ZEISS turns 100: the evolution of vision care, ophthalmology, and optical innovation
This episode of The Ophthalmic Project explores the 100-year legacy of ZEISS in the United States, tracing its origins from a small optics workshop in 1846 to a global leader in vision care and technology. Featuring insights from Gary Rosenblum, of ZEISS VISION, and Steve Schallhorn, MD, of ZEISS Medical Technology, host Mark Dlugoss leads the discussion on ZEISS’ groundbreaking innovations across eye care and scientific research. The conversation also emphasizes the company’s purpose-driven leadership model, commitment to research and development, and longstanding impact on patient outcomes.
Mark Dlugoss:
ZEISS was founded by Carl Zeiss in 1846 when he opened a small workshop for precision mechanics and optics in Jena, Germany. As the company grew, ZEISS began opening subsidiaries around the world. One of those subsidiaries was New York City in 1925. In today’s edition of The Ophthalmic Project, we explore ZEISS’s 100-year legacy in the United States. Joining The Ophthalmic Project to recap ZEISS’ centennial and its innovative contributions to eye care is Gary Rosenblum, President of ZEISS Vision Care USA, and Dr. Steve Schallhorn, Chief Medical Officer. Gentlemen, welcome to The Ophthalmic Project.
Gary Rosenblum:
Thank you. Great to be here.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
Yes, great to be here.
Mark Dlugoss:
Before we talk about the ZEISS’ 100th anniversary in the United States, let’s begin our discussion at the beginning. As I pointed out in the introduction, ZEISS was founded in 1846 when Carl Zeiss opened a small workshop in Germany. Can you provide a brief history of ZEISS and its eventual entry into the United States market?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
A few years after founding, Carl Zeiss recruited a physicist, Ernst Abbe, to help him improve the microscopes he was developing. Professor Abbe is well known even today for turning optics into a precise science, establishing the limits and design principles that enables modern high-resolution imaging. Together, they linked science and industry, which is a concept that we use today. It’s really shaped our modern world. Carl Zeiss passed away in 1889, and Ernst Abbe created the Carl Zeiss Foundation, which would become the company’s sole owner. Its profits benefit science, social, and cultural projects in the workforce too.
After World War I, ZEISS reestablished worldwide sites, including, as you mentioned, a branch in New York in 1925. This branch was primarily designed to sell and service microscopes, telescopes, binoculars, cameras. The office offered a unique opportunity for ZEISS to showcase through its optical expertise in obviously a very prominent US city. Today, Carl Zeiss AG is a holding company with several subsidiaries, very important big subsidiaries. In addition to its sites in Oberkochen and Jena, Germany, the company has sites in Dublin, California, as well as Minneapolis in the United States.
Mark Dlugoss:
Over the years, ZEISS has grown from that small office in New York City into a massive multi-business organization and developing and building innovative technologies across many disciplines. These disciplines include research, healthcare, manufacturing, as well as optics. Can you highlight some of the innovative achievements and milestones that ZEISS has developed in the various disciplines it serves?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
There are a number of them. Semiconductor manufacturing technology is one. ZEISS has played a crucial role in the history of integrated circuits by providing the ultra-precise optical systems used in photolithography, which is the process that transfers a circuit pattern onto silicone wafers, modern integrated circuits that we use. This started in 1977 when ZEISS partnered with an American company, GCA Corporation or General Automation. ZEISS’ innovations, I should say, especially in extreme ultraviolet optics (EUV) have made it possible to produce today’s most advanced chips, now enabling hundreds of billions of transistors to be incorporated into an integrated circuit. It’s really enabled all of our digital interfaces that we use. ZEISS Precision Optics has supported space exploration; 1969, Apollo 11, astronauts captured the first steps in the moon using a Hasselblad camera paired with a ZEISS lens. ZEISS camera lenses helped to make major motion pictures like The Lord of the Rings, Schindler’s List, and the James Bond movies.
We’ve won multiple Oscar awards for this lens technology. ZEISS microscopes help with scientific research. [In] 2014, ZEISS introduced the world’s fastest scanning electron microscope to capture neural tissue images for the brain. It’s now used to study structures and functions of the brain to better understand the causes of illnesses like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. ZEISS introduced pocket binoculars in 1969 with lightweight materials that made them small enough to fit in a pocket. ZEISS binoculars are widely regarded as the top optical instruments that combine crystal clear clarity, exceptional brightness, and rugged durability. ZEISS is also a global leader in industrial precision measurement technologies, providing solutions that ensure accuracy, consistency, and efficiency in manufacturing.
