BRAND FOCUS With more than 20 years of leadership in advancing cataract surgery systems—including major innovations for Staar Surgical trademark and Alcon’s Series 20,000 platform and Infinity software—Patton Design approached Bausch + Lomb with a strategic vision for next-generation ophthalmic surgery.

Recognizing the opportunity to redefine the competitive landscape, Bausch + Lomb engaged Patton Design to help transform its position within the cataract market. The initiative began with a comprehensive global marketing analysis, presented through highly realistic system mock-ups that embodied a fully integrated future-state solution.

Doug Patton directed the program holistically—aligning marketing strategy, engineering, industrial design, software architecture, hardware systems, and fluidics—centered around optimizing the patient, nurse, and surgeon experience.

SUCCESS   Patton Design delivered breakthrough innovations across GUI software, industrial design, Bluetooth integration, and system architecture. These advancements improved manufacturing efficiency, serviceability, usability, and clinical workflow.

The resulting platform—Bausch + Lomb’s Stellaris system—represented a cohesive, human-centered surgical environment that elevated both technical performance and practitioner confidence.

RESULTS   The Stellaris platform successfully propelled Bausch + Lomb from the number three to the number two position in the global marketplace—an extraordinary competitive advancement in a highly technical medical category. Since its introduction, the system has maintained a dominant market presence.

Building on this momentum, Doug advanced the next evolution of cataract surgery through his startup, Ophthalmic Synergies—pioneering the integration of phacoemulsification and femtosecond laser technologies into a unified surgical platform designed to preserve vision and reduce complications.