Blog

May 25, 2016May 20, 2026

Health Canada Approves Smartphone-based Autorefractor

Smart Vision Labs, maker of portable, smart autorefractors, successfully registered the SVOne Pro autorefractor in Canada as a Class II medical device, and received a Canadian Medical Device License through Health Canada.

The SVOne Pro is a handheld Shack-Hartmann wavefront aberrometer for accurately measuring objective refractive error in children and adults.

“Receiving our Canadian Medical Device License is a significant step forward in the commercialization of SVOne in Canada,” said COO and co-founder Marc Albanese. “We’ve had a lot of interest from this market. With the Health Canada approval, our company’s mission to increase access to vision care globally will be even more attainable.”

An evaluation of the SVOne by Drs. Ciuffreda and Rosenfield of SUNY College of Optometry was published in the December 2015 issue of Optometry and Vision Science. The SVOne was compared with retinoscopy, subjective refraction and two commercially available autorefractors in 50 visually normal young adults.

The results showed that the SVOne aberrometer provided measurements “not significantly different from other subjective and objective procedures,” and that the SVOne is “valuable for vision screenings, as well as examinations taking place outside the clinical office.”

May 25, 2016May 19, 2026

Westgroupe Establishes the Fort Mac Eyeglass Relief Fund

Montreal, QC – The people of Fort McMurray have been in the thoughts of many since the wildfires started in early May. This tragedy has forced tens of thousands of inhabitants to evacuate their homes, and for some, to leave their belongings behind in the process, including their eyeglasses.

To support the community affected by this natural disaster, WestGroupe is uniting with the eye care community who are donating their time to assist the victims of Fort McMurray. WestGroupe has created the $10,000 (wholesale value) Fort Mac Eyeglass Relief Fund to replace the frames of displaced victims, free of charge.

To access the fund, eyecare professionals in Alberta must reorder a frame (by telephone) from one of WestGroupe’s brands (FYSH UK, KLiiK denmark, EVATIK, Superflex, IZUMI, Bertelli, Elizabeth Arden, Perry Ellis, Hello Kitty, Jill Stuart, New Balance Kids, ále, Stepper or SPY), and provide the patient’s proof of residence.

May 24, 2016May 19, 2026

Marcolin USA Appoints Robinson and Carberry as Senior Vice Presidents

Somerville, NJ – Marcolin USA Eyewear Corp. is pleased to announce the recruitment of Chris Robinson as the new SVP Optical Channel and Tom Carberry as SVP Commercial Operations. Both Mr. Robinson and Mr. Carberry, with a solid background in the eyewear industry, will report directly to Marcolin USA Eyewear Corp. CEO, Fabrizio Gamberini.

Mr. Robinson will be responsible for leading, driving and managing change, identifying opportunities across the Optical Channel organization.

Mr. Carberry will be focused on improving the overall Commercial Operations and devising a strategy for improving Customer Service development, training, sales operation and overall sales and product performance management.

Robinson and Carberry were both previously executives at Safilo USA.

Click HERE to read the full press release.

May 20, 2016May 19, 2026

FYidoctors Continues to Expand its Footprint in Ontario

Calgary, AB – FYidoctors, Canada’s largest and fastest growing eye care company, is pleased to announce that Village Eyecare in Ancaster, Ontario has recently joined the FYidoctors team. Under the leadership of Dr. Tracy McMurter, this clinic joins the group backed by 21 years of experience in the community.

This acquisition will give FYidoctors a growing presence in this area of Ontario. Equipped with a range of diagnostic technology, a wide selection of designer and exclusive label frames and internal freeform lens designs, these locations will establish a new and prominent FYidoctors presence.

“After taking a break from growing to focus on our fantastic brand new laboratory and distribution facility, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Tracy McMurter and her tremendous team from Ancaster, Ontario to our company.” Says Dr. Alan Ulsifer, CEO & President of FYidoctors. “Dr. McMurter has been a valuable contributor to the profession and we are pleased to be able to continue to have thought leaders such as her contributing to our company. We are excited to be back in growth mode and look forward to welcoming more and more respected doctors to our team.”

Like all FYidoctors locations, Village Eyecare will offer detailed pre-testing, comprehensive eye exams, a menu of current lens technology and custom fittings with our electronic measurement devices.

“We are extremely involved in our community and look forward to elevating our offering to the residents of Ancaster, who we’ve served for over 20 years.” Adds Dr. Tracy McMurter of Village Eyecare. “FYidoctors’ philosophy of innovative technology and superior patient care parallels what Village Eyecare has been bringing to our patients for so many years. Our team is excited to be joining FYidoctors which brings opportunity to expand our product offerings, streamlines our processes and further enhance our patients’ experience at our office and in their everyday lives.”

May 20, 2016April 24, 2018

Hard Times for Independent Optometrists

In a recent article in Le Soleil, a daily newspaper in Quebec, the optometrist Lucie Laurin sounds the alarm on the plight of independent optometrists.

In Quebec, about one office per week is absorbed by a large optical chain. Eye exams have been traditionally financed by the sale of products, but online sales disrupt this dynamic. As more and more customers leave with their prescriptions and buy on the Internet, independent optometrists struggle to be profitable and end up selling their office.

Dr. Laurin also believes that chains neglect certain aspects of eye health and make profiling patients (selectively choose patients), discarding those that require additional time, such as the elderly. Le Soleil reports that the situation has also concerned the Minister of Justice of Quebec, Stéphanie Vallée, who is considering amending the Professional Code to better protect patients.

Source: http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/sante/201605/18/01-4983026-les-optometristes-quebecois-avales-par-les-grandes-chaines.php