• Vistakon announced the U.S. launch of 1-Day Acuvue Moist for Astigmatism, a daily disposable soft toric contact lens for individuals with astigmatism. The product features a proprietary Blink Stabilized design, which harnesses the natural pressures of a blinking eye to help keep the lens in place and quickly realign the lens if it rotates out of position. It uses the Lacreon technology to embed a water-holding ingredient into the etafilcon A material of the lens. For more information, visit www.jnjvisioncare.com.
• Bausch + Lomb is expanding the range of powers of its PureVision2 For Astigmatism line of contact lenses. The first wave, on March 1, extended the sphere powers offered from plano to -9.00D (0.50D steps above -6.00D) and cylinder powers of -0.75D, -1.25D, -1.75D and -2.25D in 10° increments around the clock. The second wave, planned for May 1, will increase plus powers to +6.00D (0.25D steps) and the entire range will be available in the same four cylinder powers. For more information, visit www.purevision2.com.
• OcuSoft, Inc. and Essentia Pharma, LLC will jointly introduce and market the OcuSoft Lens Care System, a three-in-one system that deep cleans, stores and disinfects with 3% hydrogen peroxide. The system also has a lubricating agent and no added preservatives. For more information, visit www.ocusoft.com.
• Allergan announces the launch of Refresh Optive Advanced, a new over-the-counter artificial tear option for patients suffering from dry eye. This product is a lipid-enhanced tear with the low blur and comfort of an aqueous tear. It features a triple-action formulation to reduce tear evaporation, hydrate and lubricate for dry eye symptom relief, the company says. For more information, visit www.refreshbrand.com.
ABO Accepts 281 New Diplomates
The American Board of Optometry (ABO) said that of the 297 active candidates completing the November-December 2011 examination, 281 (94.6%) were successful in becoming diplomates. This group represents 42 states across the country. All new diplomates will be added to the listing of board-certified optometrists on the ABO website.
The Board will discuss low participation in the pediatrics/binocular vision/vision therapy and vision rehabilitation/low vision/neuro-ophthalmic rehabilitation areas of emphasis. For more information, visit www.americanboardofoptometry.org.
VTI Introduces Single Universal Add Lens
Visioneering Technologies Inc. (VTI) announces the development of a new approach to contact lenses for presbyopia. The new design uses a single universal add, which the company says will simplify the patient fitting process for both practitioners and patients.
In a marketplace study conducted by Jobson Optical Research in November 2011, more than 77% of 262 eye care professionals stated that they would increase the number of presbyopic patient fittings with contact lenses if offered a single “universal add” multifocal control lens design.
According to Sally Dillehay, O.D., VTI’s vice-president of Clinical and Regulatory, the lens delivers up to four diopters of equivalent near power covering the near vision requirements of most presbyopic patients with add power between +0.75D and +3.50D. The single universal add allows practitioners to fit the contact lens like a distance-only lens.
Clinical testing conducted by VTI reports that up to 90% of patients may be fitted successfully the first time with the single universal add lens design. For more information, visit www.vtivision.com.
Heidelberg’s Spectralis Receives FDA Clearance
Heidelberg Engineering GmbH announces FDA clearance for the new Spectralis Anterior Segment Module (ASM). The ASM provides high-resolution images of cornea, anterior chamber angle and sclera by using Heidelberg’s Noise Reduction technology for enhanced detail. Clinicians can assess both chamber angles at the same time using a 16mm-wide angle-to-angle OCT scan. For more information,
visit
www.heidelbergengineering.com.
Dispatch: San Diego Specialty Contact Lens Symposium
This past February 24-26, the San Diego Specialty Contact Lens Symposium hosted its second annual event with record attendance from 24 states and 11 countries. Eye care practitioners traveled from as far as Saudi Arabia, India, Australia and China to benefit from the 20 hours of lecture and 32 hours of industry-sponsored workshops.
The 2012 symposium featured basic and advanced course blocks, including a five-hour session on keratoconus options featuring Ed Boshnick, O.D., Dianne Anderson, O.D., Robert Gordon, O.D., Greg DeNaeyer, O.D., and Barry Eiden, O.D., Ph.D., who lectured on corneal gas-permeable lenses, hybrid lenses, tandem lens systems, scleral lenses and custom soft lenses respectively.
Christine Sindt, O.D., Dr. DeNaeyer and Muriel Schornack, O.D., represented the Scleral Lens Education Society as they provided state-of-the-art education and training on the full continuum of large diameter lenses and their multiple clinical applications for the irregular cornea and ocular surface disease.
Jeffery Walline, O.D., Cary Herzberg, O.D., Nick Despotidis and Michael Lipson, O.D., spoke on corneal reshaping and refractive error regulation, and case management for children and adolescents. The presbyopia block was lead by Tom Quinn, O.D. and Dr. Lipson.
Dr. Eiden presented on custom silicone hydrogel lenses and provided the attendees with excellent tools to incorporate the newest additions to the specialty contact lens armament. Dr. Anderson presented on technology-driven contact lens prescribing.
Jerry Legerton, O.D., M.S., M.B.A., closed the lecture series with a comprehensive overview of smart contact lenses. He discussed strategies for using wavefront aberrometers for optimizing vision with currently available lenses, methods for using auto-refractors for peripheral refraction and the role of peripheral refraction in lens selection.
Clark Chang, O.D., Renee Reeder, O.D., Peter Wilcox, O.D., Peggy Achenbach, O.D., and Doug Becherer, O.D., joined the symposium faculty for industry-sponsored workshops.
Two pre-symposium events complemented the formal program. A four-hour session by Mr. Despotidis, “Supercharge Your Practice,” outlined tools for building a specialty lens practice. In addition, SynergEyes offered a guided tour of its facility.
The San Diego County Optometric Society first envisioned the symposium in 2010 to fill the need for increased clinical expertise in the area of specialty contact lenses. There was a desire to provide a forum to provide a clinical “how to” approach for optometrists and their ancillary personnel. Plans for the 2013 meeting are currently underway.
