Worldwide launch on Vision Expo West (Las Vegas) and European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (Milan) good news for 150 million contact lens wearers worldwide, 75 million people suffering from drye eyes and 5 million Keratoconus patients.

Corneal topography is about to enter into a new era with the introduction of Cassini. With its submicron accuracy and ability to map and measure all eyes, also dry eyes and irregular corneas, the Cassini outperforms classic ring-based ‘Placido’ topography and may well replace this legacy technology – originating from more than 100 years ago – completely. This is good news for patients with contact lenses (150+ million worldwide), or those suffering from Keratoconus or drye eyes (80+ million). Cassini can diagnose irregularities in the shape of the cornea far more precisely than the current ring topographers. And thus, it supports the latest vision improvement techniques best, such as specialty contact lenses and corneal diagnostics. Cassini makes contact lens fitting virtually effortless, both for premium and standard lenses. In fact, specialty lenses like ortho-k and toric lenses, representing more than 10% of the 150 million contact lens wearers, require the accuracy that only Cassini’s Color LED Topography offers. It also offers superior indices for early detection and progression monitoring of corneal pathologies like Keratoconus. And, the Cassini is far superior when it comes to measuring dry eyes or irregular corneas resulting from corneal surgery. With the launch of this first-of-its-kind topographer, it is now available for sale worldwide.

Color LED Topography
Cassini is the only topographer that is based on the patented Color LED Topography technology, a multi-colored point-to-point reflection method, developed in close cooperation with the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The secret is the use of hundreds of color-coded LEDs set in a unique pattern1. Thanks to its smart measurement system, Cassini Color LED Topography achieves submicron accuracy2 and unprecedented precision of corneal height and can measure the periphery of the cornea better than any legacy system can. Recent preliminary data from a study comparing Cassini to the Nidek OPD-Scan ll (Pladico ring) and the Oculus Pentacam (Scheimpflug) in cooperation with the VU University Medical Center confirm Cassini’s supremacy. Dr. Arni Sicam, who was involved with the development of the Cassini at the VU Medical Center, reveals: “Color LED Topography is the most precise and consistently accurate among the three topographers. Out of 14 penetrating keratoplasty patients, Cassini could measure the cornea reliably, where the Oculus Pentacam failed on 5 and the Nidek OPD-Scan II on 6 patients.”

Patients benefit
Cassini is good news for the millions of people with (premium) contact lenses, or corneal irregularities, such as keratoconus and dry eyes. Premium lenses can correct astigmatism and other irregularities that standard lenses can not, e.g. multifocal, toric, aspheric, and ortho-k. But more often than not people end up with a standard set. In most cases, this is because fitting premium lenses tends to be a lengthy, sometimes tedious trial and error process. The Color LED Topography used in the Cassini overcomes this by contributing to an immediate match between cornea and lens, so ensuring patients get the contact lenses they really need.
Detecting keratoconus early and easily is crucial to both providing the correct medication or treatment and preventing the potentially harmful effects of inappropriate vision enhancement techniques. Thanks to Cassini’s submicron accuracy and keratoconus indices, detection and monitoring is fast and easy.
Thirdly, the Color LED Topography technology used in the Cassini will also benefit patients who suffer from dry eyes and those with irregular corneas resulting from corneal surgery. The traditional problem with dry eyes and ring topographers is that dry eyes blur the pattern on the topographer. This makes it impossible to process the ring reflections and measure the shape of the cornea properly. Color LED Topography, however, can still detect the location of the spots, which enables accurate corneal surface reconstruction. The Cassini therefore offers a superior tool for fast, easy and reliable tear film analysis for dry eye measurements.