RayOne Galaxy vs PanOptix: how do the two full range of vision IOLs compare?

RayOne Galaxy is a non-diffractive spiral-optic IOL launched in 2024 and 2025 with an encouraging but still early evidence base. Alcon PanOptix is a diffractive trifocal with over nine years on market, more than four million implants worldwide, and a thoroughly characterised outcome and side effect profile. Comparing these two lenses is, in large part, a comparison of evidence maturity as much as optical design. This review does not assert that one lens is superior. It documents what the published record shows, what it does not yet show, and what that difference means in practice.

For a broader overview of all full range of vision IOL categories, including EDOF, enhanced monofocal, and hybrid lenses, see the full range of vision IOL guide. For the complete premium IOL reference covering every category available in Australia in 2026, see the dedicated hub page.

What makes RayOne Galaxy different

RayOne Galaxy achieves a continuous range of vision through a spiral optic design rather than diffractive rings. Unlike diffractive lenses, which split incoming light into multiple focal orders using concentric gratings and accept a portion of light loss at each transition, Galaxy's spiral optic claims to redirect light continuously without diffractive losses, which Rayner describes as zero percent diffractive light loss.

The optical concept was developed by Rayner in collaboration with Dr João Marcelo Lyra of Brazil, and Rayner has described the design process as AI-assisted in its commercial communications. The lens geometry includes a central 1.1mm distance-dominant zone, with the spiral pattern extending to 3.2mm. Beyond 3.2mm the optic reverts to a standard refractive profile. This design is distinct from diffractive trifocals such as PanOptix, which use concentric diffractive rings across the full optic diameter to create discrete focal points at distance, approximately 60cm, and approximately 40cm. It is also distinct from non-diffractive EDOF lenses such as Clareon Vivity, which uses Alcon's X-WAVE wavefront-shaping technology to elongate the focal range from distance to intermediate without creating a discrete near focal point.

The lens is available in two models: RAO605G (non-toric) and RAO615X (toric). Both are single-piece, C-loop haptic, hydrophilic acrylic lenses with an overall diameter of 12.5mm and a 6mm optic diameter. The hydrophilic acrylic material contrasts with PanOptix, which is implanted on the Clareon hydrophobic acrylic platform. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials each have known trade-off profiles regarding surface wettability, PCO rates, and glistening behaviour, and material choice can influence surgeon and patient preference independently of optical design.

Australian availability and reimbursement timeline

RayOne Galaxy received TGA registration and launched commercially in Australia in January 2025. At launch it was available only as a gap-payment lens, meaning patients met the lens cost directly without private health fund contribution. The reimbursement gap closed on 1 March 2026, when RayOne Galaxy was listed on the Australian Prostheses List following MDHTAC assessment.

This reimbursement timeline is worth patients understanding clearly. Anyone quoted for Galaxy before 1 March 2026 was quoted under a different cost arrangement than applies today. Private health fund coverage from 1 March 2026 varies by insurer and policy tier. Patients should confirm their specific entitlement with their health fund and with the surgical facility before proceeding. The March 2026 date is specific and verifiable through the Prostheses List published by the Australian Government.

Implantation numbers: a decade of scale versus 18 months of adoption

Alcon PanOptix has accumulated more than four million implants worldwide since its 2015 launch, built on Alcon's broader platform history of over 175 million total IOL implants. This scale underpins a real-world outcomes registry of considerable depth, including explant data, surgeon-reported complications, and independent re-operation rates across diverse patient populations and surgical settings.

Rayner reported shipping more than 100,000 RayOne Galaxy lenses globally as of mid-2026, approximately 18 months after the international launch. Two important distinctions apply to this figure. First, "shipped" describes lenses distributed to surgical centres, not confirmed implanted cases. Second, 100,000 shipped lenses at 18 months produces a very different real-world evidence footprint than 4 million implants over nine years. The scale difference is not a criticism of Galaxy. It is a necessary context for interpreting what is and is not yet known about real-world outcomes at the population level. For a lens with a genuinely novel optical mechanism, this distinction matters more than it would for an incremental design refinement.

Evidence base: what has actually been published

PanOptix has a well-developed independent evidence base. Multiple peer-reviewed meta-analyses have pooled outcomes across prospective studies, including analysis by Sudhir and colleagues reporting spectacle independence above 85 percent for the large majority of daily activities. A worldwide pooled outcomes analysis by Kohnen and colleagues published in Clinical Ophthalmology in 2023 documented consistent visual acuity and patient-reported outcomes across geographically diverse surgical centres. A decade of real-world explant and complication registries exists alongside this primary evidence. The newer Clareon PanOptix Pro, incorporating ENLIGHTEN NXT technology, reports 94 percent light utilisation (versus 88 percent in the original) and a 50 percent reduction in light scatter. For a detailed comparison of the original and Pro versions, see the PanOptix Pro review on this site.

Galaxy's published evidence base, as of mid-2026, consists of the following. A preclinical vision-simulator study using the RALV platform enrolled 30 healthy eyes (Amon et al, presented at ESCRS 2024) to characterise halo and glare profiles under controlled conditions. A pre-launch multicentre clinical evaluation enrolled 180 eyes across 10 surgeons and 10 countries, with follow-up data at one and three months only. One peer-reviewed publication had appeared in the Journal of Refractive Surgery: "Performance of the First Spiral Refractive Intraocular Lens for Continuous Full Range of Vision." Rayner's published surgeon-experience accounts and Insight magazine's coverage of the Australian launch provide additional early clinical colour, noting their status as either manufacturer-adjacent or trade press sources rather than independent peer-reviewed evidence.

