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January 21, 2020January 21, 2020

CORE Announces Significantly Expanded Presence at 2020 Global Contact Lens Symposium

The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has announced its largest-ever participation in the upcoming Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS). The annual conference is expected to attract prominent researchers, clinicians and educators from 35 countries later this month in Las Vegas.

“The range of CORE-led sessions on dry eye, contact lenses, myopia management and instrumentation across four days reflects how we have taken a markedly increased role in the specialty segment, which is growing more exciting by the year,” said CORE Director Lyndon Jones, PhD, DSc, FCOptom.

For the first time, GSLS is opening with two pre-meeting interactive workshops. “Contemporary Dry Eye Disease Practice” features CORE’s Dr. Jones and Karen Walsh, BSc(Hons), PGDip, MCOptom plus Aston University’s James Wolffsohn, MBA, PhD. The high-energy session, slated for Wednesday, January 22 at 6 p.m. PDT, showcases and demonstrates multiple elements that can be incorporated into diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management dry eye patients.

On Friday, January 24, Drs. Jones and Wolffsohn partner again in the 10 a.m. PDT general session to discuss “A Clear Vision on Dropouts.” Moderated by educator and consultant Eef van der Worp, BOptom, PhD, the presentation focuses on three aspects behind the dropout phenomenon to stabilize and increase the wearer base.

Later that day, Drs. Walsh and Jones bring attendees inside one of the latest diagnostic devices for the dry eye arsenal. “Working Smart: Streamline Your Dry Eye Practice with New Technology – Medmont” begins at 1:30 pm PDT.

On Saturday, January 25 at 9 a.m. PDT, “Dry Eye and Contact Lenses: Harmony or Havoc” pairs Drs. Jones and Walsh to review methods to determine if patients truly have dry eye disease, discuss various approaches used by companies to manage contact lens discomfort, and describe the science behind these approaches.

Just prior to the conference close, beginning at 2:20 p.m. PDT, a panel of prominent researchers addresses “A 2020 Vision on Specialty Lens Care.” Dr. Jones collaborates with Shalu Pal, OD, Kelsey Steele, OD, MS and Loretta Szczotka-Flynn OD, PhD—plus moderators Karen DeLoss, OD, and Dr. Van der Worp—to share academic and clinical viewpoints on best practices in specialty contact lens solutions, hygiene and handling.

In addition to its presentations, a CORE venture will be represented among the conference’s scientific posters. “Deposition of fluorescently tagged lysozyme on contact lenses in a physiological blink model” provides insights on daily disposable lenses using OcuBlink, the CORE-affiliated in vitro eye model that accelerates ophthalmic product research and development.

In parallel with GSLS, CORE Clinical Scientist Debbie Jones, BSc, FCOptom, will be a featured speaker at CooperVision’s annual Educator’s Meeting regarding the MiSight® 1 day contact lens clinical study for slowing the progression of myopia in children. CORE has been the largest site for the multi-year landmark study, which is now entering its seventh year.

Source : Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE)

January 17, 2020January 17, 2020

CNIB Foundation Asks Canadians to Donate Smartphones

Every year, thousands of Canadians receive a new smartphone for the holidays, and their used devices end up collecting dust in drawers or on shelves for months or years to come – even though they may still be very new. This new year, the CNIB Foundation is asking Canadians to save their gently used devices from their fate in the clutter drawer and donate them to people with sight loss through the organization’s Phone It Forward program.

The program takes modern, gently used smartphones; refurbishes them and outfits them with accessible apps; and puts them directly into the hands of Canadians who are blind – as well as providing training on how to use their refurbished phones with confidence.

“Many people don’t realize the tremendous impact modern smartphones have in the lives of individuals who are blind,” said Melanie Burgess, Senior Director of the CNIB Foundation’s Phone It Forward program.
She adds that new accessible smartphone apps make it possible for blind and partially sighted users to do all kinds of things that may have seemed impossible before, from travelling safely using GPS to shopping independently or taking the proper dosage of medication.

Despite how life-changing smartphones can be for blind Canadians, many people with sight loss still don’t own one – at least not one that’s advanced enough to help them in their daily lives. CNIB Foundation researchers have found that only 27% of the organization’s clients own a smartphone, according to a recent survey.

To donate your smartphone, make a financial donation or learn more, visit phoneitforward.ca.

