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3/1/2004 - First and Only FDA Approved Vision Technology for Baby Boomers: CK, Conductive Keratoplasty

Wilmington, NC - March 23, 2004 – Brown Harris Laser Eye Care, a division of Surgical Eye Care, P.A. announced that Dr. Alan W. Brown and Dr. Laura L. Harris are among the first ophthalmologists in the Southeastern North Carolina to offer the NearVisionSM CK® (Conductive Keratoplasty®) procedure, performed with the ViewPoint™ CK System. Just approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is the first and only FDA-approved vision technology that improves near vision in the millions of Baby boomers with presbyopia, the age-related eye condition that sets in after age 40. NearVision CK uses radio waves to reshape the cornea and bring near vision back into focus. Minimally invasive and painless, NearVision CK is performed in less than three minutes in the doctor’s office with only eye-drop anesthesia. The procedure is laser-free and extremely safe; there is no cutting and no removal of tissue. Dr. Brown and Dr. Harris have been performing CK since June 2003. The Greek word for “aging eye,” presbyopia is the most prevalent eye condition in America, affecting most people after age 40 and everyone by age 51. Presbyopia causes near vision to fade with age, making it difficult to see things up-close. An estimated 90 million Baby boomers either have presbyopia or will develop the condition in the next 10 years. These people struggle to read or do hobby work and must rely on magnifying reading glasses for even the most mundane of daily tasks, like checking their watch. They often own multiple pairs of reading glasses (called “readers,” “half-eyes” or “granny glasses”), which many consider a hassle and an unwelcome sign of aging. "Presbyopia is the one inescapable vision disorder that will eventually affect us all,” said Dr. Alan Brown “The frustration many people feel with the on-again, off-again annoyance of reading glasses cannot be overemphasized. NearVision CK is just what Baby boomers have been waiting for to help them reduce their need for reading glasses and safely see like they did when they were young.” Procedure Custom-Made For Baby Boomers NearVision CK is the only vision procedure designed specifically for Baby boomers who want a safe, minimally invasive procedure to free them of reading glasses. CK has become the fastest-growing new refractive procedure since the introduction of LASIK according to research firm Market Scope. More than 30,000 CK procedures have been performed since the FDA first approved it in 2002 for age-related farsightedness (hyperopia), a condition that differs from presbyopia in its effect on the eye’s ability to focus, but has similar symptoms. The FDA based its approval on clinical trial data collected at the 12-month follow-up visit in which NearVision CK demonstrated effectiveness in significantly improving patients’ near vision. • 98 percent of patients could see J5 (magazine- and newspaper-size print) in the eye that was treated; • 87 percent of patients could see 20/20 in the distance and also read J3 or phonebook-sized print (significantly smaller than news print) when using both eyes. • There were NO reported serious, sight-threatening or unanticipated safety events. “One of my patients most recently told me. ‘It’s a great lifestyle change. I can’t imagine going back to readers’,” said Dr. Laura Harris. About NearVision CK NearVision CK is performed using a probe thinner than a strand of hair that releases radiofrequency energy. Applied to the cornea in a circular pattern, the radio waves shrink small areas of collagen to create a constrictive band (like the tightening of a belt) that increases the curvature of the cornea, bringing near vision back into focus. NearVision CK is indicated for the temporary improvement of near vision in emmetropic presbyopes (those who require only reading glasses) and hyperopic presbyopes (those who require reading and distance glasses). The procedure is typically performed on just one eye, improving near vision without compromising the patient’s binocular distance vision.