A US FDA pivotal trial (IDE study) has completed enrolment, but FDA regulatory approval had not been granted as of publication. RayOne Galaxy therefore remains unavailable in the United States market at this time. Galaxy's evidence base, while genuinely promising in its early signals, is at an early stage relative to PanOptix. Short follow-up intervals, small enrolment numbers, and the mix of company-adjacent and independent sources are characteristic features of a lens at approximately 18 months post-launch, not a disqualifying concern, but a meaningful qualifier for any direct comparison with a lens that has nine years of independent post-market evidence.

Side effect and dysphotopsia profile

Early data for RayOne Galaxy suggests a more favourable dysphotopsia profile than diffractive trifocals, though this conclusion requires the caveats appropriate to its evidence stage.

The RALV preclinical vision-simulator study found halo sizes for Galaxy closer in profile to an enhanced monofocal than to a diffractive trifocal IOL in the same comparison. One published account by an Australian surgeon reported that approximately one third of patients experienced no halos at all. These are encouraging early signals and are mechanistically plausible given the non-diffractive design: without grating-based focal splitting, the optical mechanism for diffractive halos (the ring-pattern-derived light scatter) does not apply in the same way.

The published evidence also includes less favourable signals that should not be omitted. The FDA MAUDE adverse event database includes a documented case of significant postoperative dysphotopsia following RayOne Galaxy implantation that required lens explant. Rayner's own product information for RayOne Galaxy explicitly lists "patients who are unlikely to adapt to simultaneous multiple retinal images" as a contraindication, language that is consistent with conventional trifocal and full range of vision IOL risk profiles. RayOne Galaxy is not free of neuroadaptation-failure risk, and pre-operative counselling and patient selection remain essential regardless of the favourable average outcomes reported in early data.

For PanOptix, the halo and glare profile is well-characterised from over a decade of published study and patient-reported outcome registries. The concentric diffractive ring design produces halos around point light sources at night that are expected, well-described, and typically diminish over a neuroadaptation period of three to six months. A trade-off in contrast sensitivity relative to a monofocal lens is also documented. The Clareon PanOptix Pro was specifically engineered to reduce this by improving light utilisation from 88 to 94 percent and cutting light scatter by 50 percent, though head-to-head independent clinical data on patient-reported dysphotopsia rates between the two PanOptix generations remains awaited as of mid-2026.

Comparison of full range of vision IOLs available in Australia

The table below covers the two Galaxy variants alongside PanOptix original and Pro, and two other full range of vision lenses for context. Figures for TECNIS Synergy and BVI FineVision POD F are drawn from the same data used on the premium IOL guide to keep the two pages consistent.

How this fits into patient selection

No lens choice is independent of individual anatomy, lifestyle, and tolerance for visual side effects. The optical design differences between Galaxy and PanOptix are real, but they do not translate automatically into a recommendation for one lens over the other in any given patient.

Patients who are highly motivated to reduce spectacle dependence, have healthy maculas and regular corneas, have a well-controlled ocular surface, and are comfortable with a neuroadaptation period are candidates for either a spiral full range lens or a diffractive trifocal, depending on their surgeon's assessment and their own preference after a thorough discussion of the evidence. Patients who drive frequently at night, have occupational requirements for low-light vision, or express concern about halos before surgery are better served by a non-diffractive EDOF or enhanced monofocal regardless of which full range of vision lens is under consideration.

Mix-and-match approaches, implanting different lens types in each eye to widen the overall focal range, have attracted clinical interest. However, combinations involving Galaxy specifically have not been studied in dedicated published trials as of mid-2026, and the broader mix-and-match evidence base does not yet include high-quality randomised data sufficient to establish standard patient selection criteria. This should be framed as an individualised decision rather than a routine option.

The most important determinant of outcome with any full range of vision IOL remains the quality of pre-operative assessment and patient selection. For optometrists referring patients for premium IOL assessment, documentation of macular OCT findings, ocular surface status, corneal topography, and a clear account of the patient's visual priorities and night-driving requirements provides the clinical foundation that makes surgeon-patient decision-making more reliable.

References

1. Rayner. RayOne Galaxy product launch communications and shipping milestone statements. Rayner Intraocular Lenses Ltd. (Manufacturer source.)
2. Insight magazine. RayOne Galaxy Australian launch and Prostheses List listing coverage. Insight Eye Care Media, January 2025 and March 2026.
3. Amon M, et al. RALV vision-simulator preclinical comparison of RayOne Galaxy halo and glare profiles. Presented at ESCRS Annual Meeting, 2024.
4. Journal of Refractive Surgery. Performance of the First Spiral Refractive Intraocular Lens for Continuous Full Range of Vision. J Refract Surg. 2026.
5. United States Food and Drug Administration. MAUDE Adverse Event Report: RayOne Galaxy postoperative dysphotopsia requiring explant. FDA MAUDE Database.
6. Alcon. 175 Million IOLs: Alcon IOL milestones. Alcon corporate communications. (Manufacturer source.)
7. mivision. Published Australian surgeon account of RayOne Galaxy clinical experience, including dysphotopsia patient proportions. mivision, 2025/2026.
8. Sudhir RR, et al. Comparative meta-analysis of trifocal IOL outcomes: spectacle independence and dysphotopsia profiles across prospective studies of the PanOptix platform.
9. Kohnen T, et al. Worldwide clinical outcomes of the AcrySof IQ PanOptix trifocal intraocular lens. Clin Ophthalmol. 2023.