Alcon, Inc. has launched a new patient education and retention communication program for eye care professionals called eyeVIP. The web based program provides eye care professionals with a communication tool to service their patients' eye care needs.
     Alcon has created this program to make it easier for eye care professionals to reach out to their patients with helpful information on eye health. One of the goals of the eyeVIP program is to help doctors improve patient compliance with their lens care while building relationships with their patients. The eyeVIP program reminds patients to care for their contact lenses and glasses properly, notifies patients of physician practice promotions, including valuable coupons and special offers, and reminds patients of scheduled eye exams.
     Alcon will make this patient education program available to all eye care professional offices as a public service with no cost to the practice. Eye care professionals can receive additional information and enroll in the program through their Alcon sales representative and at the upcoming annual Southern Council of Optometrists (SECO) convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

As an authorized manufacturing and distribution partner of the patented So₂Clear Corneal Scleral lens design from Dakota Sciences, Art Optical has just introduced a presbyopic option to the successful large diameter platform.
     So₂Clear Progressive is a center-near multifocal option featuring customizable add powers and zone sizes. By reducing lid interaction, the revolutionary design combines the comfort characteristics of a soft lens with the optical quality of a GP lens, according to the company.
     The lens is fit by using the So₂Clear standard diagnostic set and simply specifying the spectacle add.    
     For a limited time the company is offering the complete So₂Clear diagnostic system, which includes both standard and aspherical cone diagnostic sets, for 50% off the regular price of $400. The aspherical cone set is a recommended starting point for cases of nipple or advanced oval keratoconus but is not available in the presbyopic option at this time.
     Art Optical manufactures the So₂Clear family of lenses exclusively in Boston XO and Boston XO2 materials. The lenses can be purchased with a risk-free warranty that provides two refits per eye and full cancellation privileges. For more information, contact Art Optical Contact Lens, Inc. at 800-253-9364 or visit www.artoptical.com.

Eye care practitioners who have practice websites may find it challenging to rank high in the list of webpage results generated by Google and other search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one key to building an online presence. Ultimately this can help generate new patients for the practice. Prospective patients who search for terms, such as "eye doctor San Diego," will more likely find a practice website if it ranks well in search engines for those terms. 
     The AllAboutVision.com Starter Guide to Search Engine Optimization discusses practical techniques for optimizing optometric websites for key terms. The guide explains the basics of SEO and demonstrates how doctors or their webmasters can improve their sites' rankings. Other tips include how to rank well in Google Local Business results, which practices without websites can utilize as well.
     The guide is a complimentary service from AllAboutVision.com, whose own site served more than nine million visitors in 2009. Other free services for ECPs from AllAboutVision.com include a website hit counter and listings in the site's Eye Care Practitioner Directory, used by an average of 7,000 people each month. 
     To download the SEO guide, register for the directory or learn more about AllAboutVision.com, please visit www.allaboutvision.com/ecp/.

The newly formed Scleral Lens Education Society (SLS) is a non-profit organization committed to teaching contact lens practitioners the science and art of fitting all designs of scleral contact lenses for the purpose of managing corneal irregularity and ocular surface disease. SLS supports public education that highlights the benefits and availability of scleral contact lenses.
     Eye care professionals who register on the society's website (www.sclerallens.org) will be able to take advantage of numerous educational resources and participate in an online forum to present cases or ask questions. Updated workshops will also be listed on the website's homepage. For additional information, please contact Greg DeNaeyer at gdenaeyer@arenaeyesurgeons.com.

Exciting news about 1·DAY ACUVUE® MOIST® Brand Contact Lenses with LACREON™ Technology - Click Here!

ACUVUE®, 1·DAY ACUVUE® MOIST®, LACREON(tm), and VISTAKON® are trademarks of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
©Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. 2010.

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Ralph Stone, PhD was honored with the Dr. Leonard Bronstein Memorial Award which was presented at the recent Bronstein Contact Lens Seminar in Scottsdale, AZ. Dr. Stone was co-recipient with LENSCO. (We reported on the LENSCO award in last week's Contact Lenses Today.)  
     Ralph Stone holds a PhD in Chemistry and has spent more than 25 years in the ophthalmic industry. Dr. Stone has been a leader in the development of care systems for contact lenses and a part of the teams that developed ReNu MPS, Complete MPS, Opti-Free Express and Opti-Free Replenish MPDS. Dr. Stone authored the classification system for lenses (Groups 1-4) still used today for testing conventional soft hydrogel lenses and care systems. He has also contributed numerous publications and posters expanding our knowledge of contact lenses and their care.

