodenstock ImpressionIST dispensing measurement system that offers precise, 3D video measurement without the need for a jig. Now, many satisfied patients are walking out the door with complete spectacles in excess of $1000.
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INSIGHT February 2023
“I believe we’ve got the most customised lens on the market by going with Rodenstock – no one is putting that amount of intelligence into their lenses here. We’re now able to offer something that local patients can’t get anywhere else,” Akers explains. “Before investing, we ran the numbers to justify the return on investment we were very comfortable with where it all sat, but you don’t know how people will respond with a significant increase in the lens cost, but once we have taken them through the DNEye journey people are understanding the value they’re getting.” She continues: “Our previous premium option, particularly in the multifocal, is some way off what we’re able to offer now, so we’ve jumped to a whole new level in terms of lens products, and some people might think ‘this is going to be interesting, do you think you can sell that?’, but we haven’t looked back. People have taken it up and run with it.” Akers and her husband also own two other regional Victorian practices, Alpine Eyecare in Myrtleford and Eyes of Bright in Bright. ImpressionIST towers were installed in those practices too, and they hope to one day rollout the DNEye Scanner to these businesses. This is because they’ve seen what the DNEye Scanner has done for their Wangaratta practice. Shortly after embedding the Rodenstock lens portfolio, the store recorded its strongest ever month in terms of revenue. Seeing such a quick result is validation for a major purchasing decision, which is now helping the practice differentiate from the two corporate practices and other independent in town. For now, patients examined at the Bright and Myrtleford practices can access Rodenstock’s B.I.G. NORM lenses, which Akers says is still a cut above what they were offering previously. But word is also getting out in the broader community about the new DNEye technology and some patients from Bright have been happy to make the one-hour drive to Wangaratta to be scanned for B.I.G. EXACT lenses. Once their appointment is complete, they can collect their high precision specs from their nearby store. While Akers has been impressed by the product itself, she’s also been