In 1989, ZEISS acquired Numerex, which is a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of measuring tools, which are used to check whether a manufacturing part is the exact shape and size it’s supposed to be. ZEISS greatly advanced these tools into the modern, computer-driven, high precision devices they are now. This was pivotal in the US as now Minneapolis has become a key hub for the ZEISS production and development of this technology. Those are some examples.
Mark Dlugoss:
Strong innovation just doesn’t happen for a company. It starts with the leadership of the company. Can you review the leadership of ZEISS over the years that has made the company a thriving operation both financially and in innovation?
Gary Rosenblum:
As Steve mentioned, the history of ZEISS with Carl Zeiss and Ernst Abbe and the fact that they created the modern Carl Zeiss Foundation, which is ultimately the structure that still exists today. This is a very unique culture, and it allows for the leadership to really embed reinvestment in R&D. There’s really no limit to the amount of R&D that the company can invest. There’s no specific requirement because of the structure of the company itself, which really foments long-term thinking. It’s a purpose-led model, and it prioritizes scientific advancement over short-term gains. Very unique for a multinational or a global company like ZEISS and the size that ZEISS is.
In addition, I would say another really important point is continuity and applied innovation. Successful leaders have institutionalized tight collaboration between research, engineering, and customers, which is also a unique approach that ZEISS has indoctrinated, which turns breakthroughs in optics, lithography, and vision care, etcetera, into scalable products that can be launched in markets all over the world. This has kept ZEISS consistently very competitive and at the forefront of innovation across generations.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
To create relevancy and impact decade after decade, ZEISS has fostered this pioneering mindset at the highest leadership levels, thinking globally, but acting locally, and always putting the customer first in our quest to create, innovate, and explore. The foundation of this approach began in Germany in 1846 and evolved to charting new ways in which ZEISS’s innovations could shape the world. Our leaders understand the need for the right minds in order to do this. You need brilliant people who can uncover new possibilities for technology. How do you attract these people to our company? Our founders believe that companies exist to serve humanity, both internally and externally, and should operate with a spirit of collaboration. This philosophy endures today and really energizes our colleagues to contribute to a larger purpose of societal impact. As Gary said, ZEISS is a purpose-led company, and our leaders help us continue that culture of scientific advancement with the ultimate goal of driving innovations that shape the world around us.
Mark Dlugoss:
How would ZEISS define its approach to innovation? How has that innovation evolved over the last 100 years? How does the company apply that approach into development with various technologies today?
Gary Rosenblum:
As part of the ZEISS Vision Care organization, where we are very focused on lenses for eyeglasses, innovation is 100% surrounding the patient and focusing on how to improve patient benefit. We have a mission, which is to protect and improve the vision and lifetime visual health of the world’s consumer. It’s very much about that consumer, that patient, that person who is using our lenses to see every day. Specifically defining innovation, we define innovation as science-driven that is embedded in ZEISS’ culture and history. Precision engineering. When you think of ZEISS, you should think of precision. That is, again, a value that ZEISS espouses with all of its employees across the company, from R&D to engineering to salespeople, and all of that translates into a real patient benefit.
As I said before, those patients are ultimately our customers or our consumers, and that has evolved over 100-plus years of foundational obstacle breakthroughs to today’s data-driven, digitally enabled lens design and advanced coatings. ZEISS Vision Care also applies this through deep R&D investment. ZEISS is very, very focused on long-term innovation, so deep R&D investment, collaboration with our professional customers. Those are our clinicians; those are optometrists and opticians. Then of course, end-to-end system thinking, combining diagnostics, individual lens design, so I should say individualized lens design, which so it’s specific to the person, and high-performance materials to deliver a very personalized premium visual solution.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
It’s the same on the medical technology side. We’ve evolved from the same foundational mindset of science-driven, optical precision, and consistently collaborate with partners and healthcare providers to apply our innovation in new ways. Innovation is just technology until it has a purpose. Then it starts to change the world. Our approach to innovation continues to be purpose-based, finding new ways to help clinicians better diagnose, treat, and manage health conditions and diseases. I believe that landmark and truly pioneering medical innovation should be: 1) improve patient outcomes; 2) change the practice of medicine; and 3) withstand the test of time.
