By Kenneth N. Johnson, ABOM, NCLC, LDO A.B.S.' Smart Centration System brings you and you patients the benefits od advanced dispensing technology.
In the ever-progressing world of dispensing, you need all the help you can get to handle the needs of your patients and the unique challenges presented with today's eyewear. On one hand, lenses are becoming more sophisticated and require highly accurate measurements. On the other hand, patients want value for what they buy but often can't see the frame they're trying on without their glasses.
A.B.S' Smart Centration System (SCS) features upgrades that solve these dilemmas, helping both your business and your patients.
AUTO RECOGNITIONLike other A.B.S. products, the SCS is a video system equipped with a user-friendly touch screen that requires no mouse or keyboard. It features an upgraded, more powerful computer that recognizes the corneal reflex and PD automatically. The upgraded 19-in. screen guides the user through the process step by step.
ACCURATE MEASURINGIf you use a PD stick to take frame and lens fitting measurements, you know how inaccurate they can be. That old trusty PD stick just cannot deliver the accuracy you need for today's sophisticated lenses and frames. If you use a cornel reflex pupillometer, it may make patients feel uncomfortable because you have to get very close to them. Alos, pupillometers use prisms that simulate infinity and reading distances, which may cause patients to overconverge during measurement, thereby increasing th echance for error.
The SCS identifies the "natural" center of the patient's pupils, producing all the centration data required for proper fitting. The SCS also determines frame information by using its upgraded three triangulating high-resolution digital cameras to calculate lens fitting data, including monocular PDs, segment height, pupil height, face wrap, pantoscopic tilt, and A, B, DBL and ED measurements.
HEAD POSITIONAnother chance for error presents itself with head position/posture. If you do not align yourself exactly on the same plane as your patient, your measurements will be off. The Smart Centration System takes this into consideration by having patients look at themselves with normal posture in the mirror from about 2 meters. The mirror's effect extends the distance, simulating infinity to avoid any measuring error.
LENS SELECTION AND COMPARISONA database of all major progressive lenses is another upgraded feature of this system. When you enter a patient's prescription, the system displays lens thickness and weight comparisons so you can show patients the differences, which easily help to boost your premium lens sales.
FRAME CHOICES
When a patient tries on a frame, you can take an image of up to four frame styles at a time and display them on the screen. Images can be enlarged for full screen viewing and can even be swapped for one another. Since most eyeglass wearers cannot see themselves well in a mirror without their glasses on, this is a huge advantage.
DEMOS
One very helpful aspect of the SCS is its demo capabilities. For example, it shows the benefits of anti-reflective (AR) lens treatments by simulating the patient wearing a frame and lens selection both with and without it. The SCS also has photochromic, polarized and colored contact lens demonstrations, as well as a library of -D simulation videos on various products.
The Smart Centration System gives you the accuracy and dispensing edge you need in today's technologically adavanced dispensing world. Put that old PD ruler back in its drawer and join the electronic dispensing age with the SCS.
Kenneth N. Johnson is the Optical Manager at Barri Eyecare Center in Groton, CT. < Less 
