Alcon to purchase SensoMotoric Instruments’ ophthalmic division

Alcon has announced plans to acquire the ophthalmic division of SensoMotoric Instruments, a medical technology company based in Berlin.

The acquisition will provide Alcon with a range of new ocular surgical guidance technology, which will be integrated into the firm's existing global cataract portfolio and will help to improve patient outcomes after surgery.

Innovations in fields such as real-time eye tracking, automatic registration of ocular imaging, and intraocular lens positioning and alignment guidance will now be incorporated into future Alcon products.

This will aid the company's efforts to combat cataracts, which are the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide.

Sabri Markabi, senior vice-president for research and development at Alcon, said: "This acquisition further strengthens Alcon's position in the cataract surgery market with an expansion into leading ocular tracking technology."

Earlier this month, the company introduced its new LenSx SoftFit patient interface, which it plans to make available across most major markets by the end of 2012.