Mark Dlugoss:
The Vision Care segment has seen some incredible innovation surface from ZEISS over 100 years. What makes the vision care market, most notably ophthalmology and optometry, so intriguing to ZEISS?
Gary Rosenblum:
Steve, why don’t you take this one first and I’ll add if there’s anything additional.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
I think ZEISS is uniquely positioned to address the challenges of visual health across optometry and ophthalmology and is helping to shape the future of innovation in these fields. Even though medical technology and vision care are seen as 2 separate entities, Gary and I, we are technically under the same…We consider ourselves ZEISS, one ZEISS. I will say that ZEISS knows optics, whether it’s a microscope, a camera lens, a lens and a pair of glasses, we use our optical expertise to help people see in many different ways. It makes sense that we would apply this expertise across optometry and ophthalmology to support education and research and overall maintain and improve the quality of vision for patients around the world.
Gary Rosenblum:
Steve said it perfectly. We are very much focused on the patient ultimately, and having this one ZEISS approach makes us a very special organization.
Mark Dlugoss:
Let’s highlight some of the innovative technologies that ZEISS has delivered to the eye care market over the years in ophthalmic surgery and optical lenses. It’s everything from surgical microphones, intraocular lenses, the SMILE procedure, and others. Let’s review some of these technologies.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
This is a fun question to address. Surgical microscopes introduced by ZEISS in 1953, the operating microscope has revolutionized intraocular surgery. It’s enabling and enhancing all of our modern surgical procedures, such as cataract surgery, glaucoma implants, and retinal procedures. Today, ZEISS offers microscopes with 3D digitalization, heads-up surgical displays, as well as digital integration, anti-ophthalmic workflows and seamless data transfer. Another, optical biometry. More than 25 years ago, ZEISS introduced the first optical biometer and revolutionized IOL power calculations. Since then, the ZEISS IOLMaster has become the most commonly used biometer in the ophthalmic world. With more than 150 million IOL power calculations to date, it has set the standard. Another, optical coherence tomography. Another cornerstone of modern eyecare introduced by ZEISS in 1999, OCTA enables clinicians to visualize retinal layers and optic nerve structures in real time, dramatically improving the early detection and management of disease like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.
Another, workflow solutions, creating data-driven device-integrated digital workflow solutions that foster more efficient and personalized care. Here’s for instance, the VERACITY Surgical Plan, which provides significant value by creating a fully digital integrated workflow for cataract surgery planning, bringing together data from the EMR, digital diagnostic devices, and patient input into 1 platform. This allows surgeons to make informed data-driven decisions while reducing manual data entry, improving efficiency, minimizing transcription errors, and enhancing surgical accuracy and outcomes. [In] 2016, as you mentioned, ZEISS brought SMILE to the US, the first minimally invasive form of laser vision correction, which is fast and produces excellent visual outcomes. It may also offer other important benefits compared to other forms of laser vision correction and more recently, and again, demonstrating ZEISS’ commitment to innovation.
In 2024, the VISUMAX 800 was introduced in the US. It’s the new evolution of femtosecond lasers, which can perform the lenticular cut of SMILE in less than 10 seconds. VISUMAX 800 is also digitally connected via ZEISS FORUM to streamline the refractive workflow. We’re moving even further in the retina space with the acquisition of DORC. ZEISS now offers the EVA Nexus phaco vitrectomy system with true anterior-posterior segment surgery integration. It features include unique fluidics resulting in a stable eye and constant intraocular pressure, 2-dimensional vitrectomy cutter, an advanced phaco technology with efficient lens removal. These are just some of the many.
Gary Rosenblum:
Moving over to specific to vision care, for optical and lens technology, we have a very rich history of innovation that actually can be traced all the way back to ZEISS’ foundation. Starting in 1857 with the invention of the first compound microscope that would revolutionize the industry to the 1884 introduction of the first ever lenses to be produced of glass by Jena GlassWorks. These innovations quickly helped establish the Carl Zeiss innovative reputation will proudly carry on to today. Let’s highlight some of the recent optical innovations through the years.
