It is estimated that approximately 40% of the population has 0.75D or more of cylinder in at least one eye, yet data from the 2024 international contact lens prescribing report shows soft toric contact lenses represented 32% of all soft lens fits reported globally, as well as in the United States.1 What accounts for the discrepancy in toric lens prescribing versus the percentage of eyes requiring toric lens correction? This is likely attributable to a persistent habit of attempting to “mask” low to moderate amounts of cylinder with spherical equivalent contact lens correction.
The impact of leaving as little as 0.75D of cylinder uncorrected can result in a significant decrease in distance and near visual acuity and reading speed, with low levels of induced astigmatism also decreasing reading fluency and stereoacuity.2-4 Uncorrected astigmatism can also result in increased symptoms of ocular discomfort, dry eye and headaches.2,3 Contrary to historical thinking, spherical soft lenses with thick or high-modulus designs do not “mask” astigmatism,5-7 nor do aspheric optics improve visual outcomes for low astigmats compared to toric correction.8,9
Uncorrected astigmatism not only results in reduced visual performance for the wearer but can ultimately lead to contact lens dropout. Sub-optimal vision performance is a significant cause of contact lens drop out by itself,10-12 with additional research finding a direct correlation between decreased vision and reduced overall comfort scores.13,14 All of these insights serve as a reminder to ensure the vision and comfort needs of patients with astigmatism are fully met in contact lenses.
While the prevalence of astigmatism has not changed significantly during the last three decades,15 soft toric lens design and availability certainly has. Given the wide choice of materials, replacement schedules, prescription options, and toric lens designs available in the CooperVision® toric lens portfolio, the eye care professional can fit virtually any astigmatic patient with the many reliable options available to them from a world leader in soft toric lens design.*16,17
CooperVision: Soft Toric Contact Lens Leaders
CooperVision is a recognized industry leader in soft toric contact lenses, consistently setting the bar for innovative toric lens designs that deliver high and unsurpassed clinical performance.†18,19 In fact, CooperVision is most often named by eye care professionals as their trusted and preferred provider of soft toric contact lenses.19 Given that eye care professionals agree that CooperVision consistently sets the bar for innovative soft toric lens designs,19 it’s no surprise that 50% of soft toric contact lens wearers around the world wear CooperVision® lenses.20‡ The advanced toric technology found in the CooperVision® portfolio of soft toric contact lenses provides excellent visual acuity21 and high levels of comfort22 so that practitioners and patients don’t have to compromise on toric correction options.
Biofinity® toric and MyDay® toric contact lenses
Biofinity® toric is eye care professionals’ most recommended reusable soft toric lens worldwide and is the most prescribed toric lens in the U.S.19,23 Its innovative lens design—Optimized Toric Lens Geometry™—is also found in MyDay® daily disposable toric lenses, helping to provide even more patients with excellent vision, on-eye stability, and a remarkably comfortable wearing experience in a convenient 1-day modality.24,25
Optimized Toric Lens Geometry™ was specifically developed to provide excellent vision correction for patients with astigmatism. It employs an innovative stabilization technology and unique back surface curvature that reduce on-eye movement to help support stable lens positioning and fast rotational recovery.
In a study comparing CooperVision® soft toric contact lenses with Optimized Toric Lens Geometry™ to other leading soft toric lenses, the CooperVision® lenses demonstrated:
- Lowest rotation from vertical position26
- Fastest reorientation speed26
- Fastest rotational recovery from manual displacement26
And across a wide range of clinical studies including CooperVision® soft toric contact lenses as well as other leading brands, wearers rated CooperVision® SiHy soft toric contact lenses as delivering high levels of vision quality,27 while eye care professionals reported that they all provided visual acuity of 20/20 or better§ to wearers with astigmatism.21
CooperVision® soft toric contact lenses are designed to help support fitting success, further supporting eye care professionals’ efforts to provide necessary toric correction easily to their patients with all levels of astigmatism.28 And because they’re available in a wide parameter range that covers 99.9% of all astigmatic prescriptions,16 CooperVision’s soft toric portfolio can meet virtually all of your astigmatic patients’ correction needs whether they prefer 1 day or reusable contact lenses.
There are good reasons to ensure soft toric prescribing is not overlooked: patient’s visual demands are high, and sub-optimal vision performance leads to contact lens dropout. CooperVision® soft toric contact lenses provide excellent outcomes that can be made even more time efficient to fit in practice with the use of online and app-based fitting tools such as OptiExpert™.29**Neophytes, lapsed wearers, low astigmats, monocular astigmats, and astigmatic presbyopes all present significant opportunities to recommend toric lenses and ensure that patients’ visual needs in their contact lenses are being met.
Learn more about Optimized Toric Lens Geometry™ and CooperVision® soft toric contact lenses at the CooperVision® Online Success Center and download the OptiExpert™ app today.
The views and opinions expressed here may not necessarily represent those of Bryn Mawr Communications or Modern Optometry.
§CVI SiHy toric products are compared individually to at least one of the listed products as follows: MyDay® toric and clariti® 1 day toric vs. Dailies AquaComfort Plus Toric and 1-Day Acuvue Moist for Astigmatism; Biofinity® toric and Avaira Vitality™ toric vs. Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism, Acuvue Vita for Astigmatism, Air Optix for Astigmatism, and Ultra for Astigmatism.
