Eyecare Business Canada and NextGen OD are pleased to announce their 2023 Sponsorship to the Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS). 

NextGen OD is a digital resource specifically for recent Canadian OD graduates and Optometry students studying in Canada and in the USA.

Along with NextGen OD’s complementary website Eye Care Business Canada, Next GenOD provides resources for Optometry Students and recent OD graduates, including information on career options in all facets of optometric practice. 

As students enter their final academic years, progress through internships and externships, and possibly residency and fellowships, a host of options and opportunities lay ahead.  NextGen OD provides insights from students making these choices as well the paths of recent grads who are dealing with these important decisions.

The NextGen OD eco-system consists of a website (www.NextGenOD.ca), Facebook page, Instagram, and a Linked In Showcase Page.

APERTURE Magazine Contest Sponsorship and More
A unique aspect of NextGen OD’s sponsorship is to reward winning contributions to CAOS’ online magazine, APERTURE. 

Student winners of the APERTURE writing contest will be recognized by publishing the winning entries in Optik Magazine in 2023, reaching over 10,000 Canadian eye care professionals.  Additionally, $500 of prizes will be provided by the publisher to the winning entrants.   

“As a broad spectrum B2B publisher in the eyecare space, identifying the next generation of leading peer influencers is an excellent opportunity to acknowledge the talent that lies within this cohort and bring their fresh perspectives to the industry at large.” said David Pietrobon, president of VuePoint IDS, which publishes both Eye Care Business Canada and NextGen OD, and Optik Magazine.

In addition to the APERTURE Magazine contest sponsorship, NextGen OD is planning webinars bringing together Canadian students from across North America with various subject matter experts. Plans are also underway to provide peer-reviewed clinical pearls to both students preparing for Board Examinations and recent graduates that require continuing education credits. These will be provided through CRO (Clinical & Refractive Optometry) Journal and CRO Online CE, a division of VuePoint IDS Inc. 

Individuals can sign up for the NextGen OD e-newsletter on the website: www.nextgenod.ca.

Click HERE for the full press release.

The World Council of Optometry (WCO), in partnership with CooperVision, presents a worldwide virtual event, “Myopia Management: Advancing the Global Standard of Care” Thursday, February 16, 2023.  The complimentary online event features industry experts sharing their insights on the global standard of care and how they have made myopia management an integral part of their work.  Register for the second annual WCO virtual event, delivered in multiple time zones worldwide, at https://bit.ly/WCOMyopiaEvent223.

WCO President-elect Dr. Sandra Block said, “We invite optometrists and other eye care professionals from around the world to attend this virtual event. It will help the listener gain a broader perspective on how to incorporate myopia management as the standard of care in their practices.  As myopia has risen to an epidemic level globally, early mitigation, measurement, and management of myopia in young patients can help reduce the risk of serious eye health issues as adults.  The World Council of Optometry is grateful to CooperVision for its partnership in this important mission to spread the word.”

The February 16 WCO “Myopia Management: Advancing the Global Standard of Care” virtual event explores the myopia epidemic through real stories told by patients and leading eye care professionals including: 

Prof. Seang-Mei Saw, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FAMS is the Distinguished Wallace Foulds Professor at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and Co-Chair (Biomedical) of the NUS Institutional Review Board. Prof. Saw is internationally recognized as one of the leading researchers in the myopia field and has made major observations and key discoveries in the field of the epidemiology of myopia, characterizing the environmental, genetic, and anatomical predictors of myopia in children and adults in Singapore and worldwide.

Dr. Kai-yip Choi is a Research Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Optometry. He obtained his BSc and PhD degrees in Optometry in 2014 and 2021 respectively from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has been providing optometric clinical care in the university clinic since 2014.

Dr. Foo Li Lian is a consultant ophthalmologist with the Myopia Service and Refractive Department, Singapore National Eye Centre, and Myopia Centre of Excellence. Subspecializing in the field of myopia focusing on childhood myopia control as well as refractive and cataract surgeries, Dr. Foo aims to create the next generation of treatment modalities that can halt the relentless march of myopia.