First, I think it’s important that we talk about ZEISS’ self-tinting lenses. We call this today, we call this PhotoFusion. The lens technology was first introduced in 1970 with the Umbramatic lens launch and has seen dramatic upgrades throughout the years, culminating with the introduction of ZEISS’ PhotoFusion, which is the fastest self-tinting lenses on the market.
Second, you can’t talk about vision care without talking about progressive lenses. ZEISS’ progressive lens technology was introduced as the first progressive lenses called Gradal 1, which introduced horizontal symmetry to the market. Every lens manufacturer now utilizes this breakthrough technology. ZEISS digital lenses were also launched recently within the last couple of decades, global launch of the ZEISS digital lens category. The lenses relieve the eyes of those who use mobile digital devices, particularly in the 30-age group and up. ZEISS also has innovated in the coding area, ZEISS coding innovation. We launched DriveSafe and BlueGuard. These are advanced coding technologies and innovations which paved the way for the first lens encoding design for optimized vision while driving and similar for BlueGuard, which helps protect patients from blue light blocking from tech devices like phones and computer screens.
ZEISS also launched SmartLife and most recently ZEISS is launching ZEISS ClearMind. ZEISS SmartLife was launched in 2019. This portfolio was introduced to suit modern eye behavior and usage with particular focus on lifestyle usage and dynamic visual behavior. Fast forward to today, 2026, we’re launching ZEISS ClearMind, which uses innovative NeurOptix technology and benefits from ZEISS’ intelligent augmented design, which is an AI-driven design process to deliver prescription lenses that prioritize the wearer’s wellbeing and provides all-day wear clarity and comfort. I think that kind of gives you an idea of how much innovation is happening from vision care.
Mark Dlugoss:
With so many innovative contributions to the ophthalmic market and opticals in general, is there any 1 innovation that ZEISS has developed over the last 100 years that sort of stands out to you guys as a “wow” moment for the company?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
Gosh, where do you start? It’s a challenge to pick just 1. My gosh, it’s a challenge, and I guess that’s a good thing. How about, let’s go back to a little more than 100 years ago. How about the slit lamp? It has enabled a much more comprehensive and thorough examination today. I think about what the slit lamp has done. It’s ubiquitous in every ophthalmic practice. Diseases have been discovered, and disease management has been greatly enhanced with a slit lamp. It’s the quintessential component of an eye exam first introduced by ZEISS. I got to mention the surgical microscope. Surgical microscopes have revolutionized intraocular surgery since it was introduced by ZEISS in the 1950s. It has enabled the development of many, I should probably say, most advanced intraocular procedures and techniques such as phacoemulsification, vitrectomy, macular surgery, glaucoma procedures, just to mention some. This level of technology, surgical microscopes, is not just for ophthalmology, but other medical fields as well.
There’s widespread adoption in operating rooms across the United States and globally. Both these innovations, the slit lamp, and the surgical microscope meet that requirement. What I mentioned before of a truly pioneering innovation. They have improved patient outcomes. They’ve changed the practice of medicine. They now represent the standard of care, and they’ve certainly withstood the test of time. Imagine a world without these 2 foundational technologies. They’re definitely a wow that when you look back, you would have to say truly are wow technologies. Again, these are only 2 of many.
Gary Rosenblum:
For vision care, I’ll just talk about 1, which I just think is so interesting and important. What’s fascinating about it is that many patients who have it probably don’t even realize that they have it, which is anti-reflective coating. People aren’t probably realizing how well they’re seeing with their eyeglasses because of anti-reflective coating, which is what ZEISS created, pioneered, and invented back in 1935. The physicist who invented it was a man named Alexander Smakula, who essentially created commercial eyeglass adoption in 1959 with anti-reflective coating. The innovation reduced surface reflections on lenses, which dramatically improves light transmission, visual clarity, and overall cosmetic appearance. It basically allows you for people to see your eyes when you are wearing glasses. How did this evolve? Again, it’s such an interesting innovation because as I said, it’s there all the time.
