Johnson & Johnson spotlights contrast data, 1 million TECNIS implants, and SmartLOAD delivery

Johnson & Johnson used the 2026 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting, held October 9-12 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, to press a case it has been building across its TECNIS IOL portfolio for the past 2 years: that image contrast, not visual acuity alone, should shape how surgeons judge premium cataract outcomes.¹

The company's program rests on 3 pillars: new contrast data for the TECNIS PureSee and TECNIS Odyssey IOLs, a combined milestone of more than 1 million implants of those lenses worldwide, and the launch of SmartLOAD Delivery Technology, which the company described as the first and only IOL delivery system to pair a reusable titanium inserter with a preloaded disposable cartridge.¹

"Today's cataract patients expect more than improved visual acuity alone," said Erin Powers, president, North America, Surgical Vision, MedTech, Johnson & Johnson, in the release. Patients, she added, want confidence in daily activities across a range of lighting conditions, while surgeons want technologies that help them deliver consistent outcomes.¹

Contrast as a quality-of-vision endpoint

The company's argument is that contrast governs how patients function in real-world tasks such as night driving, mobility, and object recognition, which high-contrast acuity charts do not capture.¹

For TECNIS PureSee, Johnson & Johnson reported higher image contrast than leading competitive IOLs in both daylight and low-light conditions. The figure behind that claim, an estimated 25% increase in contrast, was derived from modulation transfer function (MTF) measurements at 50 cycles/mm with a 3-mm pupil, and the company itself notes that perceived contrast can differ because gains vary by spatial frequency and pupil size.¹

The purely refractive EDOF lens received FDA approval in March 2026² and began its full US rollout in June.³ Its regulatory distinction rests on clinical evaluation showing contrast sensitivity comparable to an aspheric monofocal, with no clinically meaningful differences (≤0.3 log units) across pupil sizes.¹,³ By comparison, the Directions for Use for an unnamed leading competitive EDOF lens warn that most patients are "likely to experience significant loss of contrast sensitivity as compared to a monofocal IOL."¹

For TECNIS Odyssey, the full visual range lens, the company reported 40% higher daytime and more than 2 times higher low-light image contrast vs a leading competitive IOL, based on white-light MTF bench testing at 50 cycles/mm with a 3-mm pupil in an ACE model eye.¹ The company has made similar low-light claims since the lens's US launch in October 2024, when it named PanOptix as the comparator.⁴

One million eyes and counting

The 1 million–implant figure marks a steep climb. Ahead of AAO 2025, the company reported that 100,000 TECNIS Odyssey IOLs had been implanted in the US since launch.⁵ Investigator data have accumulated alongside that growth: Rocha and colleagues found that more than 90% of Odyssey patients achieved 20/40 or better with up to 1.5 D of with-the-rule astigmatism,⁵ and a prospective study presented at ESCRS 2026 reported no adverse events or explantations during follow-up.⁶ Earlier, Frank Kerkhoff, MD, reported a single enhancement in 156 eyes at his European practice.⁷

SmartLOAD: Rethinking the injector

SmartLOAD Delivery Technology launched with TECNIS Eyhance, the company's enhanced monofocal. Developed in response to surgeon feedback, the system targets lens-loading errors, procedural efficiency, and operating room waste.¹

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, Harvard Eye Associates, UCLA Jules Stein Eye Instittute, talked to Ophthalmology Times about SMARTLoad. “What surgeons want when they're operating is consistency of delivery of a lens implant or any product, right? One of the challenges is that when you have lenses that are not preloaded, there's a fair amount of technique on the part of the person doing the loading. There's a fair burden on them to get that technique right and consistent. Otherwise, lenses can be damaged when they're inserted into the eye, or they can go in upside down, or a variety of other things that are undesirable during surgery can happen.”

In company clinical evaluations, 93% of surgeons expected SmartLOAD to reduce IOL loading errors, and 69% strongly agreed it would minimize the risk of infection and inflammation, both relative to a non-preloaded system. Overall, 86% reported being very satisfied with performance and 84% with ease of use.¹

The sustainability case may resonate more broadly. Johnson & Johnson reported 55% to 75% less product and primary packaging waste than competitive preloaded disposable systems, 49% less shipper packaging weight than single-use inserters, and a packaging footprint 47% smaller by volume than the Simplicity box.¹ The hybrid design attempts to retain the handling advantages of preloaded lenses while trimming the disposable plastic that fully single-use injectors generate.

“For surgeons, they get the consistency of a preloaded system and the benefit of not throwing as much away […] I find it as easy as any preloaded injector, very simple for the staff to prepare. It works, and I feel good about not throwing as much away,” added Hovanesian.

Incremental VERITAS refinements

The company also showed updates to the VERITAS Vision System phacoemulsification platform.⁸ The revised ELLIPS FX handpiece adds a locking Luer connector to secure irrigation tubing during surgery and a lighter cable intended to improve wrist mobility and reduce surgeon fatigue, with no changes to existing operation or maintenance procedures.¹

References

1. Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson announces scientific and educational program for the 2026 American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting. News release. October 5, 2026.

2. Johnson & Johnson's TECNIS PureSee EDOF IOL receives regulatory approval in the US. Ophthalmology Times. March 2026. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/johnson-johnson-s-tecnis-puresee-edof-iol-receives-regulatory-approval-in-the-us-

3. Ophthalmology Times Staff. TECNIS PureSee IOL launches in US following FDA approval for cataract surgery. Ophthalmology Times. June 11, 2026. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/tecnis-puresee-iol-launches-in-us-following-fda-approval-for-cataract-surgery

4. Johnson & Johnson launches TECNIS Odyssey IOL in US. Ophthalmology Times. October 2024. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/johnson-johnson-launches-tecnis-odyssey-iol-in-us

5. Rocha, MD, PhD, shares details on tolerance of astigmatism with FVR IOL. Ophthalmology Times. November 7, 2025. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/q-a-rocha-shares-details-on-tolerance-of-astigmatism-with-fvr-iol

6. ESCRS 2026: Q&A: What early real-world data reveal about the TECNIS Odyssey. Ophthalmology Times. 2026. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/escrs-2026-q-a-what-early-real-world-data-reveal-about-the-tecnis-odyssey

7. Q&A: Early research findings and clinical experiences with a new multifocal IOL. Ophthalmology Times. July 17, 2025. https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/q-a-early-research-findings-and-clinical-experiences-with-a-new-multifocal-iol

8. Johnson & Johnson earns FDA clearance, CE mark for next-gen phaco machine. Ophthalmology Times. https://ophthalmologytimes.com/view/johnson-johnson-earns-fda-clearance-ce-mark-for-next-gen-phaco-machine