In the latest installment of our 2025 Power List Perspectives series, Gerd Auffarth, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg and Director of the IVCRC and The David J. Apple International Laboratory of Ocular Pathology, Germany, discusses mounting competition in the refractive lens field, and how artificial intelligence is being used to improve intraocular lens (IOL) optics.
What major trends in cataract and refractive surgery are catching your attention right now?
A major trend is seen in the refractive business, which is called K-Lex. Over 15 years we only had the Smile procedure from Zeiss. There are now several other companies offering a similar lenticular refractive procedure and we will see a lot of competition in this area. The technology in the Femtosecond-laser has improved greatly, and in particular the imaging of the anterior segment has become more precise. This will be a very interesting development.
In what ways do you think artificial intelligence and machine learning will impact cataract & refractive surgery?
Artificial intelligence is already present in ophthalmology. It started with image analysis and diagnostic tools, and we have already seen a lot of applications on this. We can also see that improvements in intraocular lens calculation derive from artificial intelligence edited formulas. In addition, companies are using artificial intelligence to fine-tune the optics of intraocular lenses. A recent example is the Rayner Galaxy IOL, which has a spiral refractive composition creating a full range of vision without a lot of side-effects. We can also find it in different intraocular lenses. Trifocal lenses artificial intelligence algorithms are used to minimize the loss of light and therefore increase contrast sensitivity. We will also see other applications of artificial intelligence that will improve diagnostic quality as well as surgical performance.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
My advice to my younger self would be: just do everything that you did as you did it.