Most lenses and most glasses today have it, and people don’t realize that there’s actually an innovation behind it. Early single-layer coatings were created, multi-layer systems that finely tune light wavelengths and minimize glare. Modern coatings like the coatings we have today use ion-assisted deposition of ultra-thin layers to add durability, scratch resistance, and anti-smudge properties alongside the anti-reflective performance. Recent iterations include where they integrate UV protection, blue light reflection reduction, and easier cleaning technologies extending beyond optics into lifestyle performance. The impact on the optical industry has been spectacular. ZEISS set the global standard, AR coatings became a baseline expectation for premium lenses. Essentially, most lenses today, most premium lenses today will include the anti-reflective coating. It shifted the value from lenses to coatings. Coatings are now a major differentiator in lens performance and pricing, and this allows our customers, meaning opticians and optometrists, to convey the importance of coating and allows them to create a premium line of products in their clinics.
Expanded functionality transform lenses from passive optics into high performance services. It’s much clearer, more durable, easier to maintain. It enabled modern use cases, improved night driving, digital screen use, and all-day comfort. In summary, this q innovation, ZEISS’ AR innovation, anti-reflective innovation, turned eyeglass lenses from simple refractive tools into engineered optical systems, fundamentally elevating both visual performance and consumer expectations from across the industry. I think that was the one innovation I wanted to speak about today because it is fascinating and it’s unheralded, but it is amazing. I think that’s the one I’ll chat about.
Mark Dlugoss:
Dr. Schallhorn, the next 2 questions are directed at you. First, from the surgeon’s perspective, what is it about ZEISS’ innovation that makes ZEISS stand out in eye care?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
There are several standouts. I think number 1 would be unmatched optical precision. ZEISS lenses and surgical optics are engineered with nanometer-level accuracy, enabling exceptionally sharp imaging, visualization, and treatment. This precision is crucial in ophthalmic surgery where even tiny errors can affect outcomes. Another innovation across the continuum of care. ZEISS develops those diagnostic devices, OCTs, scanner, slit lamps, and therapeutic instruments, laser systems, surgical microscopes across a continuum. Integrating diagnostics, imaging, and treatment into 1 ecosystem enables clinical workflows, solutions, and surgery to improve patient outcomes.
Another is the durability and reliability of these devices. They’re known for long operational lifespans, consistent performance, making them just trusted from a surgical perspective. Clinical research and validation. We drive evidence-based innovation and products, as we’ve talked about throughout our chat here, enabling new procedures. Our innovations have expanded the possibility of eye care from cataract surgery to high-resolution imaging. It’s really effectively shaping modern ophthalmology. I guess in summary, ZEISS stands out because it combines optical excellence, integrated technology, and clinically validated innovation to consistently advance eye care, making diagnosis and surgical treatment of diseases safer, more precise, more effective, more efficient.
Mark Dlugoss:
You might have answered some of this in my next question, but how have ZEISS’ innovations improved surgical processes in the OR and within the practice itself?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
I think I’ve addressed most of these in what it’s done and what ZEISS has done. Certainly, within the OR itself, it’s the precision and accuracy of the microscopes, which are really unparalleled, which have developed new techniques and procedures have been based on it. It’s the integration, the operating room itself, the integration, the digital integration such as the VERACITY Surgical Planner, which make the whole surgical process from beginning to end more efficient and safer. I think the entire spectrum of the ZEISS technology has improved the surgical process in that continuum of care that ZEISS provides.
Mark Dlugoss:
While ZEISS is focused on developing innovation to the markets it serves, the company has valued its social responsibility through its charitable and education programs. Can you outline ZEISS’ commitment to giving back to the communities globally and in the United States?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
As a company that’s principally owned by a foundation, which is unique for a strategic company in this field, sustainability and business success are inextricably linked at ZEISS; 15% of our annual revenue goes back into research and development worldwide, and we see this investment as crucial for promoting the health and wellbeing of communities around the world. The company’s social engagement focuses on charitable initiatives, helping to provide as many people as possible with access to modern healthcare, supporting projects that aim to enhance the level of medical care for people in underprivileged parts of the world. Support for training and continuing education is a priority, and the company has supported organizations in that regard. As we formed sustainable partnerships with international organizations, such as the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, to provide economically weak regions with medical care. Another by donating equipment, the company supports nonprofits that campaign to improve medical care worldwide.
We provide that really around the world in this regard. ZEISS is actively involved in supporting situations requiring emergency aid. The company makes financial contributions in crisis situations such as the devastating floods in Spain, the earthquake that happened years ago in Japan, the massive flooding in Southern Germany, the fires in Los Angeles. Donations were made to help affected communities and support the rebuilding of their infrastructure.
