Department of Economics, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, United States.
Eurolens Research, Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2023 Oct;46(5):101887. doi: 10.1016/j.clae.2023.101887. Epub 2023 Jul 16.
To determine clinical performance and the 'Willingness To Pay' for toric vs. spherical soft contact lenses in an astigmatic population.
In the clinical study, subjects with binocular low to moderate astigmatism (-0.75DC to -1.50DC) wore pairs of soft toric (Biofinity toric) and spherical (Biofinity) contact lenses in random sequence. Visual acuity (high and low contrast, monocular and binocular), subjective comfort and subjective vision were recorded. In the economics study, first subjects who had participated in the clinical study were presented with a series of randomised economic scenarios in order to determine their Willingness To Pay a premium (i.e. an increase) for toric lenses. Then, a similar set of scenarios were presented to a much larger group of online respondents and again, Willingness To Pay was established.
For the four measures of visual acuity, the Biofinity toric lens out-performed the Biofinity spherical lens by 0.6 to 1.1 lines.. Subjective vision performance was statistically significantly better with the toric lens for the distance task only. Comfort scores were not significantly different. Similar findings for Willingness To Pay were established for the clinical subjects and for the online respondents. The Willingness To Pay premium (additional fee) for a monthly supply of toric lenses (over spherical lenses) was between £13 and £16, if a toric lens provides better vision and similar comfort, as shown in the clinical study.
Consumers are willing to pay a monthly premium of around 50% to benefit from the typical experience of better vision and similar comfort for toric vs. spherical lenses. The level of additional cost for toric lenses compared to their spherical equivalents is less than this in the market, so eye care professionals should consider that toric lenses are delivering a greater clinical return than anticipated by wearers for the relatively small increase in price.
在散光人群中，确定散光软性隐形眼镜（toric 与球面）的临床效果和“支付意愿”。
在临床研究中，双眼低度至中度散光（-0.75DC 至-1.50DC）的受试者随机佩戴软性 toric（Biofinity toric）和球面（Biofinity）隐形眼镜。记录视力（高、低对比度，单眼和双眼）、主观舒适度和主观视觉。在经济学研究中，首先让参与临床研究的受试者观看一系列随机经济场景，以确定他们愿意为 toric 镜片支付溢价（即增加）。然后，向更大的在线受访者群体展示类似的场景，并再次确定他们的支付意愿。
在四项视力测量中，Biofinity toric 镜片的表现比 Biofinity 球面镜片好 0.6 到 1.1 行。只有在远距离任务中，toric 镜片的主观视觉性能才有统计学意义上的显著改善。舒适度评分无显著差异。临床受试者和在线受访者的支付意愿研究结果相似。如果 toric 镜片能提供更好的视力和类似的舒适度，那么消费者愿意为每月 toric 镜片（而非球面镜片）的供应支付 13 到 16 英镑的溢价。
如果 toric 镜片能带来更好的视力和类似的舒适度，消费者愿意每月多支付 50%左右的费用来获得 toric 与球面镜片的典型体验。与球面镜片相比，toric 镜片的额外成本水平低于市场价格，因此，对于 toric 镜片的临床回报，眼保健专业人员应该考虑到佩戴者的预期要高于价格的微小增加。
