SynergEyes, Inc. has expanded parameters for its Duette HD lens, the company’s high-performance contact lens for astigmatic patients. Parameters are now available in 0.1mm increments to facilitate even more precise alignment fitting and optimal centration.

SynergEyes also has expanded its doctor resources with the release of seven video tutorials for Duette HD, which complement its Duette Progressive videos. The Duette HD videos, each only a few minutes in length, are available through the “Video Tutorials” link on the homepage of www.synergeyes.com/professional. The step-by-step tutorials cover: lens design, lens calculator, fitting guide, lens dispensing, optimizing fit, optimizing vision and optimizing patient compliance.

Combining exceptional GP optics with SoftCushion comfort technology, Duette HD provides crisp, clear, consistently stable high-performance vision for patients, especially those with astigmatism, according to the company. The UV-blocking lens also features an 84 Dk silicone hydrogel skirt around the 130 Dk center. A patient’s initial pair of Duette HD lenses can be designed empirically based on a refraction and corneal curvature measurements.

Want to connect with new patients and clients? Clompus Consulting Group, LLC is offering a unique opportunity to share your passion for serving others and connect with potential patients visiting your website - using your own voice. The company has created a short video to explain the concept which can be viewed here: http://www.clompusconsulting.com. The site also offers additional information on the company and its services.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. rebranded its i-Lid Cleanser with Neutrox as Avenova with Neutrox. This name change, effective immediately, helps NovaBay to differentiate prescription Avenova from other products marketed as eye cleaners, in particular over-the-counter (OTC) products not intended for continuous daily use.

Avenova is the only eye care product to contain Neutrox, NovaBay’s pure hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which is a naturally occurring substance produced by white blood cells to fight microbial invaders. According to the company, laboratory tests show it has potent antimicrobial activity in solution yet is non-toxic to mammalian cells; it also neutralizes bacterial toxins.

Avenova was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a prescription medical device through the 510(k) process. As previously announced, NovaBay signed a distribution agreement with McKesson Corporation, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America, making Avenova available to the 45,000 pharmacies it services across the U.S. In addition, Avenova is now available to the members of the Vision Source Independent Optometry Network.

The Lectures and Workshops Committee of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) invites you to submit courses in consideration for the Academy meeting in New Orleans 2015. The submission window will remain open until 5:00 PM ET on February 2, 2015 (Monday). Please note that due to the large number of submissions, the Academy cannot consider any courses submitted after the deadline.

In particular the Academy encourages the submission of new and innovative courses as well as novel course topics so that the AAO may continue to offer a cutting-edge and original educational program. Please also keep in mind the Grand Rounds sessions, in which unusual or enlightening case reports are discussed in a 17-minute format.

Guidelines for course submission and the submission forms can be found at www.aaopt.org/Academy2015/Courses.

The Optometric Society is sponsoring a video contest open to all optometry students. There is currently a company promoting online refraction which would result in a glasses and or contact lens prescription. While the Society is all for new technology and innovation, the online refraction would not be accompanied by an eye health exam. A recommendation to get an eye health exam would be made, with the prescription already given. No one under 18 and over 40 years old, or with pre-existing medical conditions (diabetes, hypertension, known eye disease, etc.) would be allowed to take an online eye exam. However, serious ocular and systemic diseases can be first diagnosed between the ages of 18-40. This is a golden opportunity to communicate the value of optometric care to the public.

In the Optometric Society’s video contest, the group is looking for a fun, simple, and effective way to communicate the importance of comprehensive eye care and the risks associated with online eye exams. This could be a patient interview, or your discussion of an important patient case, or a spoof on the online exam. Be creative!

Optometry Student Video Contest Rules:

1. Contestant must be a student enrolled in a “Doctor of Optometry” program at any accredited optometry school in the United States. Two or more students can participate in a single video entry.
2. Video must be 5 minutes or less.
3. Videos will be displayed on The Optometric Society’s website, www.theoptometricsociety.org as part of the Society’s public service campaign.
4. Judges will be The Optometric Society’s Board of Directors.
5. Prizes: 1st: $100; 2nd: $75; and 3rd: $50. All winners will be acknowledged in a future edition of The Optometric Society’s newsletter.
6. Contest starts on January 1, 2015 and ends on February 15, 2015.
7. No specific company shall be named in the video.
8. Video must be original, created by the optometry student or students.
9. Submit Videos to email: contest@theoptometricsociety.org.

