GENEVA, April 23, 2022 – Alcon (SIX/NYSE: ALC), the global leader in eye care dedicated to helping people see brilliantly, today announced key data that will be presented at this year’s American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) meeting on its SMART Solutions for cataract surgery. SMARTCataract is the first application in Alcon’s comprehensive cloud-based platform uniquely designed for surgical ophthalmic practices.^2-6 The data shows significant time savings delivered during the cataract evaluation, planning process, operating room (OR) and postoperative (post-op) workflow for cataract patients.¹

“SMARTCataract has delivered substantial time savings that benefit both my practice and my patients,” said Dr. Zachary Zavodni, Medical Director of The Eye Institute in Utah and lead investigator for the study. “Beyond driving efficiencies, evolving our practice to this digital cloud-based application has reduced tedious manual data entry for my staff, giving us peace of mind when it comes to accuracy, so I can focus on delivering optimal outcomes to my patients.”

SMARTCataract links data systems and most diagnostic devices, including ARGOS^® Biometer with Image Guidance, with cataract surgical equipment, including LenSx^® Femtosecond Laser and LuxOR^® Revalia™ Ophthalmic Microscope. Now, the SMARTCataract application also connects via the cloud to Alcon’s Optiwave Refractive Analysis (ORA) SYSTEM^® with VerifEye+, the only intraoperative aberrometer on the market. Alcon re-optimizes the ORA SYSTEM’s AnalyzOR^TM database of over 2 million cases each quarter with additional real-world cases to help improve refractive outcomes over time.⁷

An Alcon-sponsored study conducted by Dr. Zavodni, “Enhancing Clinic and Operating Room (OR) Connectivity via a Cloud-Based Application to Improve Practice Efficiency for Cataract Surgery,” demonstrates substantial time efficiencies through SMARTCataract’s surgery planning and OR workflow capabilities.¹ The study looked at the time taken and number of manual data entry transcription points for the devices in the clinic, OR, online intraocular lens (IOL) power calculations as well as ORA integration. Time differences in the diagnostic workup, pre-operative planning, intraoperative preparation and post-op were calculated and compared between the traditional workflow and SMARTCataract. Highlights include:

• For non-astigmatic non-post-refractive patients, SMARTCataract can save a total of 4.3 mins versus traditional methods¹
• For post-refractive patients, SMARTCataract can save a total of 13.8 mins versus traditional methods¹
• For astigmatic patients, SMARTCataract can save a total of 12.6 mins versus traditional methods¹

With the addition of the ORA SYSTEM connectivity and existing integration with Alcon’s image-guided systems, SMARTCataract practices no longer have to manually re-enter the data; therefore, there is potential for additional time savings and reduction of error.

“We are proud of the latest evolution of our SMARTCataract application with the ORA integration, which eliminates even more manual data entry for practices that utilize the only intraoperative aberrometer to help optimize patient outcomes during cataract surgery,” said Brian O’Neal, Vice President, Surgical Digital Health Solutions at Alcon. “We look forward to continuing to evolve the SMARTCataract application as well as our SMART Solutions capabilities more broadly—as part of our larger journey to enable world-class digital experiences to support practice efficiency while helping people see brilliantly.”

At ASCRS, Alcon will feature a new branding campaign that underpins the robust offerings of its surgical equipment ecosystem. The Alcon Vision Suite represents the potential for fully integrated and connected practices, offering surgeons enhanced efficiency and accuracy to help improve patient outcomes.^2-6

For more information about SMARTCataract please visit AlconSMARTSolutions.com.

About SMART Solutions

SMART Solutions by Alcon is a comprehensive cloud-based digital health solutions platform designed specifically for ophthalmology practices. Through its SMARTCataract application, it enables automatic evaluation of patient data and surgeon preferences to make optimized recommendations that improve surgical accuracy and help surgeons provide better patient outcomes for the treatment of cataracts. Surgeons and their staff should refer to the equipment product manuals for Important Product Information.

About ORA

The ORA SYSTEM technology utilizes wavefront aberrometry data to measure and analyze the refractive power of the eye (i.e., sphere, cylinder and axis measurements) to support cataract surgical procedures. Surgeons should refer to the ORA SYSTEM Operator’s Manual for a complete description of proper use and maintenance as well as a complete list of warnings and cautions.

About Cataracts

A cataract is a cloudy area in the natural lens of the eye that affects vision. As a cataract develops, the eye's lens gradually becomes hard and cloudy, allowing less light to pass through, which makes it more difficult to see. The vast majority of cataracts result from normal aging, but radiation exposure, taking steroids, diabetes and eye trauma can accelerate their development. Cataracts are the most common age-related eye condition and the leading cause of preventable blindness.⁸ Cataracts are treated by removing the eye's cloudy natural lens and surgically replacing it with an intraocular lens or IOL. More than 92% of cataract surgeries are considered successful, and patients typically can return to their normal routines within 24 hours.⁹

About Alcon

Alcon helps people see brilliantly. As the global leader in eye care with a heritage spanning over 75 years, we offer the broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve people’s lives. Our Surgical and Vision Care products touch the lives of more than 260 million people in over 140 countries each year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors. Our more than 24,000 associates are enhancing the quality of life through innovative products, partnerships with Eye Care Professionals and programs that advance access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com.

References

1. Zavodni Z, MD., Li-Chen P, MPH., Saylor M, BA., Cheng H, MSc. Enhancing Clinic and Operating Room Connectivity Via a Cloud-Based Application to Improve Practice Efficiency for Cataract Surgery. ASCRS, Washington D.C. April 22, 2022.
2. Alcon Data on File, 2020.
3. Blaylock JF, Hall B. Astigmatic results of a diffractive trifocal toric IOL following intraoperative aberrometry guidance. Clin Ophthalmol. 2020;14:4373-4378. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S285711.
4. Cionni RJ, Dimalanta R, Breen M, Hamilton C. A large retrospective database analysis comparing outcomes of intraoperative aberrometry with conventional preoperative planning. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2018;44(10):1230-1235. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2018.07.016.
5. Van Vliet EJ, Bredenhoff E, Sermeus W, Kop LM, Sol JCA, Harten WH. Exploring the relation between process design and efficiency in high-volume cataract pathways from a lean thinking perspective. Int J Qual Health Care. 2011;23(1):83-93. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzq071.
6. Håkansson I, Lundström M, Stenevi U, Ehinger B. Data reliability and structure in the Swedish National Cataract Register. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 2001;79(5):518-523. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0420.2001.790519.
7. Alcon Data on File 2022.
8. Flaxman, Seth R., et al. (2017). Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990-2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
9. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Cataracts in Adults: Management. Accessed September 2020.

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Blake Overby
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