Brilliant People: A Conversation with Rafael Chan on How Alcon is Evolving our Equipment Ecosystems to Meet the Demands of Today's Customers and Patients

What inspired the creation of the Alcon Vision Suite (AVS), and how does it reflect Alcon’s vision for the future of ophthalmology?

As Alcon’s co-founder, William C. Conner, said, “Our approach is medical specialist-oriented, in that we concentrate our efforts on seeing the needs of the patients through the eyes of the specialists who are treating them.” Being customer-centric is in our DNA, and we aim to be their end-to-end partner of choice for all their needs, spanning from the clinic to the operating room. We frequently engage with our customer base during our research and development process. For one of our recently approved products, we gained insights and feedback from more than 2,500 Eye Care Professionals worldwide.

We know that when our customers make a purchasing decision, they consider all the ways the manufacturers they work with can help them deliver excellent patient outcomes. Our partnership with customers evolves through continuous feedback, aiming to address current challenges while anticipating future needs and harnessing the potential of digital innovations.

What are some challenges currently facing our customers and the field of ophthalmology?

Ophthalmologists are currently facing significant challenges due to the evolving demographics of their patient population. The aging Baby Boomer generation is placing a substantial strain on global healthcare systems, particularly in eye care, where the number of professionals entering the field is not sufficient to meet the growing demand.^1,2 This issue is compounded by the retirement of experienced specialists and growing prevalence in eye conditions like cataracts, glaucoma and myopia, further widening the gap. ^3-6

Countries like China are experiencing capacity issues, especially in rural areas, leading to substantial gaps between patients’ needs and current service provisions. ⁷ The U.S. is projected to see a 12% decline in the number of ophthalmologists by 2035, while the demand for services, including cataract surgeries, is expected to increase by 24%. ²

While the specific challenges vary from country to country, the need is universal — we must provide innovative solutions that help improve efficiencies for ophthalmic practices, so they are able to meet these growing surgical demands.

In what ways does AVS address these challenges?

Our AVS ecosystem harmonizes products, digital solutions and services to create efficiencies for our customers. Having an ecosystem-led approach intrinsically fosters efficiencies by creating a cohesive and interconnected environment where every component is designed to work seamlessly together. Our next-generation AVS offerings will go even further—to streamline operations and surgical planning, evolve our service capabilities and introduce first-to-market technologies that help improve the surgeon experience and advance patient outcomes.

Today, while we have excellent solutions to minimize error and streamline the process, we're working on further improving the user experience to make it as seamless as possible. Our goal is to continue to drive reliable and reproducible outcomes for cataract surgeons, whether they are implanting a standard or advanced technology IOL by learning from previous outcomes. Our future technologies are designed to deliver significant efficiencies over our legacy equipment.

In the realm of the surgical retina space, our innovative technologies are designed to leave less impact on the eye and make surgeries less invasive with improved fluidics to create a more stable environment, faster cutting speeds and reduced laser time.^8-10 In addition, we are providing a unified platform for surgeons who perform both vitrectomy and cataract surgery, which will help reduce surgical equipment footprint and help the process of transitioning between surgeries.^8,11,12,13

In another area of unmet need, glaucoma, we are bringing to markets a direct selective laser trabeculoplasty technology that could enhance glaucoma care. With its patient- and physician-friendly design, precise delivery and streamlined workflow, this innovation is intended to improve access to first-line laser glaucoma care. ^14,15

By continuously innovating and investing in advanced technologies with AVS, Alcon is committed to empowering ophthalmologists to deliver exceptional care even more efficiently.

How do you see AVS evolving in the next five years? 

Looking ahead, I see AVS evolving to incorporate even more advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to provide predictive analytics and decision support. While our core still remains to develop solutions through the eyes of the medical professionals, we also need to take into consideration the needs of payers prioritizing value-based healthcare, consolidation of practices, and migration towards office-based surgery. Our solution of products, digital and service need to deliver on the promise of efficient healthcare because this is what each of these segments are looking for to deliver high quality, high value outcomes. Our goal is to make AVS an indispensable ecosystem that not only improves the efficiency and effectiveness of eye care today but also shapes the future of the field.

References:

1. Review of Ophthalmology, “Managing the Upcoming Provide Shortage.” 14 September 2022.
2. Berkowitz S, et al. Ophthalmology Workforce Projections in the United States, 2020 to 2035. Ophthalmology. 2024;131(2):133-139.
3. Bijlefeld M. Tick tock: Retirement doesn’t look too distant. Women In Optometry. September 13, 2021. Accessed March 18, 2024. https://womeninoptometry.com/news/article/tick-tock-retirement-doesnt-look-too-distant/. 
4. Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, Jong M, Naidoo KS, Sankaridurg P, Wong TY, Naduvilath TJ, Resnikoff S. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016 May;123(5):1036-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.006. Epub 2016 Feb 11. PMID: 26875007. 
5. Fang, R., Yu, YF., Li, EJ. et al. Global, regional, national burden and gender disparity of cataract: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019. BMC Public Health 22, 2068 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14491-0
6. Zhang N, Wang J, Li Y, Jiang B. Prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma in the last 20 years: a meta-analysis and systematic review. Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 2;11(1):13762. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92971-w. PMID: 34215769; PMCID: PMC8253788. 
7. Zhong J, Wang W, Wang H, Huang J, Li T, Chen J, Chen W, Yuan J, Chen W. Distribution and determinants of hospital efficiency and relative productivity in county-level hospitals in rural China: an observational study. BMJ Open. 2021 Jul 2;11(7): e042326. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042326. PMID: 34215595; PMCID: PMC8256740.
8. UNITY™ VCS and CS User Manual.
9. Alcon data on file 2024. [REF-24644]
10. Alcon data on File 2024. [REF-24379]
11. Unity Phaco Handpiece Directions for Use.
12. Alcon data on file 2024. [REF-24576]
13. Alcon data on file 2024 [REF-24615]
14. Belkin Vision Eagle Device User Guide, US. Rev. 04; 2024.
15. GLAUrious Study - Clinical Study Report (CSR). CA-RP-01-006, Rev. 01; 2022.