Source: CNIB Foundation

January 17, 2020January 16, 2020

Essilor Joins Project Agora

Essilor supports the opening of the first access point to vision care in Cote d’Ivoire as part of project Agora. This was jointly inaugurated by the Vice President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan, and President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on December 21.

Project Agora aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged populations by facilitating their access to health and sports. As part of this project, Essilor has partnered with local optician-optometrist and contactologist, David Diakite, to create a visual health access point, within a centrally located store for the highly populated Koumassi district of Abidjan. This will allow local residents to benefit from eye tests and prescription glasses made by the Essilor Group.

Just like in many African countries, the optical sector is dynamic by creating disruptive initiatives developing access to professional vision care and preventing many from having good vision and protecting their eyes.

In line with its mission of ‘improving lives by improving sight’, Essilor has been supporting initiatives all over the world to improve access to visual health and provide solutions for people who do not have access to vision care, underserved populations and rural communities.

In Africa, Essilor has created Africa Retail Solutions, a dedicated division which designs and deploys innovative solutions to address infrastructural issues and the lack of eye care professionals in order to meet all visual needs and at all price points. The ‘My Vision Shop’ concept, which has already been deployed by Essilor in Mozambique, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, allows aspiring entrepreneurs to set-up their own optical stores by benefitting from the Group’s turnkey support. This includes an installation kit with necessary tools to open a store, as well as frames, lenses, instruments, software, training, etc.

Click HERE for the full press release.

January 15, 2020January 15, 2020

Olympic Medalist Speed Skater Kim Boutin Champions Blanchard’s Onefit™ MED Scleral Lenses

Blanchard Contact Lenses, a CooperVision specialty eyecare company, announces that Canadian short track speed skater Kim Boutin is a new advocate of their Onefit™ MED scleral lenses.

Boutin, a Canadian Olympic medalist in short track speed skating, began wearing Onefit MED scleral lenses after Mr. Blanchard observed her competing one day. He noticed she wore contact lenses during the race but glasses on the podium.

“With the air drying out my soft lenses and the wind making my eyes water, I often dealt with discomfort, fluctuating vision and occasionally a lens popping out while racing. I needed a lens that would be comfortable from the time I started my race through to the finish,” said Boutin.

Now wearing Onefit MED scleral lenses, Boutin enjoys protection from wind, dust and debris, reliable vision performance and exceptional comfort. Without fear of losing a lens mid-race, she can go for gold—something she’s done time and time again already this season, winning four gold medals in all four 500-meter races she’s competed in. Her performance during one of these competitions even set the 500-meter race world record.

Onefit MED is an advanced scleral lens design that puts the practitioner in control to custom design a lens specific to each patient’s individual needs. This is done by giving the practitioner control over a variety of parameters and by utilizing an intuitive online fitting tool to provide a visual depiction of the lens they designed.

Source: Blanchard Contact Lenses

January 15, 2020January 15, 2020

UPMC First in the U.S. to Implant Wireless Retinal Device for Advanced AMD

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced they have implanted the first patient in the United States with a new wireless retinal device as part of a clinical trial aimed at restoring partial sight to patients with advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The system, called PRIMA, is designed to restore sight in patients blinded by retinal degeneration. It consists of a 2×2 millimetre, 30-micron thick miniaturized wireless photovoltaic chip, placed under the damaged retina and works in tandem with augmented reality glasses that have a built-in miniaturized camera and infrared projector.

The chip acts like a tiny artificial retina, made up of 378 tiny electrodes that convert infrared light from the glasses to electrical signals that are carried by the optic nerve to the brain. After receiving the implant, patients undergo an intensive rehabilitation program that trains their brains to understand and interpret the signals from the implant in combination with their remaining natural vision. Compared to earlier-generation implants, PRIMA is wireless and has significantly more electrodes, which allows for the transmission of more visual information.

“We are proud to be the first center in the United States to test this next generation retinal implant that could help treat an incurable disease like AMD,” said José-Alain Sahel, M.D., director of the UPMC Eye Center.

The UPMC feasibility trial is running in parallel with the first-in-human trial in France, which involves five patients with advanced AMD, who now have been followed for more than a year. The 12-month results from the French study demonstrated the ability of most patients to identify sequences of letters and there were no device-related serious adverse effects.