Rayner (company)

Last updated

Rayner designs and manufactures intraocular lenses and proprietary injection devices for use in cataract surgery. With Sir Harold Ridley, they were pioneers in the field from 1949 when Ridley successfully implanted the first intraocular lens (IOL) at St Thomas' Hospital, London.

Contents

The origin of the company

The story of the Rayner Company begins in 1910, when Mr John Baptiste Reiner and Mr Charles Davis Keeler opened their first optician's shop at No 9, Vere Street, London, England. They registered their company as Reiner & Keeler Ltd on 30 October 1910. Before forming the company, J.B. Reiner had completed an apprenticeship in 'the art of an optician and scientific instrument maker' in 1891 and had gone on to work for E.B. Merrowitz Ltd, a branch of a well-known American optical company.

In 1915, during the First World War, the company name was changed to Rayner & Keeler Ltd. This was almost certainly a commercial decision of the time as J. B. Reiner retained his name all his life.

The two founding directors separated in 1917 when C. D. Keeler resigned and severed all his interests with the company.

The first intraocular lens and Rayner's association with Ridley

In 1948, Mr Harold Ridley, consultant ophthalmologist at St Thomas' Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, together with John Pike of Rayner met privately to discuss a new project. Pike, a director of Rayner and their senior optical specialist, had assisted Ridley with several projects, most recently on the development of electronic ophthalmoscopy. Ridley called his new project the artificial lenticulus project and asked Pike for Rayner's help in the design and manufacture of an implantable lens.

In David Apple's article from the January 1996 issue of Survey of Ophthalmology, Ridley recalls "... After months of secret thought, I called my friend John Pike, the optical scientist at Rayners of London with whom I had recently worked on electronic ophthalmoscopy. I suggested that we meet in my car after completing our routine duties that day. So it came about that two men sitting in a car in Cavendish Square one evening devised all the principles of a new operation." [1]

Perspex was chosen as the preferred material because of its lightness in weight and good optical properties. Also observations during the war of eye injuries to RAF personnel had shown that Perspex appeared inert within body tissues. Perspex was registered in 1934 by ICI as the trademark for their polymethylmethacrylate acrylic sheet. In the late 1930s, as a result of Britain's rearmament programme, ICI's total production of Perspex was reserved for the aircraft industry and the material was specifically developed for the use of fighter aircraft. The required properties of transparency, strength and resistance to heat demanded a high degree of purity and polymerisation. The postwar commercial development of Perspex had resulted in a quite different material from that of the war years but, to ICI's credit, led by Dr John Holt they again produced the high-quality fighter aircraft Perspex which they called Transpex I.

On 29 November 1949, at St Thomas' Hospital, London, Ridley performed the first IOL operation on the eye of a 45-year-old female patient. The operation was conducted in secret, done in two stages with the artificial lens permanently implanted three months later.

Rayner in the United States

In 1952 the first IOL implant was performed in the United States: a Ridley-Rayner lens was implanted at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Surgeons Turgut Hamdi MD and Warren Reese MD implanted a series of these lenses – some with good visual function results (reported in a review by Dr Charles Letocha in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 1999). [2]

A lens designed by Ridely's pupil Peter Choyce was the first to be approved as "safe and effective" and approved for use in the US by the Food and Drug Administration in 1981. These first FDA-approved lenses, (Choyce Mark VIII and Choyce Mark IX Anterior Chamber lenses) were manufactured by Rayner.

The Rayner C-flex injectable IOL is approved since May 2007 by the FDA.

Developments in this century

On 21 April 2009 the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise was awarded to Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited in recognition of sustained international trade in overseas markets. Also in 2009 Rayner celebrated 60 years of continuous manufacturing and sales of intraocular lenses.

Rayner is the only British manufacturer of IOLs: all its intraocular lenses were made at its Sackville Road manufacturing facility in Hove, East Sussex until May 2017, when the company moved into a new global HQ and manufacturing facility in Worthing, West Sussex. The new building was named the Ridley Innovation Centre. [3] The plant includes a new generation of manufacturing equipment from companies such as GB Innomech to improve process efficiencies and more than double manufacturing capacity. [4]

On 2 December 2009 in the House of Commons, during Prime Minister's Questions, the sixtieth anniversary of the IOL was mentioned (and recorded in Hansard): [5]

Ms Celia Barlow (Hove) (Lab): "Will the Prime Minister join me in marking 60 years since the British surgeon Sir Harold Ridley commissioned my Hove company, Rayner Opticians, to produce the first intraocular lens? Will he also congratulate the company on receiving the Queen's Award for Enterprise on Friday, and on the fact that it still works with charities across the world in restoring sight?"
The Prime Minister: "In my hon. Friend's constituency, there are many excellent companies, and one of them is Rayner. I want to congratulate all those who have contributed to the success of ophthalmic medicine over the past few years. The inventions that have come from Britain are truly wonderful. We should be very proud of our British scientists and engineers, but also very proud of our medical researchers and medical firms."

