• The Cornea Society has named Donald Tan, F.R.C.S., as its new president. Dr. Tan is the medical director of the Singapore National Eye Centre, chairman of the Singapore Eye Research Institute, professor of ophthalmology at the National University of Singapore and medical director of the Singapore Eye Bank. Currently, he is the president of the Asia Cornea Society and the Association of Eye Banks of Asia. For more information, visit www.corneasociety.org.

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the American Board of Optometry is one of nine boards to qualify for the 2012 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program incentive. This year, physicians will again have the opportunity to earn PQRS incentives, as well as an additional 0.5% by participating in qualified MOC program activities, including a practice assessment module and patient experience care survey. For more information, visit www.cms.org.

• The 52nd Annual Heart of America Contact Lens Society Contact Lens and Primary Care Congress will be held February 15-17, 2013 in Kansas City, Mo. For more information, visit www.hoalcls.org.

• Optometry Giving Sight has announced its annual World Sight Day Company Challenge, inviting the optical industry to raise funds through October 11 to aid blind or vision-impaired patients who cannot afford eye exams and glasses. For more information, visit www.givingsight.org.

• Alden Optical will license NovaKone to David Thomas Contact Lenses, a subsidiary of Menicon Holdings. The lenses will be offered to specialty fitters in the United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India by September 2012. For more information, visit www.aldenoptical.com.

ASCRS Seeks United Collaboration
The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) has formed an Integrated Ophthalmic-Managed Eye Care Delivery (IOMED) task force to investigate and recommend ways in which the organization and its membership can advance an eye care delivery model based on a synergistic collaboration between optometry and ophthalmology. The IOMED task force also will consider creating an entirely separate society—as well as new educational tracks at the ASCRS Annual Symposium—to meet the educational needs of integrated eye care practitioners.

According to Stephen S. Lane, M.D., ASCRS Governing Board member and IOMED task force chair, the goal is to find the best ways to facilitate cooperation between ophthalmologists and optometrists to meet the needs of the aging baby boomers.

In other news, the 300-member Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists will now be managed under the administrative umbrella of ASCRS.
For more information, visit www.ascrs.org.

New iPad App Explains Cataracts
Eyemaginations has launched a new iPad application, the Luma IOL Simulator, to help eye care practitioners better explain cataracts and cataract surgery to their patients. The app has on-screen drawing functionality, allowing the physician to illustrate the visual benefits and limitations of a broad selection of IOL options. Users of the app will also be able to share the iPad screen images wirelessly to a television using Apple TV. The app is available for free download in the Apple iTunes store for all Luma customers. For more information, email [email protected] or call 877.321.5481.

Bio-Inspired Daily Disposable
Bausch + Lomb’s Biotrue OneDay, a new daily disposable contact lens, has received FDA clearance. The company says the lenses are made with a proprietary bio-inspired material called HyperGel, which is designed to retain moisture and mimic the lipid layer of the tear film to prevent dehydration and maintain consistent optics after 16 hours of wear. The silicone-free material offers 78% water content (the same as the cornea) and delivers more oxygen than a traditional hydrogel, the company says. The lenses also offer UV protection from UV-A and UV-B rays.
For more information, visit www.bausch.com.

Contact Lens Sensor to Measure IOP
A recent study at the Hamilton Glaucoma Center at the University of California San Diego found that contact lens sensors provided safe and tolerable 24-hour monitoring of intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.

Kaweh Mansouri, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues conducted a study of 40 patients suspected of having or previously diagnosed with glaucoma. Over two separate 24-hour sessions, the researchers found that adverse reactions included blurred vision (82%), conjunctival hyperemia (80%) and superficial punctate keratitis (15%).

The test results seemed to be easily reproduced when repeated in the short-term. A complete summary of the study is available in the August 2012 issue of Ophthalmology.

Barometer of Global Eye Health Results Released
Bausch + Lomb released the results of a new public opinion global survey of 11,000 consumers across 26 countries. According to the data, less than one-third of those polled take basic steps to preserve eyesight and just 21% have had regular eye exams in the past five years. Of those who do not have regular exams, 65% said they did not visit an eye doctor because they did not have any symptoms and 60% said they already had clear vision.

In a survey of eye care practitioners, 97% believe consumers do not have sufficient eye care knowledge. Women were more likely to take better care of their eyes than men, and married people were more likely to have had a comprehensive eye exam in the past year than single individuals.
Survey results also confirmed a few popular myths: 44% of those polled believe that they do not need an eye exam unless there is a problem and 42% believe that if they can see, their eyes are healthy. For more information, visit www.bausch.com/barometer.

FDA Approves Glaucoma Implant
The iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass (Glaukos) is the first ab interno glaucoma implant to receive FDA approval. The 1mm device, made of non-ferromagnetic titanium, will be used in conjunction with cataract surgery to lower IOP in adult patients with mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma currently treated with ocular hypotensive medication. It is to be placed into Schlemm’s canal using an inserter and intraoperative gonioscopy. For more information, visit www.glaukos.com.