A trio of conferences this fall provided updates on the latest developments in ophthalmic surgery: the XXIX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), held in Vienna in September, the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), held in Orlando in October, and the third annual Ophthalmology Innovation Summit, held just prior to the start of AAO. The latter provided a look at recent regulatory and venture investment trends in the ophthalmology arena. With the first femtosecond (FS) laser for cataract surgery now commercially available and several other systems slated for launch in the coming months, this emerging technology remains the most prominent topic of discussion within the ophthalmic device field.
The once staid US cataract surgery market has evolved considerably over the past several years, beginning with the 2004 introduction...