On 1 February 2014 the High Street retail business of Rayner Opticians was bought by Vision Express from JBR1910 Limited.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophthalmology</span> Field of medicine treating eye disorders

Ophthalmology is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poly(methyl methacrylate)</span> Transparent thermoplastic, commonly called acrylic

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, Astariglas, Lucite, Perclax, and Perspex, among several others. This plastic is often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It can also be used as a casting resin, in inks and coatings, and for many other purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intraocular lens</span> Lens implanted in the eye to treat cataracts or myopia

Intraocular lens (IOL) is a lens implanted in the eye as part of a treatment for cataracts or myopia. If the natural lens is left in the eye, the IOL is known as phakic, otherwise it is a pseudophakic, or false lens. Such a lens is typically implanted during cataract surgery, after the eye's cloudy natural lens (cataract) has been removed. The pseudophakic IOL provides the same light-focusing function as the natural crystalline lens. The phakic type of IOL is placed over the existing natural lens and is used in refractive surgery to change the eye's optical power as a treatment for myopia (nearsightedness). This is an alternative to LASIK.

Svyatoslav Nikolayevich Fyodorov was a Russian ophthalmologist, politician, professor, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. He is considered to be a pioneer of refractive surgery. He was also one of the candidates in the 1996 Russian presidential election, running as a member of the Party of Workers' Self-Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phakic intraocular lens</span> Kind of intraocular lens

A phakic intraocular lens (PIOL) is a special kind of intraocular lens that is implanted surgically into the eye to correct myopia (nearsightedness). It is called "phakic" because the eye's natural lens is left untouched. Intraocular lenses that are implanted into eyes after the eye's natural lens has been removed during cataract surgery are known as pseudophakic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Kelman</span> American ophthalmologist and entertainer

Charles David Kelman was an American ophthalmologist, surgeon, inventor, jazz musician, entertainer, and Broadway producer. Known as the father of phacoemulsification, he developed many of the medical devices, instruments, implant lenses and techniques used in cataract surgery. In the early 1960s, he began the use of cryosurgery to remove cataracts and repair retinal detachments. Cryosurgery for cataracts remained in heavy use until 1978, when phacoemulsification, a procedure Kelman also developed in 1967, became the modern standard treatment. Kelman was given the National Medal of Technology by President George H. W. Bush and recognized as the Ophthalmologist of the Century by the International Congress of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in Montreal, Canada. He was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, and received the 2004 Lasker Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cataract surgery</span> Surgery for the eye

Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens of the eye that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract, and its replacement with an intraocular lens. Metabolic changes of the crystalline lens fibers over time lead to the development of the cataract, causing impairment or loss of vision. Some infants are born with congenital cataracts, and certain environmental factors may also lead to cataract formation. Early symptoms may include strong glare from lights and small light sources at night, and reduced acuity at low light levels.

Sir Nicholas Harold Lloyd Ridley was an English ophthalmologist who invented the intraocular lens and pioneered intraocular lens surgery for cataract patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophthalmoscopy</span>

Ophthalmoscopy, also called funduscopy, is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures using an ophthalmoscope. It is done as part of an eye examination and may be done as part of a routine physical examination. It is crucial in determining the health of the retina, optic disc, and vitreous humor.

Johnson & Johnson Vision (JJV) is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and is composed of two divisions, Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Services include Intraocular lenses, laser vision correction systems, phacoemulsification systems, viscoelastic, Microkeratomes and related products used in cataract and refractive surgery.

Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) is a medical procedure to restore vision in the most severe cases of corneal and ocular surface patients. It includes removal of a tooth from the patient or a donor. After removal, a lamina of tissue cut from the tooth is drilled and the hole is fitted with optics. The lamina is grown in the patients' cheek for a period of months and then is implanted upon the eye. The procedure was pioneered by the Italian ophthalmic surgeon Professor Benedetto Strampelli in the early 1960s. Strampelli was a founder-member of the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club (IIIC) in 1966.

