SIXTH ANNUAL IN-OFFICE LAB UPDATE
State of the Industry Report
Our update reveals some interesting trends in this market.
By Joseph L. Bruneni,  Torrence, Calif.

If you have an in-office lab, you still can't help but be aware of all of the rapidly changing dynamics of the wholesale lab industry. The equipment trends are having a trickle down affect on the in-office lab market, as well. The industry is experiencing a technological boom. We're seeing increased automation, computerization, space-saving units and better looking equipment.

We'll take a look at new equipment and trends in the in-office lab market. But first, here's a quick look at the ophthalmic lab market overall to see what could affect on the in-office lab industry down the road.

For the last 18 months, lab equipment sales have been flat and may even be down from previous figures. This stagnancy has led to speculation about why sales are flat during a period of considerable innovation and technological advances in equipment design.

One influence has been consolidations of wholesale laboratories. Two of the world's major lens producers established company-owned lab networks recently, primarily by acquiring larger and more successful independent laboratories. Factory-owned labs are a trend this country hasn't seen for 50 years. As a result, decisions regarding lab equipment budgets, usually the responsibility of a manager or individual owner, are now made in a remote boardroom.

Other issues affecting lab equipment purchases include the increased cost for more sophisticated equipment. Labs have considerable interest in automated equipment that can be tied into and controlled by the lab's master computer software. There's also considerable interest in robotic production lines in wholesale labs and some labs have already invested in robotic equipment. This equipment comes with very hefty price tags.

Lens generators, traditionally the most expensive unit in a lab, once represented a $30,000 to $40,000 investment. Today, many generators are priced at more than $100,000. The more complex high-production lab edgers can cost labs more than what was once paid for generators. The rapid increase in popularity for anti-reflection coatings created a major expense for wholesale labs. Labs normally were never involved with thin-film coating systems. Today, many labs have installed in-house anti-reflective (AR) coating equipment that represents investments ranging from $300,000 to $1,000,000.

What this means for in-office labs

What does this trend toward expensive, automated lab equipment mean for you? For those of you who don't have in-office labs, it simply means you'll have access to faster, more accurate lab work from your wholesale lab. If you have an in-office lab, this means lab equipment costs are going up but the return from lab investments is improving.

Retail in-office labs are benefiting from the technology explosion in lab equipment in two primary ways.

First, many equipment manufacturers are scaling down their more sophisticated high production equipment and creating versions suited to the smaller scale of production in a retail lab.

Second, wholesale labs buy automated lab equipment because it saves manpower hours. Reducing employee time is just as important in a one-person retail lab as it is in a lab employing a hundred people. Labs buy highly technical lab equipment because they find it produces more accurate, better looking eyewear.

Obviously, improving the end product (eyewear) is equally important in a doctor-owned lab. With equipment sales to wholesale labs somewhat slow, manufacturers are paying more attention to retail labs, as evident by the equipment they offer.

Here are examples of in-office lab equipment that have become available in the last year or so.

Edgers

Edging equipment is the backbone of in-office labs. Lens edges are the most noticeable aspect of finished eyewear and is also where most spoilage occurs.

Newer edgers reduce much of the risk and require fewer operator skills to produce attractive, accurate edged lenses. Some new edgers process all materials (glass, plastic, polycarbonate and high index), while others incorporate special features such as tracing, blocking, grooving and even drilling. Most units are computerized, providing greater operator control than before.

Two other trends in retail lab equipment to note are: space-saving compactness and cosmetically attractive designs.

