As part of CNIB Guide Dogs’ class of 2022, 16 Canadians who are blind or partially sighted have graduated with their guide dogs on International Guide Dog Day (April 27) after completing intensive training. 

Whether it’s avoiding obstacles, stopping at curbs and steps or negotiating traffic, these guide dogs foster independence for people living with sight loss. In these partnerships, the handlers provide directional commands, and the dogs ensure the teams’ safety. 

At the graduation ceremony, five buddy dog partnerships have also graduated alongside the guide dog partnerships. A CNIB Buddy Dog is partnered with a child or youth who is blind or partially sighted. Whether it’s feeding, grooming or walking this well-trained family pet, a buddy dog provides a child with an opportunity to care for a dog and, in some cases, makes it easier to transition into a guide dog partnership.

“Today’s graduating dogs are changing the lives of Canadians with sight loss from coast to coast to coast. As we celebrate CNIB Guide Dogs’ 5^th anniversary this year, we have more than 150 dogs in the program, with 52 guide dog teams and 19 buddy dog partnerships across Canada,” says Diane Bergeron, president of CNIB Guide Dogs and guide dog handler for 38 years. “The other dogs are still being raised and/or trained.”

Since launching in 2017 with just 2 puppies and 2 staff members working from home, CNIB Guide Dogs has raised, trained, and matched 77 dogs in communities across Canada, including 52 guide dogs, 19 buddy dogs, and 6 ambassador dogs. 

CNIB Guide Dogs will launch its own dog-breeding program in 2022 to train Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and crosses of the two breeds. The new breeding program will enable CNIB Guide Dogs to raise, train and match more dogs with people with sight loss across Canada, and help close the gap for those waiting to be matched with a guide dog or buddy dog.

Click HERE for the full press release.

CooperVision will share new data and analysis demonstrating the performance and efficacy of its innovative MiSight^® 1 day contact lens during the 2022 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Denver from May 1-4.

“The increasing severity and prevalence of myopia progression in children is one of the greatest healthcare issues today, with consequences that will last for generations,” said Paul Chamberlain, BSc (Hons), Director of Research Programs for CooperVision. “Our extensive scientific and commercial innovations have made it easier for eye care professionals to address this challenge and incorporate myopia management as the standard of care. The works we are presenting at ARVO build further confidence in MiSight^® 1 day contact lenses^* as a preferred approach.”  

Dual Focus Contact Lenses Induce Myopic Defocus in Children During Near Viewing (Meyer D, et al) presents evidence that myopia control using MiSight^® 1 day contact lenses in age-appropriate children is achieved through added myopic defocus, validating prior hypotheses. The study also quantified the myopic defocus dose delivered to children in two ways: by diopters and by the proportion of light focused in front of the retina. This work was conducted with the Indiana University School of Optometry.

Prior Myopia Control Effects Retained Upon Cessation of Dual-Focus Soft Contact Lens Wear (Hammond D, et al) offers further in-depth analysis of the seven-year MiSight^® 1 day clinical trial, which is the longest-running soft contact lens study among children. The twelve months following treatment cessation, mean axial elongation data indicated no evidence of rebound effect, signifying the myopia control gains were retained.

This latest work provides a deeper dive into the year seven data. These results indicate that treatment effects are retained regardless of when treatment ceased at any age between 14 to 18. The investigators conclude that starting MiSight^® 1 day at a younger age* and continuing throughout teenage years reduces time during which untreated eye growth can occur.

Click HERE for the full press release.