Gordon Neil Spencer 'Mouse' Cleaver, was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. After the war he played a role in developing artificial lenses to restore sight.

Optical Express is a provider of ophthalmology services including laser eye surgery, cataract surgery and lens replacement surgery in the United Kingdom and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Arnott</span>

Eric John Arnott, MA, FRCS, FRCOphth was a British ophthalmologist and surgeon who specialized in cataracts, a condition which in many parts of the world still remains the principal cause of blindness. He is known for inventing new surgical techniques for treatment of various ophthalmological disorders, and received professional awards for his contributions.

David J. Apple was an ophthalmic pathologist who conducted research on the pathology of intraocular lens complications as well as ophthalmic surgery in general. He was a medical historian and biographer of Sir Harold Ridley, the inventor of the intraocular lens (IOL).

He often stated that Harold Ridley changed the world. What we can say about David Apple is that he vastly improved the world that Harold Ridley changed

The Intra-Ocular Implant Club was founded in 1966 by the English ophthalmic surgeons Sir Harold Ridley and Peter Choyce, to promote research in the field of intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. At that time there was widespread opposition in the ophthalmic surgery profession to the use of IOLs. The founders saw the club as a forum to allow free and unhindered exchange of ideas about IOLs and implantation surgical techniques. From the outset it was international in its membership and it set itself a parental and advisory role for the then nascent national societies to develop in each country for intraocular implant surgeons. However, this global role was only acknowledged in the name change in July 1975, when the Intra-Ocular Implant Club became The International Intra-Ocular Implant Club (IIIC).

Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, formerly called the Tilganga Eye Centre, in Nepal is the implementing body of the Nepal Eye Program, a non-profit, community based, non-government organization launched in 1992. It was founded in part by renowned ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon Sanduk Ruit. The current facility was opened in 1994. The World Health Organization recognized Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology as a WHO Collaboration Centre of Ophthalmology in 2019. In Nepal, it is the second institute, and first institute in the field of ophthalmology to receive this designation. It provides various sub speciality services of Ophthalmology such as Cornea, Cataract & IOL, Glaucoma, Oculoplastic, Lacrimal and Ocular Oncology services, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus services, Vitreo-Retina, Uvea, Neuro ophthalmology and Optometry services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glued intraocular lens</span>

Glued intraocular lens or glued IOL is a surgical technique for implantation of a posterior chamber IOL with the use of biological glue in eyes with deficient or absent posterior capsules. A quick-acting surgical fibrin sealant derived from human blood plasma, with both hemostatic and adhesive properties, is used.

Keiki R. Mehta, an Indian ophthalmologist, medical researcher and writer, is considered by many as the father of Phacoemulsification in India. He is the Chief Surgical and Medical Director at Mehta International Eye Institute, a Mumbai-based specialty eye hospital founded by him. He is known to be the first surgeon to perform a Radial keratotomy in India and is credited with the development of the first soft eye implant in the world, and the Keiki Mehta BP Valve Glaucoma Shunt, a medical implant used in the treatment of neovascular‚ congenital and uveitic glaucoma. He is a recipient of several honours including the Grand Honors Award of the National Eye Research Foundation, Chicago and the Triple Ribbon Award of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to Medicine.

Gerd Uwe Auffarth is a German eye surgeon and is Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Heidelberg University Eye Hospital and Head of the David J. Apple Center for Vision Research which includes the David J. Apple International Laboratory for Ocular Pathology.

References

  1. ↑ Ridley and the Invention of the Intraocular Lens. David J. Apple MD, and John Sims MD SURVEY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY VOLUME 40 • NUMBER 4 • JANUARY–FEBRUARY 1996
  2. ↑ Follow-up of 3 patients with Ridley intraocular lens implantation (Letocha and Pavlin, JCRS – Vol 25, April 1999)
  3. ↑ Dan Cain “Hi-tech business will create jobs and ‘boost economy” Worthing Herald website Checked 12 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Jason Ford “GB Innomech to design and develop automated manufacturing equipment for Rayner” MWP Advanced Manufacturing website Checked 12 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 02 Dec 2009 (pt 0003)". publications.parliament.uk.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.