• AIT Industries, for example, has a new automatic 3-D edger and remote tracer called the Maxima Speed Patternless Edger. Compliant with the Optical Manufacturers Association standards, the average cycle time is 45 seconds for a CR-39 lens and, even with edge polishing, takes less than 60 seconds. The system includes simultaneous tracing of both eyes of the frame and automatic lens blocking. The Maxima is particularly recommended for high-volume practices.
• Pro-Laser Group, the company previously known as Weco, produces edging systems that are among the most sophisticated available. One new unit, the Weco 450 Drill and Edge, handles all lens materials, including polycarbonate. Computer-controlled, it can also polish edges and call up lens shapes from a built-in memory. Unique features of the unit allow it to drill or slot lenses for rimless mountings with precise control.
  A companion product to the edger is the Weco Verifier Pro which automatically centers and blocks lenses, utilizing a built-in vertex refractometer. The unit uses frame tracing data and displays the lens shape on a monitor. The unit's computer calculates the reference point of the lens, displays it graphically and automatically blocks the lens for error-free pupillary distances.
• Santinelli has produced its new MicroLab, essentially an all-in-one in-office lab. It has a small footprint, about 3.5 feet by 3.5 feet. When fully stocked, the cabinet includes most of what an in-office lab requires: edger, blocker, tinter and gradient unit, lensometer, frame warmer, ultrasonic cleaner, UV meter, job trays and assembly table with a complete array of hand tools. Available in late spring, the cabinet alone will range from $2,000 to $3,000 and, fully equipped, runs $25,000 to $30,000.
  Santinelli has introduced a new remote tracing device called IntelliTrace. The operator merely inserts the frame in the tracer and the unit maps more than 2,000 points and produces a digital "picture" on the screen for verification. The operator enters the prescription and selected lens materials and IntelliTrace then processes the order and sends it to the wholesale lab.
• Briot produces their Accura Lab, a unit that edges, grooves and polishes all premium lens materials, including glass. It features a special clamping system to control the pressure exerted on the lens during the cutting process. This prevents crazing of AR-coated lenses. It utilizes an automatic water delivery system that flushes the chamber after 5 minutes of idle time.
• Topcon's top-of-the-line edger is their new ALE-X1, a patternless edger that edges any type of lens. It will apply a diamond luster finish to edged lenses for a polished appearance in rimless mountings. It features a large display that shows the bevel position of the finished lens before processing. This is the first Topcon edger that does both grooving and safety edging.
• Gerber Coburn's newest edger is their Kappa lens finishing system. This unique system integrates a tracing and blocking unit with an automatic patternless edger. It can trace and transmit separate shapes for right and left eyes and has a 200-shape memory.
  The edger has fully controlled 3D processing with multiple bevel options, including polishing.
  For increased productivity, you can use the tracing/blocking unit while edging another lens.

Remote Frame Tracing

Remote tracing technology is becoming increasingly important to the industry.

• AIT produces the Combimax remote tracer, which blocks lenses automatically and corrects any errors in alignment made by the operator. The Combimax offers a choice of left-eye, right-eye or simultaneous two-eye tracing with automatic calibration. Orders can be remote-traced and data sent to a wholesale lab. The software also provides a trace of the frame, allowing the lab to provide the thinnest possible lens for the patient. The software stores commonly used frame shapes for easy access. Together, the Maxima Speed Edger and the Combimax cost $36,000.
• National Optronics, Inc. looks forward to the future with their 4T Frame Tracer. At a width of 10 inches and a depth of 15 inches, the 4T's design can be used with the company's 6E Patternless Edger or can stand alone. The $6,000 4T unit traces frames, patterns or lenses and sends shape data either directly from the tracer or through a third-party computer system controlling the lab.
  Tracing data can also be sent by modem to a wholesale laboratory. Internal memory stores more than 100 frame shapes, and the unit is OMA-compatible.
• Pro-Laser Group is solidly involved in remote tracing with their Weco Eye-2i digital data system. The unit is currently in more than 100 locations, providing precise 3-dimensional frame measurements to use when ordering lenses from a wholesale lab with no need to send the frame with the prescription.

Specialty lab equipment

Use of a wafer system permits edging labs to produce a range of multifocal lenses from a relatively small inventory of wafers without surfacing.

• PolyVision offers its Instalens E-Z II System, which uses a wafer system to produce flatop 28 bifocals or progressives in 10 minutes, using 75-mm wafers. For plus lenses, they produce a 65-mm back wafer that reduces finished lens thickness.
• Super Systems Optical Technologies has taken traditional surfacing technology and adapted it to the needs of an in-office laboratory. Their newest system is called SuperFast Grind 2200 which comes with an onboard computer to automatically control and monitor functions. The SuperFast Grind system uses partially surfaced pre- blocked lens blanks that can be finished and ready to edge in 20 minutes or less. The newest SuperFast Grind is the fourth-generation system costing less than $22,000.
• Optical Dynamics offers an alternative way to cast lenses in an in-office lab. Their Q-2100 system is microprocessor-controlled and requires only a few steps to produce aspheric and photochromic single vision, flat-top bifocals and progressives.

Weighing the benefits

Equipment manufacturers have effectively addressed the needs of in-office labs and have produced innovative equipment.

Faster turn-around delivery for finished eyewear is a critical issue for optometrists. The newer finishing equipment specifically addresses this issue. Also, with this equipment, lens spoilage is reduced and more accurate eyewear produced in a shorter time.

Even with the higher costs associated with the more sophisticated computer-controlled equipment, the benefits from purchasing these advanced units make them a prudent investment for in-office labs.

Joe Bruneni is an Assistant Professor teaching ophthalmic optics at So. California College of Optometry and serves as a Director of the National Academy of Opticianry. He has written books on the subjects of managed care, a dispensing guide and a history of the optical industry. Contact him at joe@bruneni.com.