As many of you may remember, this past February, Innotech had announced its name change to the Spectacle Lens Group of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., to reflect its new business alignment and focus.

However, you may not be aware of the fact that, since the name change, it has been developing its first ophthalmic lens, which it just introduced to the industry.

The Spectacle Lens Group's Definity 2 Dual Add lens is custom-designed to accommodate most presbyopic prescriptions, and additional powers will soon be available.

Each lens is custom-made using Lucid Composite, a 1.57 index composite material. According to the company, Lucid is thin and light, has impact resistance similar to polycarbonate and blocks 99% of ultraviolet light passing through the lens.

The Definity 2 lens is manufactured with Dual Add Technology, a feature that distributes the near vision prescription over both the front and back surfaces of the lens. This process minimizes unwanted peripheral astigmatism while increasing the area of visual clarity in the near, intermediate and distance fields. The result is clearer vision across a wider field of the lens.

If the prescription you ordered isn't the same as what you receive, the Spectacle Lens Group says that it will remake the lens at no charge to you. Also, for the first 90 days after purchase, it will replace the lens or credit your account for the purchase price for any reason.

Another feature of this lens is that both sides are coated with the company's proprietary Gemcoat Multi-coating System, which enhances visual performance through a combination of anti-reflection and scratch protection. The Spectacle Lens Group provides a 2-year replacement guarantee on this system.

Prices for the lens are comparable to other quality progressive lenses, according to the company.

The Definity 2 lens is currently available in select areas of Virginia. The company anticipates nation-wide availability for the lens by April 2001. The Spectacle Lens Group and its manufacturing facility are located in Roanoke, Va.