About Dr Brendan Cronin

Cornea, Cataract and Laser Eye Surgeon

MBBS (Hons), DipOphthSci, B.Com, LLB, FRANZCO, FWCRS

Dr Brendan Cronin is an ophthalmologist at the Queensland Eye Institute, Brisbane, with subspecialty training in corneal surgery, cataract surgery, and laser vision correction. He grew up on the Gold Coast and completed his medical degree with honours at the University of Queensland, before completing ophthalmology specialty training in Brisbane and corneal subspecialty fellowship training at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital in England — one of the world's leading centres for corneal and anterior segment surgery.

Dr Cronin consults at Queensland Eye Institute's Woolloongabba and Clayfield locations, and performs all refractive surgery at Focus Vision Clinic in Woolloongabba — Brisbane's premier laser eye surgery and refractive surgery clinic, which he co-founded with Dr David Gunn. All surgery is performed at the South Brisbane Day Hospital. He is Director of Education at the Queensland Eye Institute, is actively involved in training ophthalmology registrars in Queensland, and has published more than 40 articles in international peer-reviewed journals including Ophthalmology, Cornea, and the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. He holds international patents for corneal collagen cross-linking technology and is a principal investigator on multiple international clinical trials.

Pioneer of CAIRS Keratoplasty in Australia

Dr Cronin was among the first surgeons in Australia to perform CAIRS keratoplasty — Corneal Allogenic Intrastromal Ring Segments — a transformative minimally invasive corneal transplant technique for keratoconus. He performed the world's first combined Bowman's membrane and CAIRS procedure, and successfully led the campaign for Medicare Australia to recognise CAIRS keratoplasty under item number 42653 — making this life-changing surgery accessible to all eligible Australians.

Together with Dr David Gunn, Dr Cronin co-authored the Brisbane Nomogram — the world's first published standardised planning framework for CAIRS surgery, published as “Femtosecond Laser Created Corneal Allogenic Intrastromal Ring Segments for Keratoconusin Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology (2026) — and co-developed CAIRSPlan.com, the world's first free online surgical planning tool for CAIRS keratoplasty. CAIRSPlan is used by corneal surgeons across multiple countries to plan CAIRS surgery using the Brisbane Nomogram, generate intraoperative PDF guides, and improve the precision and reproducibility of their outcomes. It is completely free — no subscription, no institutional licence required.

Free Clinical Tools for the Global Ophthalmology Community

The commitment to evidence-based practice and open access to surgical knowledge is a defining characteristic of the Focus Vision team. Dr Cronin and Dr Gunn have built two free browser-based clinical tools that are available to ophthalmologists worldwide at no cost:

CAIRSPlan.com — Free CAIRS Surgical Planning Tool The world's first online planning tool for CAIRS keratoplasty. Corneal surgeons upload topography, plan arc axes and segment dimensions using the Brisbane Nomogram, and download a printable intraoperative PDF. Free, permanently. Developed and maintained by the Focus Vision surgical team.

Focus Vision Refractive Outcomes Analyzer — Free IOL Outcomes Analysis Tool for Cataract Surgeons A free browser-based tool that allows cataract surgeons to analyse their refractive outcomes, optimise IOL lens constants across five major formulas (Barrett Universal II, Kane, SRK/T, Holladay 2, and EVO), benchmark results against ESCRS 2024 standards, and export a full PDF audit report. No registration required. No patient data ever leaves the surgeon's browser. Developed and made freely available by Drs Cronin and Gunn through Focus Vision.

Both tools reflect the Focus Vision team's belief that access to the best surgical planning resources should have no barriers — and that better tools in the hands of surgeons worldwide translates directly into better outcomes for patients.