The New Generation: Electronic IOLS

Restoring vision using a smart, active intraocular lens for cataract surgery

SAV-IOL (Swiss Advanced Vision) is working towards the world’s first active, electronic intraocular lens implant for cataract surgery through the R-TASC Project. This new lens represents a real leap forward in vision restoration: smart, real-time autofocus.

Current IOLs on the market suffer from optical compromises, including a limited visual accommodation range, loss of light, or unwanted visual disturbances. One of the last unexplored terrains in the IOL field is the use of an active lens, which overcomes the optical limitations of traditional passive lenses.

SAV-IOL is striving to meet this challenge with the R-TASC Project by designing an innovative lens that is equipped with an autofocus system able to detect the distance of objects in its visual field. Mimicking the human lens, the autofocus system sends signals that trigger micro-pumps to alter the curvature of the optical membrane through liquid displacement – in real time; in fact, the process occurs at 0.2 seconds, a speed equivalent to the accommodation of a healthy human eye.