Gary Rosenblum:
To continue on that, specifically for ZEISS Vision Care, we are super and very focused and very active in the ongoing support of corporate social responsibility. We lean in on our brand values. We responded to support those impacted in the Texas flooding and California wildfires, donating eyeglass lenses free of charge to the victims. By working in partnership with local eyecare professionals, this effort is intended to help those who lost eyewear and need a quick solution to sustain their eyesight. This was in addition to $100,000 donation the company made to the American Red Cross to support emergency relief efforts. We are very much aware of our presence in the US market and how it’s important for us to give back when obviously there are our customers and our patients are in need.
Mark Dlugoss:
One education program that stands out, and well, at least to me, it stood out, is ZEISS’ “A Heart for Science” Initiative. Can you provide the details behind this initiative and how the company’s not only developing innovation, but developing scientists and engineers of the future?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
It’s a good question too. Enthusiasm for nature and technology has always been an integral part of the company’s DNA. On the company’s 175th anniversary, ZEISS launched “A Heart for Science.” It’s an international initiative to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) for young people under the age of 18. What makes this initiative so special is that it is being planned and organized by ZEISS employees. This last fiscal year alone, more than 600 employees worldwide helped promote education and science through the “A Heart for Science” initiative. At the ZEISS Innovation Center in Dublin, employees get monthly workshops for up to 40 students where they could inspect fossils under a microscope or operate neurosurgical robots. ZEISS supports its volunteers in many different ways, including a handbook about the initiative, age-appropriate guided experiments, a digital platform where volunteers can get together and collaborate on their joint projects.
Gary Rosenblum:
Building briefly on the topic of ZEISS’ ongoing efforts to support educational programs, it’s also worth highlighting. ZEISS Vision Care’s focus and industry commitment. We are a consistent sponsor of complimentary accredited continuing education credits. ZEISS Vision Care US funds and delivers ABO, NYSSO-accredited CE courses. That’s continuing education courses at no cost year after year over year. For example, we do this during Eyewear Design Week. It’s a 20/20 Magazine series expanding access to professional education across the industry. The impact is significant. It’s scalable always on a learning ecosystem. Through the ZEISS Academy webinars and e-learning, we provide continuous skill building for optometrists and staff on clinical, product, and business topics.
There’s also a direct impact on practice performance and patient care. Many of our customers are obviously entrepreneurs, and they run their own businesses. This is complementary continuing education and training to help eye care professionals stay current on technology, improve staff capability, and ultimately deliver better patient outcomes while running more effective, modern, and profitable practices.
Mark Dlugoss:
It’s great news to hear. I’m glad that the company’s giving back. It’s very important. Are there any new eyecare innovations on the horizon that ZEISS is able to share with our listeners as we head into the next 100 years? What areas of eye care do you see new innovation coming to the forefront in the next 5 to 10 years?
Gary Rosenblum:
ZEISS is definitely firing on all cylinders when it comes to innovation. We are always reevaluating our product portfolio. We have very much an outside-in perspective about innovation and listening to the needs of our customers and looking for ways to help them be more efficient, effective, and provide the best patient care possible. As we’ve both talked about, ultimately, we need to serve the patient and make sure our innovation surrounds the patient’s needs.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
We talked about surgical microscope innovation. One technology we’re exploring right now is the application robotics of eye surgery. We’ve already taken the first steps to safely introduce robotics in the surgical field. For example, in neurosurgery, ZEISS has introduced “cobotic” assistance or collaborative robotics, which fosters a working partnership between the surgeon and the ZEISS KINEVO 900 surgical microscope. In the background, KINEVO has set the standard for neurosurgery microscopes. It has revolutionized neurosurgery as an aside, but this cobotic offers an uninterrupted surgical workflow by automatically centering the focus area, switching between fluorescent modes when prompted and capturing the pictures and videos so the surgeon can keep their hands in the surgical field.
