Visionstar FL-8800

Each eye measured on its own, not averaged

The Visionstar FL-8800 monocular PD lensmeter measures single eye PD from 20 to 39.5mm and double eye from 40 to 85mm, with ultraviolet transmittance from 1 to 100 per cent, contact lens base curve and a high speed thermal printer. Medigear.uk confirms configuration on request.

Sections

Lensmeters

Single and Double Eye PD

Single eye PD is measured from 20 to 39.5mm and double eye PD from 40 to 85mm, both in steps of 0.05mm across the stated measuring range.

Graded Ultraviolet Transmittance

Ultraviolet penetrability is reported from 1 to 100 per cent in 1 or 5 per cent steps, giving a figure rather than a simple yes or no for a coating.

Cluster Measurement

The manufacturer describes advanced Hartmann measurement theory with cluster measurement reading 108 points at the same time, reported here as their own account.

Contact Lens Base Curve

Contact lenses are measured across the same power range as spectacle lenses, with base curve stated from 6.0 to 9.00 upon the instrument itself.

Three Addition Powers

The addition row lists Add, Ad2 and Ad3, giving three separate addition powers for trifocal and progressive designs a single figure cannot describe.

Wide Power Range and Resolution

Sphere runs minus 25.00 to plus 25.00D with cylinder and addition each 0.00 to plus or minus 10.00D, selectable at 0.01, 0.06, 0.12 or 0.25D resolution.

Fine Prism Reading

Prism runs 0.00 to 15.00 in 0.01 increments, with axis across 0 to 180 degrees in 1 degree steps and lens diameter accepted from 15 to 100mm.

Printer, Display and Weight

A high speed thermal printer is fitted, the display is a 4.78 inch colour LCD, marking uses an ink tube, the connector is RS-232C and the instrument weighs 3.6kg.

Progressive Lens Dispensing

Monocular PD is what a progressive dispense really should rest upon. The corridor of a progressive lens has to sit in front of the pupil, and few faces are symmetrical, so halving a binocular figure puts one lens slightly out of position. Measuring each eye separately records what each actually needs, which is the difference between a lens that settles quickly and one that a patient never quite tolerates but cannot explain.

Dispensing to Children and Narrow Faces

Single eye measurement from 20mm reaches faces that a binocular-only instrument cannot serve. Children in particular fall below the range many instruments begin at, and a practice fitting them otherwise ends up estimating a figure that ought to be measured. Having the capability on the same bench as everything else removes that estimate from the whole dispensing process entirely.

Verifying Protective Coatings

Ultraviolet transmittance graded from 1 to 100 per cent turns a claim into a number. Where a lens is sold on protective properties, a practice can document what it actually transmits rather than repeating an assurance from further up the supply chain, and the printer puts that figure on paper for the patient record at the same sitting as the measurement.

Steeply Curved and Wrapped Lenses

The manufacturer relates cluster measurement to handling high bending rate lenses. Wrapped sports and safety frames use steeply curved lenses that plainer instruments read poorly, and a practice dispensing them needs to confirm what has been supplied. That claim is the manufacturer's own, so it is worth testing against your own typical lenses before committing to a purchase.

Two Eyes, Two Measurements

Monocular pupillary distance is the one specification worth paying for here. A binocular figure halved assumes a symmetry that faces rarely have, and on a progressive lens that assumption puts the corridor slightly wrong for one eye alone. Measuring each of them separately removes an error that never announces itself, since the lens looks correct and simply does not sit as comfortably as it really should for the wearer.

Transmittance as a Figure

Reporting the ultraviolet from 1 to 100 per cent is far more useful than a bare yes or no, because it lets a practice document what a lens does rather than merely that it does something. Where a patient has paid for protection, having a measured percentage upon the record is a considerably stronger position than an assurance passed along copied out of a supplier's own printed catalogue.

Everything on One Bench

Power, prism, contact lens base curve, three additions, transmittance and both pupillary measurements come from one single instrument, with a printer fitted to record them. A dispensing decision draws on all of those, so taking them from a single source removes the assembling of figures from a rule, a separate meter and a supplier's claim into something that genuinely resembles a complete dispensing record.

The Visionstar FL-8800 measures single eye PD from 20 to 39.5mm and double eye PD from 40 to 85mm in 0.05mm steps, with ultraviolet transmittance graded from 1 to 100 per cent. Sphere runs minus 25.00 to plus 25.00D, cylinder and addition each 0.00 to plus or minus 10.00D, selectable at 0.01, 0.06, 0.12 or 0.25D, with axis across 0 to 180 degrees and prism from 0.00 to 15.00 in 0.01 increments. Contact lenses are measured over the same power range with base curve from 6.0 to 9.00, and the addition row gives three separate powers. Lens diameter runs 15 to 100mm, a 4.78 inch colour LCD is fitted with an ink tube marker, a high speed thermal printer and an RS-232C connector, and the instrument weighs 3.6kg in all.

Two points are handled deliberately. The advanced Hartmann measurement theory description, the 108 point cluster reading and the claim regarding high bending rate lenses are the manufacturer's own account, reported here rather than endorsed. A country reference in the display row is not reproduced, nor is the electrical supply specification. Screen sizes differ across this range, so the display is worth seeing in person.

If your practice dispenses progressive lenses, fits children or narrow faces, or sells lenses on protective claims, speak to Medigear.uk. As a verified medical equipment supplier working across medical, dental, rehabilitation and aquatic therapy settings, the team will confirm the full configuration.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything buyers need to know about sourcing medical equipment through MediGear.

Because very few faces are ever truly symmetrical. A binocular figure halved gives two equal numbers when the eyes are not equally placed, and on a progressive lens the corridor then sits slightly wrong for one eye. Single eye PD records what each eye actually needs at the dispensing bench itself.

Single eye PD from 20 to 39.5mm and double eye PD from 40 to 85mm, both in steps of 0.05mm. The 20mm lower bound reaches the narrow faces and children that a binocular-only instrument simply cannot serve, which otherwise leaves a practice estimating a figure that really ought to be measured.

As a graded figure from 1 to 100 per cent, in steps of either 1 or 5 per cent. That turns a protective claim into a number a practice can document, in place of a bare yes or no, and the fitted printer puts the figure onto paper at the same sitting for the patient record afterwards.

The manufacturer describes advanced Hartmann measurement theory, with cluster measurement reading 108 points at the same time, relating it to stable and accurate results. That is the manufacturer's own account of the measuring principle, reported here and not endorsed by this listing at all.

Yes, it does indeed. Contact lenses are measured across the same power range as spectacle lenses, with base curve stated from 6.0 to 9.00. Base curve is the figure a rigid fitting is built upon, so having it alongside power suits any practice doing contact lens work at a single bench.

The sphere reads from minus 25.00 to plus 25.00D, with cylinder and addition each from 0.00 to plus or minus 10.00D, selectable at 0.01, 0.06, 0.12 or 0.25D. Prism runs 0.00 to 15.00 in 0.01 increments and lens diameter is accepted from 15 to 100mm right across the whole range.

The manufacturer relates that cluster measurement to the handling of high bending rate lenses, which covers the wrapped sports and safety frames that the plainer instruments tend to read poorly. That claim belongs to the manufacturer, so it is worth testing against your own typical lenses well beforehand.

The whole instrument weighs 3.6kg in all, with a 4.78 inch colour LCD, an ink tube marker, a high speed thermal printer and an RS-232C connector. Screen sizes vary across this range, so the display itself is worth seeing in person, and not judged from a figure upon a sheet.