Indie Grewal, BSc (Hons) MCOptom DipTp (IP) Prof Cert Glau FBDO FBCLA is a qualified dispensing optician and optometrist with more than three decades of experience within the optical industry.  As well as participating in contact lens clinical trials, he has a special interest in myopia management and multifocal contact lens fitting.

Jessica Haynes, OD, FAAO, FORS, Dipl ABO practices as consulting faculty in the Southern College of Optometry Advanced Care Ocular Disease clinic and as a full-time associate optometrist at Charles Retina Institute. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the Optometric Retina Society and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.

Yasmin Whayeb, BSc (Hons) MCOptom is an optometrist and PhD student at Aston University, Birmingham, UK. Her research interests include the progression and management of myopia in children, and the choroidal response to optical myopia intervention methods.

Kyle Klute, OD, owns and practices at Good Life Eyecare, a multilocation practice in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, certified by the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry, and an editor for the Journal of Medical Optometry.

Learn more about the full slate of speakers at https://bit.ly/0223EventSpeakers.  Register for the event at https://bit.ly/WCOMyopiaEvent223.

 Click HERE for the full press release.

With an increase in visitors of 19.2% compared to the previous year, opti is in an upbeat spirit. This year, around 15,500 visitors from 67 countries gathered in Munich to take advantage of the diverse range of innovative formats for knowledge, sales, and exchange. A total of 307 exhibitors from 28 countries exhibited at opti 2023.

“opti is back and on course for success! Three inspiring trade show days with visitors and exhibitors from all over the world have come to an end. I would like to explicitly thank everyone who believed in opti with us and made the success possible! Seeing the industry united again in such a great atmosphere was my highlight,” says Klaus Plaschka, Managing Director of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH.

Summary of the trade fair and visitor interest

The new hall constellation created a special atmosphere. Thomas Truckenbrod’s (President of the Central Association of Opticians and Optometrists) personal conclusion: “For me, opti was a successful relaunch of an essential trade show for the optical industry in Munich. The compact number of halls, which I felt were well attended, contributed to a pleasant trade show feeling. Despite all the circumstances, the consistently positive mood gives us hope for a commercially successful year.”

An impression that is confirmed throughout. Karsten Möhrer, Eyewear Sales Director at Eschenbach Optik: “The sales per person that our sales force was able to achieve at opti 2023 is very satisfactory. Thanks to our adapted stand concept, we managed to optimally absorb the visitor frequency in Munich. ESCHENBACH’s participation at opti 2023 was thus a success!”

opti 2024 will take place in Munich from January 12 to 14, 2024.

Click HERE for the full press release.

The successful completion of the five-year joint venture between two family-owned specialty eye care companies, Laboratoires Théa (“Théa”) based in France, and Canada’s Labtician Ophthalmics, has given rise to the newly minted Théa Pharma Inc (Théa Pharma Canada),with headquarters in Toronto, Ontario.

Both organizations benefited from their collaboration over the last 5 years and are now well positioned to pursue their distinct specialties. With the goal of becoming Canada’s leading provider of preservative-free eye care solutions, Théa Pharma Canada will devote 100% of its attention to eye care, and to the professionals who manage the eye health of Canadians across the country.

Théa Pharma Canada has plans to accelerate its growth and presence in Canada by leveraging the culture and values of its family-owned and run parent company, Théa, Europe’s leading and pioneering eye health brand founded in 1994 by Henri Chibret.

As an affiliate of a highly successful global entity, Théa Pharma Canada will leverage global reinvestment in R&D to introduce new and novel preservative-free treatments to the Canadian market, as well as provide access for Canadian eye care professionals to value-added education, training and other programs led by world experts in eye care.

The transaction, which became effective on January 1, 2023, is significant for the Company on many levels. “Although our name is new, what will not change is our long-term commitment to Canadian ophthalmologists, optometrists, and their patients,” said Fiona McCloskey, General Manager, Théa Pharma Canada. “Canadian eye care professionals have come to rely on us for our cutting-edge

preservative-free treatments, but also see us as a valued partner in finding solutions to a wide range of ocular conditions including Dry Eye, Lid Margin Disease, Glaucoma, Allergy, and more.”

Click HERE for the full press release.