• VSP Vision Care members who purchase an annual supply of Bausch + Lomb contact lenses will receive a new rebate starting Nov. 1, 2010. This rebate represents an additional discount on top of the currently offered national rebate program. For more information about the rebate program and to download a copy of the rebate form, visit www.specialoffers.vsp.com/bausch.

• First Insight Corporation announced that MaximEyes SQL Electronic Health Records, Version 1.1.0.0, is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as an EHR Module on Nov. 2, 2010 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT). The certification number is CC-1112-839110-1.

• Inspire has unveiled a new, interactive educational website, “Inspired Icare,” at www.inspiredicare.com. This site offers information about ocular disease states including allergic conjunctivitis, blepharitis and dry eye. Each disease state has the following interactive areas: library with helpful resources and links to journal articles, conference room to discuss common perspectives, auditorium which contains presentations available for download and an exam room with downloadable clinical tools.

• With over 5,800 in attendance, the 2010 American Academy of Optometry San Francisco was the highest attended annual meeting in Academy history. Karla Zadnik, O.D., PhD, was named the new president of the Academy for the next two years. The 2010 AAO meeting inducted 212 new Fellows and awarded three individuals with diplomate status. Next year’s conference will be held from Oct. 12-15, 2011 in Boston. For more information, visit www.aaopt.com.

WHO Announces New Vision Statistics
New preliminary data released by the World Health Association reports that 285.3 million are visually impaired today. This is a 10% reduction in statistics, compared to the 314 million visually impaired in 2004. The IAPB 2010 report—to be published in early 2011—comes at the halfway point of Vision 2020’s goal to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020.

Nearly half of the reported visual impairment cases are due to uncorrected refractive errors—such as nearsightedness—and can be restored with eyeglasses. Blinding diseases such as trachoma and onchocerciasis are high on the target list for global eradiation, but other concerns include cataract, AMD and diabetic retinopathy. For more information, visit www.vision2020.org.

FDA-Approves New Silicone Hydrogel
Contamac’s Definite, a new silicone hydrogel polymer material, has received FDA approval. Several partner laboratories including Art Optical, Metro Optics, Unilens and X-Cel/Walman will begin introducing their own designs of specialty contact lenses using this new technology. Alcon’s Opti-Free Replenish Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution will be featured as the preferred contact lens solution for the rollout.
Definitive has been available globally for nearly two years and has sold 500,000 units prior to FDA clearance.

Air Optix Releases Expanded Parameters
CIBA Vision’s Air Optix for Astigmatism contact lenses has increased its in-stock parameter ranges of silicone hydrogel toric lens, resulting in increased patient coverage from 88% to 99%.

Air Optix for Astigamism lenses are made of lotrafilcon B, and have a Dk/t of 108 @ -3.00D, -1.25D x 180.  They are available from +6.00D to -6.00D in 0.25D steps, with cylinder powers of -0.75D, -1.25D, -1.75D and -2.25D, and from -6.50D to -10.00D in 0.50D steps in -0.75D, -1.25D, -1.75D and -2.25D cylinder powers.  They are available in axes around-the-clock in 10° steps, have a diameter of 14.5mm and a base curve of 8.7mm, and feature a blue visibility handling tint. For more information, visit www.cibavision.com.

B+L Launches PureVision2
Bausch + Lomb announces the launch of PureVision2 contact lenses with High Definition Optics. According to Bausch + Lomb, these new monthly contact lenses—designed to reduce glare and halos—will help overcome several challenges contact lens wearers face including spherical aberration. The lenses are packaged in a solution designed to deliver comfort upon insertion, while providing high levels of oxygen transmissibility during wear, the company says. For more information, visit www.bausch.com.

Abbott Receives FDA Clearance for Next-Generation MPDS
Abbott has received FDA market clearance for the single bottle disinfedtion solution, RevitaLens Ocutec. The company says the key characteristics include the high microorganism kill rate; the ability to remove proteins from the lens surface; effectiveness in killing Acanthamoeba and Fusarium; reduction in corneal straining and minimization of risk of eye complications.

Abbott began retail shipment of RevitaLens Ocutec in the U.S. in October. The product also has CE Mark approval in Europe. For more information, visit www.abbott.com.

Gulden Introduces New Drop Dispenser
Gulden Ophthalmics introduces a new line of eye drop dispensers designed to help patients use their eye drops effectively and help ensure the efficacy of the instilled medication. User ability and accuracy increases, as patients are able to better aim the correct placement of the drop in the eye. The eye piece also holds the upper lid to eliminate the blink reflex problem. The dispensers can be used with almost all round and oval eye drop bottles. For more information, visit www.guldenophthalmics.com.