** Based on use with Biofinity® toric, MyDay® toric and clariti® 1 day toric lenses.
1. Morgan PB et al. International contact lens prescribing in 2024. PentaVision. January 6, 2025. Accessed January 14, 2025. https://www.clspectrum.com/issues/2025/januaryfebruary/international-contact-lens-prescribing-in-2024/.
2. Wolffsohn JS, Bhogal G, Shah S. Effect of uncorrected astigmatism on vision. J Cataract Refract Surg. Mar 2011;37(3):454-60. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2010.09.022.
3. Wills J, Gillett R, Eastwell E, et al. Effect of simulated astigmatic refractive error on reading performance in the young. Optom Vis Sci. Mar 2012;89(3):271-6. doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e3182429c6b.
4. Al-Qahtani H, Al-Debasi H. The effects of experimentally induced graded monocular and binocular astigmatism on near stereoacuity. Saudi Journal of Ophthalmology. 2018/10/01/ 2018;32(4):275-279. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjopt.2018.09.001.
5. Bernstein PR, Gundel RE, Rosen JS. Masking corneal toricity with hydrogels: Does it work? International Contact Lens Clinic. 1991;18(3):67-70. doi:10.1016/0892-8967(91)90072-8.
6. Snyder C, Talley DK. Masking of astigmatism with selected spherical soft contact lenses. J Am Optom Assoc. Oct 1989;60(10):728-31.
7. Cho P, Woo GC. Vision of low astigmats through thick and thin lathe-cut soft contact lenses. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2001;24(4):153-60. doi:10.1016/s1367-0484(01)80034-5.
8. Kollbaum P, Bradley A. Aspheric contact lenses: Fact and fiction. COntact Lens Spectrum. November 30, 2023. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://www.clspectrum.com/issues/2005/march/aspheric-contact-lenses-fact-and-fiction.
9. Morgan PB, Efron SE, Efron N, Hill EA. Inefficacy of aspheric soft contact lenses for the correction of low levels of astigmatism. Optom Vis Sci. Sep 2005;82(9):823-8. doi:10.1097/01.opx.0000177792.62460.58.
10. Young G. Why one million contact lens wearers dropped out. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. Jun 2004;27(2):83-5. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2004.02.006.
11. Sulley A, Young G, Hunt C. Factors in the success of new contact lens wearers. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. Feb 2017;40(1):15-24. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2016.10.002.
12. Sulley A, Young G, Hunt C, McCready S, Targett MT, Craven R. Retention Rates in New Contact Lens Wearers. Eye Contact Lens. Sep 2018;44 Suppl 1:S273-s282. doi:10.1097/icl.0000000000000402.
13. Rao SB, Simpson TL. Influence of Vision on Ocular Comfort Ratings. Optom Vis Sci. Aug 2016;93(8):793-800. doi:10.1097/opx.0000000000000785.
14. Maldonado-Codina C, Navascues Cornago M, Read ML, et al. The association of comfort and vision in soft toric contact lens wear. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. Aug 2021;44(4):101387. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2020.11.007.
15. Hashemi H, Fotouhi A, Yekta A, Pakzad R, Ostadimoghaddam H, Khabazkhoob M. Global and regional estimates of prevalence of refractive errors: Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Curr Ophthalmol. Mar 2018;30(1):3-22. doi:10.1016/j.joco.2017.08.009.
16. CVI data on file, 2020. Rx coverage database n=101,973 aged 14 to 70 years.
17. CVI data on file, 2023.
18. CVI data on file 2020; review performance 6 soft toric CL studies with CVI toric CLs; n=242.
19. CVI data on file. Kubic Online Survey of ECPs in US, Germany, Spain, Japan and South Korea. Total weighted sample n = 549. Significantly higher than Johnson & Johnson Vision, Alcon and Bausch + Lomb; p<0.05. 2020.
20. CVI data on file, 2024.
21. CVI data on file 2020. Review performance from 10 soft toric CL studies that include MyDay® toric, Biofinity® toric, Avaira Vitality® toric and clariti® 1 day toric; n=343.
22. CVI data on file. Review of performance from 11 soft toric studies that include MyDay® toric, clariti® 1 day toric, Biofinity® toric and Avaira Vitality® toric; n=391. 2020.
23. CVI data on file 2023. US industry reports and internal estimates.
24. CVI data on file 2020. Review performance from 9 soft toric CL studies that include MyDay toric, Biofinity toric and Avaira Vitality toric; n=307.
25. CVI data on file 2020. Review of performance from 10 soft toric studies that include My Day® toric, Biofinity® toric and Avaira Vitality™ toric; n=355.
26. Momeni-Moghaddam H, Naroo SA, Askarizadeh F, Tahmasebi F. Comparison of fitting stability of the different soft toric contact lenses. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. Oct 2014;37(5):346-50. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2014.05.003.
27. CVI data on file 2020. Review performance from 11 soft toric CL studies that include MyDay® toric, Biofinity® toric, Avaira Vitality® toric and clariti® 1 day toric; n=401.
28. CVI data on file 2020. Performance data on OTLG lenses (MyDay® toric, Biofinity® toric, Avaira Vitality™ toric) from 10 clinical studies; n=836 fits.
29. Luensmann D et al. Toric lens fitting success supported by an online fitting App. Poster to be presented at NCC/BCLA 2020.