The Business of Eye Innovation Podcast: Episode 19
The IOL: Celebrating 75 Years
An interview with Tim Clover (Rayner), David Lockington (president-elect UKISCRS), and Paul Ursell (incumbent president UKISCRS)
On this episode of the BOEI Podcast, we’re reflecting on the significance of the IOL in modern eye care and the impact created by it’s invention 75 years ago. Together with Tim Clover (CEO of Rayner), David Lockington (president-elect UKISCRS), and Paul Ursell (incumbent president UKISCRS), we discuss what the IOL has meant for the evolution of eye care, and how our field is celebrating this important innovation.
Speakers:
Bernie Ursell (host), Senior Director, Medical Communications & Professional Education - Medevise Consulting
Tim Clover, CEO of Rayner
David Lockington, president-elect UKISCRS & consultant ophthalmologist in Glasgow
Paul Ursell, incumbent president UKISCRS & consultant ophthalmologist in Surrey
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Harold Ridley invented the intraocular lens along with John Pike of Rayner, and John Holt of ICI.
Ridley first implanted the IOL on November 29, 1949. This year is the 75th anniversary of that milestone event.
The Impact of the IOL
The IOL “paved the way for every single other implant in surgery, not just in ophthalmology” – David Lockington
“Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery in the world… and this year there will be something like 30 million patients who receive IOLs… nothing can come close to that in terms of the impact on a human level.” - Tim Clover
“Because of what happened with the implant, we then developed microscopes. We then developed the instruments. The anesthesia techniques changed. Sutures changed. That led to VR surgery, then phacoemulsification. Glaucoma surgery. That all started in 1949 with Ridley and the lens.” – Paul Ursell
Celebrating the 75th anniversary
The Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (JCRS) will feature Sir Harold's picture on the front cover of all 12 editions in 2024
At the UKISCRS annual meeting in November, the organization will celebrate by hosting the Ridley Eye Foundation to speak, and have invited ASCRS, ESCRS, Asia Pacific, and the IIIC to participate and raise the profile of everybody's societies, so ophthalmology benefits and therefore ophthalmic patients benefit.
In conjunction with the Ridley Eye Foundation, Rayner is hosting an invitation-only event at the Tower of London, where they hope the next great inventions and ideas might be sparked during the evening.
Looking ahead – What is the future of the IOL?
The challenge facing industry is to meet the rapidly growing demand for cataract surgery.
Ensuring equitable delivery
Addressing the environmental impact
How data analysis can impact the future of the IOL and cataract surgery
Accommodation and how the haptics are utilized. There is space for further technological innovation.
What is the next innovation that will change the field of medicine in the same way that the IOL did 75 years ago?
Solving dementia
Gene therapy
Public healthcare and preventative medicine within a personalized ethos
Learn more about our Tim Clover, CEO of Rayner; David Lockington, president-elect UKISCRS & consultant ophthalmologist in Glasgow; and Paul Ursell, incumbent president UKISCRS & consultant ophthalmologist in Surrey.