ORCHARD Road is best known as a shopping haven, but amid the shoppers and diners are a growing number of people looking for something different - not the latest pair of shoes, but specialised medical care.

Singapore's favourite shopping stretch is also home to many healthcare providers offering everything from botox to eye care.

At International Building, those in search of better eyesight head to the IGARD Group, lead by Manchester-trained senior consultant optometrist Yap Tiong Peng. The group comprises various optometrists who are primary eye care and vision specialists.

Apart from offering a comprehensive range of vision tests at IGARD, including paediatric optometry, Mr Yap has a special interest in occupational optometry - particularly in presbyopia (decrease in the focusing ability of the eye's natural lens) in middle-aged adults, asthenopia (weakness and fatigue of the eyes) in young adults, and binocular instability (such as visual stress) in children.

Managing presbyopia can be complex at times and is often compounded by other vision problems such as myopia (short-sightedness), hyperopia (long-sightedness) and astigmatism.

New technology, however, helps. For instance, Mr Yap points out that Japanese firm, Tokai Optical, has become the first spectacle lens company to introduce cutting-edge neuroscience or brain analysis technology to their progressive lens design. The result is a more comfortable and user-friendly lens that reduces the stress of spectacle usage.

As for myopia-sufferers, a new option has just arrived in the form of the world's first daily disposable silicone hydrogel contact lens - the 1 Day Acuvue TruEye contact lens. Launched this week by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care and available at IGARD, the lens is positioned as a healthier and more convenient choice thanks to its advanced materials and proprietary technology that allows practically 100 per cent oxygen transmission to the cornea.

Of course, better technology comes at a price - these premium lenses cost about 10 per cent more than other daily disposables in the market, says Ng Quan Wei, Johnson & Johnson's professional and regulatory affairs manager. So, the bottomline is that while professional services and products can improve visual health, nothing beats preventative care. And the sooner that begins, the better.

'Myopia in children is considered a major public health issue in Singapore,' notes Mr Yap. 'Children are getting more short-sighted at an increasing rate,' which also leads to a higher risk of developing eye diseases later on in life.

That's why it's important to get the right optometrist who can monitor your visual health and prescribe the appropriate spectacles or contact lenses.

'This applies to both children and adults,' he says. 'The challenge for children is to monitor early myopia development, while for adults, it is to ensure that eyesight does not deteriorate with age.'

This article was first published in The Business Times