Optometry Giving Sight is challenging optometrists globally to help fund the establishment of 10 vision centers in developing countries in the first half of 2010. As part of its 'Say YEStoday for a better tomorrow' campaign, the new centers will give sight to at least 300,000 people in need. 
     Many of these people are parents who cannot see to work. Others are children who are missing out on an education because they cannot see the chalkboard or read a school book. The reason for their poor vision is simply uncorrected refractive error; an eye exam and pair of glasses is all they need to enable them to see clearly.
     Establishing a vision center in a developing community involves more than simply finding or constructing a building; it involves creating and equipping suitable exam rooms, providing access to a fully-equipped optical lab where low cost spectacles can be prepared and supplied, and most importantly training the vision technicians and optometrists needed to support these centers. All of this costs less than US $90,000.
     There are many ways that optometrists and optical professionals, their staffs, patients and the optical industry can raise funds to establish these vision centers. Individuals can become regular donors or make a donation, or practices can invite patients to make a $5 donation and "buy a brick." A poster of a vision center is provided where patients can place their personalized "brick." 
     "There is no time like the present for all of us in the optical community to step up and make a difference," commented Moes Nasser, OD, a Texas optometrist taking part in the campaign. "I am urging others to join me by saying YEStoday to provide a better tomorrow for 300,000 people."
     For more information contact Optometry Giving sight at usa@givingsight.org, canada@givingsight.org, or visit www.givingsight.org.

WVA has released product scanning software (WVA Scan) that allows eye care professionals and their staff to reorder product as it leaves their inventory.
     "WVA Scan was designed to assist ECPs in every aspect of managing their trials and inventory, saving doctors and staff significant time and money," says Christopher Fait, VP of sales at WVA.
     WVA Scan software comes with a portable and easy-to-use scanner the size of a keyless car entry remote. Once product is scanned, the information is stored in the scanner until the ECP is ready to create an order. Plugging the scanner into the computer and starting the WVA Scan software sends the order to WVA's web site where the doctor or staff can log on and edit, cancel or submit the order.
     WVA is both a buying group and a fully authorized distributor for all major contact lens manufacturers. For more information on WVA, go to www.wisvis.com.

Menicon Co., Ltd. announces the expansion of Optimed products in the Asian market by becoming the exclusive distributor in Japan and Taiwan. Menicon will offer eye care professionals in Asia the opportunity to grow their practices using Optimed's CAPTIV8online communication service and i-Vue WEB content driven digital signage software.
     CAPTIV8online is a web-based 3D animation communication software that can be used chair side in order to upgrade and enhance communication with patients. i-Vue WEB is commercial grade digital signage software that is powered by Optimed's 3D animations. It offers practitioners the ability to display 'live' news and weather feeds in order to present high quality information at the point of purchase.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) play many important roles in human biology, affecting organ systems and cellular and intracellular function. Omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs are the precursors of eicosanoids, locally acting hormones involved in mediating inflammatory processes. It is largely via the production of these eicosanoids that the essential fatty acids influence human health and disease. In general, the omega-3 derived eicosanoids are anti-inflammatory while the n-6 pathway eicosanoids promote inflammation. To date, EFAs have been primarily studied with regard to systemic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease. Currently, no dietary recommendations of EFAs for the prevention or treatment of eye disease exist. The majority of studies concerning EFAs and eye disease have focused on diseases of the retina.
     This article provides an overview of the current literature regarding EFAs and dry eye disease (DED). Eight studies were identified, including six randomized controlled trials. All the studies preliminarily confirmed that there is a relationship between EFA supplementation and improvement in DED. However, according to the authors, strong conclusions cannot be made yet because of limitations in the research reported. The role of essential fatty acids is an important topic that would benefit from a large, multicenter, randomized clinical trial powered to reach a conclusion regarding the efficacy of essential fatty acids in the treatment of dry eye disease.
Rosenberg ES, Asbell PA. Essential Fatty acids in the treatment of dry eye. Ocul Surf;8:18-28.

The Global Specialty Lens Symposium took place last week in Las Vegas, NV. It was a fantastic meeting with over 400 in attendance. As is typical, we'll print an upcoming overview of the meeting in Contact Lens Spectrum. We will also be asking some of the presenters to consider contributing more detailed articles so that we can bring you the most current information on these important contact lens topics.
Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: a review of the potential uses, efficacy, safety and clinical performance of antimicrobial contact lens technology.