We thank Boris Severinsky for this image and we welcome photo submissions from our other readers! It is easy to submit a photo for consideration for publishing in Contact Lenses Today. Simply visit http://www.cltoday.com/upload/upload.aspx to upload your image. Please include an explanation of the photo and your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.

Errata
Last week’s Clinical Image of Corneal Haze on an Epi-Off Post CXL Case was attributed to the incorrect practitioner. The image was submitted by Dr. Jaime Ibanez of Villavicencio, Columbia. We apologize for the error and thank Dr. Ibanez for sending his images.

Contact lenses provide our patients clarity of vision and the freedom from glasses. Occasionally contact lens designs or materials can be used for additional purpose. One instance of beyond sight design comes from orthokeratology. Although not FDA approved for myopia control, orthokeratology has been shown in several studies to reduce the progression of myopia. An incredible opportunity for the countless parents of adolescence who come in requesting a change from what is ordinary. Are you offering this to your patients? If not, perhaps it is time to bring orthokeratology into your office. There are several systems that streamline the process making it easier than ever to perform. Make one of your New Year’s resolutions to go beyond sight with your contact lens options.

A Scientific Poster from the recent American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting, “Factors in the success of new contact lens (CL) wearer retention,” by Anna Sulley, BSc, MCOptom, FAAO; Graeme Young, PhD, FCOptom, FAAO; and Chris Hunt, MSc, presents data on when and why new contact lens wearers discontinue wearing their lenses.

Of 534 patients at 29 sites throughout the United Kingdom, 74% were still wearing contact lenses after 12 months. Of the 136 lapsed wearers, one in four (25%) discontinued during the first 30 days and almost half (47%) within 60 days. The most common reasons for discontinuation included poor vision (32%), discomfort (17%) and difficulty with handling (15%). In 32% of the cases, the reason for drop-out was unknown.

Significant factors in the likelihood of discontinuing CL wear included: subject age (older), sphere power (lower) and lens design. For 71% of the drop-outs, no alternative lens or strategy was attempted by the practitioner.

This information could be beneficial to clinicians seeking to improve their patients’ retention rate, particularly in the first 60 days of lens wear.

A Novel Lid Seal Evaluation: The Korb-Blackie Light Test

The researchers want to develop a clinical method to qualitatively evaluate whether a compromised moisture seal is possible even when the lids are apparently closed and to compare these findings with symptoms of ocular discomfort on awakening.

Patients (n=116) were fully consented and enrolled. The Korb-Blackie lid-light evaluation was performed by placing a transilluminator against the relaxed, closed, outer upper eyelids of semi-reclined patients. The amount of visible light emanating from the lid area between the lashes was quantified on a scale of 0 to 3, where 0=no light, 1=minimal, 2=moderate, and 3=severe for temporal, central, and nasal sections of the eyelids. Eye discomfort on awakening was quantified on a scale of 0 to 2 (0=no discomfort, 1=mild, and 2=significant discomfort).

Data are presented for right eyes only. The mean age of the patients was 52.6±16.8 years. The central lid section had a positive lid-light score (54.3%), significantly more frequently than the nasal (37.9%) or temporal (21.6%) lid sections (P<0.0001). Patients with a positive lid-light evaluation were significantly more likely to have symptoms of discomfort on awakening (P<0.0001).

The researchers concluded that light emanating from between "closed" lids during the Korb-Blackie lid-light evaluation is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort on awakening. These symptoms of discomfort may be linked to the inability of the lids to achieve an adequate seal to prevent subtle ocular surface desiccation during sleeping.

Blackie CA, Korb DR. A Novel Lid Seal Evaluation: The Korb-Blackie Light Test. Eye Contact Lens. 2014 Dec 10. [Epub ahead of print]