Draper clinic is first in the West to implant an AI-designed lens, station reports

DRAPER — Hoopes Vision began using Rayner's Galaxy lens on Tuesday, and the practice's Dr. Benjamin Buckner is the first surgeon in the Western United States to use it, FOX 13 reported 12. The lens has been used in other countries, the station reported 1.

The Galaxy is an intraocular lens — an artificial lens implanted in the eye — and what sets it apart is how it was designed. Brian Bonjour, West Region sales director for Rayner Surgical, told the station that developers put into an artificial intelligence model the qualities they wanted a lens to have, and the model returned a spiral optic design 1. The design initially surprised the developers, he said, and testing showed promise 1.

Buckner said the newer implants are meant to address problems patients had with earlier premium lenses, including glare and halos at night 1. He said the procedure takes a few minutes per eye and that patients should see improved vision within a week or two 1.

One of the first patients, an auto mechanic, told FOX 13 that his eyesight had declined over six or seven years and that he had been scheduled for a more traditional intraocular lens before Buckner offered him the Galaxy instead 1. "It's going to be life-changing for me," he said, according to the station 1. The Ledger is not naming him.

Hoopes Vision describes its Draper facility as a surgical center that is also home to EyeSurg of Utah, a Medicare-approved surgical center, and the Hoopes Moshirfar Clinical Research Center 2. Buckner is listed among its cornea and refractive surgeons 2.

The station's report did not give the cost of the lens, how many patients have received one, or whether insurance covers the procedure 1.