CONTACT LENSES TODAY

April 28, 2002

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 8,341 readers in 74 countries.

Silicone Hydrogel Lenses Gaining Ground
In less than a year, the number of U.S. eyecare practitioners who say they’re very familiar with silicone hydrogel contact lenses has jumped from 32% to 43%. In addition, 70% of the 348 practitioners responding to a CIBA Vision e-mail survey say they already fit silicone hydrogel lenses; another 22% say they plan to do so in the next 90 days.

Beef Up Your Presentations
Trends in Contact Lenses & Lens Care, a comprehensive industry report, is available as speaker slides from Bausch & Lomb (http://www.bausch.com). Trends features the latest industry data on growth areas in contact lenses as well as analyses of economic trends and changing consumer attitudes and spending patterns.

INTRODUCING RENU MULTIPLUS MULTIPURPOSE SOLUTION
- No Rub Formula. Now, a superior no rub solution eliminates the rub and the worry. The most convenient no rub multipurpose solution regimen that offers your patients superior disinfecting*, intense cleaning and outstanding protein removal. Now your patients can get that "fresh lens" feeling every day without the need to rub. *In FDA/ISO stand-alone testing. --ADVERTISING

AOA to Contribute CE Courses to CLES Meeting
The American Optometric Association will help develop at least 20 hours of COPE-approved continuing education for the first Contact Lens and Eyecare Symposium to be held Jan. 23 to 26, 2003, in Orlando. For information on the meeting, contact Roger Mummert at rogermum@aol.com.

Gelflex Laboratories Expands to U.S.
Gelflex Laboratories, makers of the Triton translating soft bifocal contact lens, announced the opening of its wholly owned subsidiary, Gelflex USA, in Danbury, Conn. Gelflex, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, is owned by Don Ezekial, O.D. The company has terminated its relationship with its previous distributor SciOptic.

Magnetic Fluids Studied for Retina Repair
Injectable magnetic fluids, under development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, may help surgeons repair torn or detached retinas. Adding tiny particles of cobalt or magnetite to silicone-based fluid and then exposing it to an external magnetic field could make repairs easier and more precise, say researchers reporting at the American Chemical Society meeting. (http://www.acs.org).

REGISTER NOW FOR GLOBAL ORTHO-K SYMPOSIUM
The first annual Global Orthokeratology Symposium will take place in Toronto, Canada, from Aug. 9 to 11, 2002. Hosted by Contact Lens Spectrum and the BCI Health Care Conference Group, the symposium will focus on fitting concepts, lens designs and patient management techniques. Sessions will feature clinical outcomes, patient selection, on-eye fittings and an international free paper section. For more information, call (800) 549-3656; e-mail info@healthcareconferencegroup.com; or log on to http://www.healthcareconferencegroup.com. --ADVERTISING

Abstract: Oxygen Transmissibility, Keratitis and Inflammation
Receptors for lectins and probably for Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the surface of the corneal epithelium are exposed in higher numbers in patients wearing low Dk/t contact lenses as compared to high Dk/t lenses. The rate of bacterial keratitis and inflammation, such as sterile infiltrates, seems to be lower with high Dk/t silicone hydrogel lenses. Nilson, SE. Bacterial Keratitis and Inflammatory Corneal Reactions: Possible Relations to Contact Lens Oxygen Transmissibility. The CLAO Journal; 28(2):62-65 (2002).

Editor's Commentary: Give Me a Tip
Our new editorial team is eager to publish your fitting tips and tips on how to manage contact lens patients. Please send your tips to tips@cltoday.com and include your name, profession, and city and state or city and country if you live outside the USA.

Fitting Tip: The Power of Power
Posterior aspheric multifocal GP contact lenses are better than ever and increasingly in demand. As the power gets higher in minus lenses, you may lose “add” in the lens; as the power gets higher in plus, you may gain “add.” Keep this in mind for your high myopes and hyperopes. Also, as the base curve (posterior apical radius) gets steeper, you will have more “add” as well. Of course, this assumes that the manufacturer uses the same eccentricity across the power and base curve range.

Send your favorite tips to tips@cltoday.com -- if your tip is selected as "Best of the Month," you'll receive a free golf shirt (see http://www.CLToday.com for details). Please include your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.

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