Cataracts – are considered the number one cause of blindness in humans worldwide.  The condition affects primarily the older generation and in about 90 percent of all cases the disease is detected in elderly people. Experts refer to these states as age-related cataracts. The presence of the disease is evident in a grey film over the eyes that impairs the patient’s vision and ultimately causes the person to lose his or her eyesight.

The good news: The affected lenses can be replaced with artificial lens implants by way of an uncomplicated surgical intervention. In Germany alone the number of cataract operations performed each year has now reached close to half a million.

Carl Zeiss technology provides support to physicians performing the surgery. The company makes an innovative device used to remove the diseased lens: Visalis 100 utilises the phaco-emulsification procedure with ultra-sound and vacuum suction to remove the lenses. Carl Zeiss offers a complete program of solutions for the treatment of cataracts ranging from diagnostic devices to intra-ocular lenses and surgical microscopes to after care systems.

The new system Visalis 100 is already being used by surgeons in India. Its simple operation and absolute precision is definitely convincing. Such innovations are in high demand in the emerging markets and especially in Asia, where innumerable surgical procedures on the eyes are performed day after day. Carl Zeiss is a sponsor of the Vision 2020 – The Right to Sight Project, underscoring the company’s commitment to the fight against preventable blindness and the fostering of ophthalmology in regions where medical care is scarce.