Introducing the TECNIS Odyssey IOL: A New Era in Multifocal Lens Technology
We are currently receiving a high volume of inquiries about the Odyssey lens.
For inquiries regarding availability, please contact Healing Eye Clinic for the quickest response.
Hello, I'm Dr. Kim Sun-young, a cataract specialist with 18 years of experience and the head director of Healing Eye Clinic.
I served as a professor of cataract surgery at Catholic University St. Mary's Hospital, considered one of the top ophthalmology centers.
To date, I have performed one of the highest numbers of cataract surgeries in South Korea. (~23,000 surgeries as of October 3, 2025). I've even performed up to 51 surgeries in a single day!
Healing Eye Clinic was the first in Korea to receive the PureSee lens and the LAL lens.
Similarly, we were also the first in Korea to receive the Odyssey lens and successfully perform the surgery.
Here's a scene from the Odyssey surgery performed on August 12, 2025, on a 56-year-old male patient, Mr. Jeong**, who works as a car mechanic.
Due to the nature of his job, he needed to see both near and intermediate distances simultaneously.
I actively recommended the Odyssey lens, and the next day, after the examination, his vision was 1.0, showing excellent results.
He could even read the very small print (6-point font) on the back of over-the-counter medicine.
The Odyssey lens is particularly beneficial for individuals who need to see both near and intermediate distances for their occupation.
Previously, Synergy and Intensity were the only lenses that provided good vision for both near and intermediate distances.
However, some users of Synergy experience severe light distortion, and there are concerns about the hydrophilic material of Intensity.
We conducted thorough training for our staff to provide immediate assistance to patients.
The Odyssey lens was launched in the US by Johnson & Johnson last year.
It quickly achieved the #1 market share.
One key feature of the Odyssey lens is that it is a 'full-range continuous focus multifocal lens'.
While continuous focus lenses existed, most were intermediate-range continuous focus, and Synergy from Johnson & Johnson was the only full-range continuous focus lens.
The Synergy lens, launched in 2019, was a multifocal lens optimized for seeing small print.
It was quite popular in East Asia, where complex scripts like Korean and Chinese are used, and remained well-loved until 2025.
However, Synergy had some drawbacks, such as light distortion and blurry distance vision.
Therefore, I only recommended it to people who use their phones a lot or do a lot of near-distance work.
Other well-known multifocal lenses like PanOptix, Lisa Tri, Elena, and Ziemetric have a critical disadvantage: poor intermediate distance vision.
Unlike other multifocal lenses, Synergy excels at intermediate distance, providing clear vision for computer monitors and navigation systems.
Aside from light distortion, it could be considered the perfect lens for Koreans.
However, improving the night vision side effects (halos, glare, etc.) of Synergy was a long-standing problem, which has been addressed in the Odyssey lens with a special method.
A remarkable 93% of patients reported no or very mild symptoms one month after surgery.
Furthermore, it can read 14% smaller print than PanOptix, which is known worldwide for its excellent near vision!
(Of course, it may take some time to adjust during the first 3 months after surgery.)
Therefore, in my opinion, the best lens combination currently available is:
Dominant eye - LAL lens
Non-dominant eye - Odyssey lens
The LAL lens has truly revolutionary technology.
For those who are curious, please watch the video I filmed on YouTube:
However, since near-distance multifocal performance is slightly weaker, it's good to use the Odyssey lens in the other eye to compensate for this weakness.
Having met with many lens company representatives and attended several conferences, I've noticed that the recent trend in multifocal lenses is to smooth out the sharp, stepped diffractive patterns.
Left) Synergy lens
Right) Odyssey lens
You can see that it's much smoother, right?
Instead of a flat, single-power lens, stepped lenses are used to incorporate multiple powers.
Each step has a different power, which is called a diffractive step.
Creating these steps allows for multiple focal points instead of just one.
However, this can lead to a drawback: increased light distortion.
This is because light scatters from the sharp edges of the steps.
Therefore, experts around the world have worked to smooth out the edges while maintaining multiple focal points.
Ziemetric, made by Hoya in Japan, was the first to introduce this, called Gaussian smoothing.
Gaussian smoothing is already used in expensive cameras.
It's an optical mechanism for improving the clearest image quality.
Ziemetric gained immense popularity because it had almost no light distortion despite being a multifocal lens.
However, in an attempt to reduce light distortion too much, the number of rings was reduced, resulting in decreased near and intermediate distance performance.
Therefore, ZEISS in Germany developed Smooth Micro Phase technology.
It reduces scattering and diffuse reflection by rounding and connecting the sharp edges much more finely.
(This technology is included in the Elena lens.)
It's the same principle.
J&J (Johnson & Johnson), which had hits with i- হ্যান্ডs and PureSee, also released the Odyssey lens and incorporated the principle of rounding the diffraction patterns.
To create a more continuous power range, multiple powers are incorporated, and the steps are smoothed out, making the echelette edges smoother and rounder to reduce light distortion and increase clarity.
Looking at the picture again, you can feel that it looks much smoother, right?
The TECNIS Odyssey IOL has been approved by regulatory authorities in Japan, the EU, Korea, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
For reference,
If you want to see only one focal point clearly, either near or far,
Other lenses may be more suitable than this lens.
I am very excited about the release of Odyssey!
I am happy and excited to be able to provide clearer vision to many patients.
If you read this article and would like to receive a simple consultation from me,
You can make a reservation at the place below.
I will take a very close look at the things that have been bothering you.
Thank you for reading this long article.
This post is written directly in compliance with Article 56, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Law for the purpose of providing medical information.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/wpsjtltmals7/224031124718
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