Ultra Medical
Where Mechanical Engineering Meets Comfort in Eye Care

“Boy, I wish I had something to do this.”

To most, it’s a sigh of vexation. To Tom Zinnanti, president of Ultra Medical, formerly The Dry Eye Doctor, it sparks invention. A mechanical engineer by training, Zinnanti has spent over 40 years turning offhand physician comments like that into precision instruments that make procedures easier for doctors, safer for patients and faster for hospitals and clinics worldwide.

His career began in gynecology, plastic surgery and podiatry before moving into ophthalmology and optometry, where his innovations now address one of the fastest-growing conditions in modern medicine—dry eye disease. Whether developing meibomian gland expressors, punctal plug forceps or the ULTRA Pro Moist Heat Dry Eye Compress, Zinnanti works from a single principle: listen to what doctors need and build it better.

“I don’t believe in distributing off-the-shelf tools,” Zinnanti says. “Every doctor’s needs are different and every patient is different. That’s why we design with both in mind. I sketch ideas, send drawings to manufacturers in Germany known for producing high-quality instruments, review prototypes and refine them in collaboration with clinicians.”

That philosophy shows up in every product. The ULTRA Pro Moist Heat Dry Eye Compress, for example, takes only 20 seconds in a microwave to deliver steady warmth that lasts nearly ten minutes. For patients, it melts the solidified oils that block the meibomian glands, offering quick relief. For physicians, it means easier expression, less chair time and gentler procedure for both sides of the exam lamp.

Same approach guided the Meibomian Gland Expressor. Earlier versions forced doctors to juggle paddles, fingers and slit lamps at awkward angles. Zinnanti reimagined it as a tweezer with angled paddles, freeing up hands and improving visibility. What was once cumbersome became one smooth, efficient motion; faster for doctors, more comfortable for patients.

Safety inspired a redesign of therapeutic lens instruments. Removing a Prokera lens once meant sharp jeweler’s forceps near the cornea, a risk no doctor wanted to take. Zinnanti’s rounded design grips and releases without danger, so effectively that the manufacturer now ships his tool with every lens. A similar idea shaped the amniotic membrane forceps, which have flat-closing jaws that prevent punctures and a looped tip that smooths the delicate tissue into place. The gain is twofold: fewer wasted membranes and faster procedures.

Even routine care became easier through small innovations. Epilation forceps grip stray lashes without slipping, even through mascara, removing them in one clean pull. Patients avoid repeated tugs; doctors avoid wasted minutes. The Debrider, curved with crisp edges, clears keratin caps efficiently and channels debris forward, leaving the eye clean. The punctal plug forceps secure micro-sized plugs in a grooved jaw, ending the all-too-common frustration of plugs flying across the room. In emergencies, pairing the Ellis Spud and magnetic remover makes extracting steel fragments clean and straightforward, no more chasing shards across the cornea with a cotton swab.

Behind these instruments is the same cycle to observe, design and validate. Prototypes are tested by leading specialists like Dr. Paul Karpecki, one of the most recognized voices in dry eye disease, whose feedback ensures each tool performs as well in the clinic as it does on the drawing board. That commitment to practical engineering has made these designs standard in practices across the U.S. and internationally, and it is why the American Academy for Optometric Medicine & Surgery (AAOMS) recognizes this company as its official instrument provider.

Every product is FDA-registered, kept in stock and guaranteed for life, giving hospitals and clinics confidence in the design and supply reliability.

Innovation at Ultra Medical has never been about chasing markets; it has always been about solving problems others overlooked. That philosophy has created instruments that now shape daily practice in clinics worldwide. For doctors, it means efficiency. For patients, it means comfort. And for medicine, it means a future where even the smallest frustrations spark the next breakthrough.