The surgeon says, “Hey, KINEVO,” and gives the command. This is a great first step into surgical robotics where technology is still assisting the surgeon and not doing the entire surgery itself. As a surgeon’s comfortability with the technology grows, it makes sense to introduce further robotic functionality. This is something that ZEISS is actively exploring. Another technology that we see is possibilities with AI. Currently, we’re using AI to help doctors see more, analyze more, better diagnose and treat. An example of this is the CIRRUS OCT Pathfinder. It’s an innovative clinical support tool with artificial intelligence, fully integrated to automatically identify abnormal macular, what we call B-scans and flag areas of interest. This helps to save time for the clinicians and make more informed and efficient decisions. We see AI as a tool to help clinicians by doing time-consuming work for them and allowing them to focus on making better treatment decisions for their patients.
Gary Rosenblum:
A key innovation priority for ZEISS Vision Care is the continued evolution of AI into our lens designs themselves. For the aforementioned lens portfolios, we talked earlier about ZEISS SmartLife and ZEISS ClearMind. We’re delivering breakthrough advancements in technology that are pushing the whole industry forward. For example, highly individualized glasses can now be created with ZEISS ClearMind lenses through extensive customization options such as ZEISS intelligence augmented design. It’s a data-driven technology built on essentially training the process of 12.5 million data points to optimize lenses for age-related visual behavior. AI is also a critical component to our innovation today and in the future. It’s integrated in our innovation pipeline and operations to help inform future technology solutions and improve how we serve our customers with efficiency, quality, and speed to market.
Last, another key priority for ZEISS Vision Care is our longstanding commitment to innovation in myopia management. We have been offering product solutions globally for years and continue our industry involvement here in the United States. Specifically, ZEISS already has myopia lenses in other regions such as China, and we’re actively working with the FDA on clearance of our own myopia lenses, which are awaiting final approval in the United States.
Mark Dlugoss:
Looking forward to seeing where AI takes the ophthalmic market, everyone’s got great ideas. Let’s hope we can get these to market soon, because I think that can make the physician’s job a little bit better. Moving forward into the next 100 years in the United States, how does ZEISS view the future of the eyecare market, and what can ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians expect from ZEISS as it evolves into that next 100 years?
Gary Rosenblum:
ZEISS is celebrating 100 years in the US by highlighting ZEISS’ legacy of innovation while also sharing our vision for the next century. Celebration includes a dedicated landing page, a campaign video, social media features, employee stories, customer highlights, and special events across the country planned by each of ZEISS’s businesses. On the external landing page, you can explore stories, videos, and historical milestones. It’s pretty exciting.
Mark Dlugoss:
Before we close, is there anything you wish to point out about ZEISS’ 100th anniversary or ZEISS in general that we may not have covered in our conversation?
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
We’re in the middle, Gary mentioned, of a year-long celebration of ZEISS’ 100th anniversary in the US, honoring a century, a partnership, innovation, and impact since Carl Zeiss first established as a legal entity in New York in 1925. From its earliest precision lenses to today’s digitally connected vision solution, ZEISS continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in eyecare.
Gary Rosenblum:
As a foundation-owned company, we invest in the research and education needed to create the innovations of tomorrow. We partner with local and global organizations that foster the next generation of clinicians and surgeons who will help us create the next evolution of digital healthcare. We sponsor clinical education in rural areas with the mission that everyone can have access to the care they need. We partner with institutions, including Stanford and Harvard, to harness the innovation needed to one day get to that Star Trek sickbay future we all hope for. We want our 100-year anniversary to reflect who we are as a brand and as a company, recognizing our history, highlighting our current innovations, and celebrating our customers, partners, and colleagues who help make our company what it is today and what it will become for the next 100 years.
Mark Dlugoss:
Before we close, I first want to thank you for doing this. I also want to congratulate ZEISS on its 100th anniversary and I look forward to seeing what comes in the years to come. Thank you.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
There’ll be a lot more to come, plenty more.
Gary Rosenblum:
It was a pleasure.
Steve Schallhorn, MD:
Appreciate it. Yes.
Gary Rosenblum:
Thanks for the invite.
Mark Dlugoss:
That concludes today’s edition of The Ophthalmic Project. I want to thank Gary Rosenblum and Dr. Steve Schallhorn for sharing ZEISS’ 100-year legacy in the United States, as well as the company’s outlook for the future. Finally, I want to thank you the listeners for tuning in. I hope you will join us for the next edition of The Ophthalmic Project, powered by Ophthalmology 360. Until next time, have a great day.
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