The AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens has proven long-term clinical results and is made of a patented material developed specifically for the eye. The AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens comes from Alcon, the world leader in lenses for cataract surgery. It's made of the same material as Alcon's market-leading family of AcrySof® intraocular lenses, of which more than 25 million have been implanted worldwide.

Cataract surgery remains the most frequently performed surgery in the United States and is one of the safest as well. So, the surgery itself remains the same — only the lens technology has improved.

So what's different about the AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens?

Previous intraocular lens technology provided only one focal point — distance — leaving patients dependent upon reading glasses or bifocals. The AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens design results in highly predictable visual outcomes so you can now read the words on prescription bottles, magazines, newspapers and computer screens, without reading glasses or bifocals, while still clearly seeing objects at a distance. It has the ability to consistently offer improved vision at a range of distances: near through distance.

As we grow older our eyes' ability to quickly change focus from near to far diminishes, causing us to become dependent on bifocals or reading glasses. The AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens uses patented apodized diffractive technology similar to that used in microscopes and telescopes to improve image quality.

Apodization is the gradual tapering of layered steps from the center to the outside edge of a lens to create a smooth transition of light between the distance, intermediate and near focal points. Diffraction involves the bending or spreading of light as it passes through the lens. On the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL, the center of the lens surface is an apodized diffractive optic. This means that the series of tiny concentric steps in that center area work together to focus light for both near and distance vision.

Refraction involves the redirection of light passing through the lens, to focus on the retina. The refractive region of the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL bends light as it passes through the lens to a focal point on the retina. The outer ring of the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL surrounds the apodized diffractive region and is dedicated refocusing light for distance vision.

Results from the AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL clinical study show that:

• Four out of five patients NEVER needed reading glasses or bifocals following cataract surgery on both eyes.
   
• Nearly 94 percent of patients in the clinical study were so satisfied with their vision they would have the AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens implanted again, if given the choice.
   
• 84 percent of patients demonstrated uncorrected vision without glasses of 20/25 or better for distance. (This is significant, since in most states 20/40 vision is required to pass the vision test for a driver's license without glasses or contact lenses.)
   
• 84.3 percent of patients with the AcrySof® ReSTOR® lens in both eyes achieved distance visual acuity of 20/25 or better in both eyes following surgery and near vision acuity of 20/32 without reading glasses or bifocals.