Dr. Jorge Alió has been involved for 14 years in the development of the innovative accommodative intraocular lens (AIOL) “Lumina”
He is the only ophthalmologist in Spain to implant this lens, which adapts to the patient to restore their full range of vision, in cases of cataracts and presbyopia
The latest innovation in the field of ophthalmology has made it possible to improve the vision of patients undergoing cataract and presbyopia surgery. Until now, the lenses were multifocal, being the only ones that restored distance and near vision after cataract or presbyopia surgery.
But these lenses are not physiological and do not focus at certain distances, i.e. they do not accommodate. So, thanks to the new accommodative intraocular lens (AIOL) “Lumina”, these patients will be able to recover their full range of vision and accommodation without having to wear glasses, also allowing them to see clear images at all distances, including close-up.
Dr. Jorge Alió has been involved for 14 years as principal investigator and director of the studies that have led to the development of this new technology. In Spain, he is the only approved ophthalmologist who has implanted this lens patented by AkkoLens, a Dutch company dedicated to the development of intraocular lenses.
Since 2024, the “Lumina” lens has been marketed in Europe with the CE mark. The Professor of Ophthalmology and Honorary Researcher at the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche has already implanted more than 250 lenses in the successive clinical studies carried out.
‘It is a scientific breakthrough for the total or partial recovery of physiological accommodation, being the final step in the rehabilitation of cataract surgery as currently performed’, explains Dr. Alió. The novelty lies in its implantation in the ciliary sulcus, unlike other accommodative intraocular lenses (AIOLs) that are implanted in the capsular bag.
In this way, progress has been made in the recovery of real accommodation in pseudophakia which, until now, was the main objective that modern cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation (IOL) had not achieved.
The “Lumina” lens, with high quality variable optics, is based on the optical principle of Alvarez, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1953. Clinical trials have confirmed its safety and optical efficacy, making it the alternative to multifocal lenses (MIOLs) and extended depth of focus (EDOF) intraocular lenses in the correction of aphakia.
‘“Lumina” is the first AIOL that has consistently demonstrated an increase in accommodative response for at least 48 months of the study, with accommodation preserved after YAG laser capsulotomy’, says Jorge Alió.
Another of its advantages is the design of lenses that are precisely adapted to the patient thanks to its own optical power calculation software. The lens diameter is customised for each eye using the specialised AkkoScope® device, a method that has already proven its effectiveness.
The precision in measuring the diameter of the iris edge is such that, after applying small correction factors, it accurately determines the diameter of the sulcus.
For the study, recently reported in scientific media, Prof Jorge Alió included 50 eyes of 25 patients, aged 40-81, diagnosed with clinical cataract. ‘A higher-than-expected ability was observed in tasks at near and intermediate distances according to the measured accommodative response. This finding suggests the presence of some degree of pseudo-accommodation in addition to true accommodation’, confirms the head of the clinical trials.
Contrast sensitivity results also confirmed the good visual performance, as no complications occurred during postoperative follow-up.
‘Another positive finding is that, in addition to restoring visual acuity, the YAG laser shows a tendency to improve accommodation. And it is also confirmed that the accommodative behaviour of the “Lumina” lens is independent of the integrity of the posterior capsule’, adds Alió, who is ranked 12th of the 100 most influential and inspiring ophthalmologists in the world in ‘The Ophthalmologist Power List 2023’, being the only Spanish doctor present.
