The American Board of Optometry (ABO) announced its intention to appoint a quality assurance team to assist in reviewing promotional and educational materials and to ensure the new organization continues to gather input from the profession.
     "The ABO Board represents a wide cross-section of the profession," said David Cockrell, OD, ABO chairman of the Board. "As we begin to roll out the board certification program, we want to have as wide a range of opinions and as broad a base of experience as possible to make the program the best it can be."
     The ABO will be selecting team members in the coming weeks. Among their first assignments will be reviewing existing and proposed promotional materials to ensure they are clear and reflect the profession's intent. Since the ABO began accepting applications for board certification on April 30, some have expressed concern that the site initially had promotional statements that could be misconstrued as divisive or were confusing. According to Dr. Cockrell, having the quality assurance team will help the new organization refine its messaging to accurately meet the expectations of the profession.
     A completely online application at www.americanboardofoptometry.org allows candidates to start the process toward becoming an Active Candidate for board certification. Through the ABO's partnership with CE City, the application process is as automated as possible, streamlining the primary source verification of the credentials that are required to reach Active Candidate status. Those who are registered will be able to log in to their personal portal to determine when the verification process is complete. Later this summer, the portal will allow Active Candidates to begin entering information to fulfill the 150-point Post-Graduate Requirements needed for eligibility to take the board certification examination next year.

The AOA (American Optometric Association) Foundation recently appointed Howard Purcell, OD, as a member of the Optometry's Fund for Disaster Relief committee, which provides immediate financial aid to optometrists who have experienced the effects of a natural disaster. Dr. Purcell is currently Vice President of Customer Development, Essilor of America, Inc.
     Optometry's Fund for Disaster Relief was established in response to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Since the fund's inception, more than $427,000 has been granted to optometrists affected by a natural disaster. Because the frequency, intensity and extent of damage caused by natural disasters cannot be predicted, Optometry's Fund for Disaster Relief aspires to have sufficient funds to meet the needs of eligible optometrists each time a natural disaster occurs
Mild weather conditions fortunately kept natural disasters at a minimum in 2009. Donors contributed more than $35,000 to the fund. Six requests for assistance were received, and two $2,000 grants were awarded.
     To make an online donation to Optometry's Fund for Disaster Relief, please visit www.optometryscharity.org. 

Allergan, Inc. announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zymaxid (gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution) 0.5%, a topical fluoroquinolone anti-infective indicated for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis caused by susceptible strains of the following organisms: Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mitis group, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus pneumonia. Zymaxid is now the highest concentration gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution on the market in the United States.
     As reported by the company, the efficacy of Zymaxid ophthalmic solution was assessed in two multicenter, double-masked, randomized dual-arm comparison studies involving 1,437 patients receiving either Zymaxid or vehicle. In the clinical studies, the efficacy of Zymaxid was defined as complete clearance of conjunctival hyperaemia and conjunctival discharge, and when all bacterial species present at baseline were eradicated. Results of these studies demonstrated that at Day six, complete clearance of conjunctival hyperaemia and conjunctival discharge was achieved in 58 percent of patients (193/333) treated with Zymaxid ophthalmic solution compared to 45 percent (148/325) in the vehicle group.
     Zymaxid is expected to be available in the United States in June 2010.

SECO 2011 will take place March 2-6, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally, SECO International published the dates for next year's meeting as February 9-13. But after receiving significant feedback from its survey in February and March that indicated a need to move the meeting to late February or early March, SECO responded immediately and worked with the Georgia World Congress Center to change the dates.
     "Many attendees and exhibitors shared with us that a March meeting would accommodate their schedules better and ensure greater participation," said Dr. Ron Bannister, President of SECO International.
     The 88th SECO International Meeting also will move to Building C of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Located on the opposite side of the GWCC, Building C is the newest addition to the facility and opened its doors in 2002. This building offers 420,000 square feet of exhibit space, 29 additional meeting rooms and a large ballroom overlooking a 3.6-acre landscaped plaza.

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--ADVERTISING

Charlesbank Capital Partners and H.I.G. Capital announced that TLCVision has officially emerged from Chapter 11 as a newly reorganized, private company. In accordance with the company's Plan of Reorganization, confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on May 6, 2010, affiliates of Charlesbank and H.I.G. have acquired substantially all the assets of the company, including 100% of the equity of TLC USA and the Company's six refractive centers in Canada.
     James B. Tiffany, President and Chief Executive Officer of TLCVision, stated, "This is an exciting day for TLCVision. We have successfully completed our financial restructuring in just five months, and we exit Chapter 11 with a healthier balance sheet and an improved cost structure. We look forward to teaming with our new partners, Charlesbank and H.I.G. With their involvement, we are now better positioned both competitively and financially to take advantage of opportunities within our markets and to achieve our true growth potential."
     Continued Mr. Tiffany, "I want to thank our employees, who worked tirelessly during the reorganization process to ensure our success, and our surgeons and over 5,000 optometrists, who continue to support TLC. Lastly, I offer a special thanks to our outgoing directors and advisors for their valuable guidance and encouragement throughout the process."

The acquisition of DAC International by new owners was finalized on April 30, 2010. DAC International is a leading manufacturer of lens production equipment and software for the contact and intraocular lens industries, and recently DAC broadened its product offering to include a spectacle lens surfacing system and specialty lens software. The new majority owner, American Industries, is an investment company located in Portland, Oregon.
     Over the past nine months, American Industries has been working with DAC International's management team to facilitate growth and the acquisition of new technology. American Industries fully supports the existing management team, led by President, Jim Drain, and the direction they have established.

International Vision Expo announced the creation of Virtual Vision Expo, an online extension of the company's physical trade shows held in New York City and Las Vegas. This new online platform will allow eye care professionals to experience the networking and business-building aspects of physical trade shows throughout the year.
     Virtual Vision Expo, which will launch in early November, will include an auditorium for continuing education and training sessions; a networking lounge for one-to-one chats and peer-to-peer networking; an exhibit hall to visit booths, view product presentations and demonstrations, ask questions and place orders. Attendees will also have access to a resource center where they will be able to save presentations, white papers and e-brochures to a virtual brief case. 
     "We're seeing an emerging trend in the trade show industry of virtual trade shows," said Tom Loughran, Vice President for Reed Exhibitions. "Advances in technology have greatly changed the way we do business. Now with just a computer and an internet browser, Virtual Vision Expo will offer eye care professionals the experience of a trade show without the travel costs and time away from the office."
     Registration is set to open shortly after International Vision Expo West. For more information about International Vision Expo, please visit www.visionexpo.com.

Fern Hall has been recognized as the Staff Ambassador of the Year for Vision Source optometry practices by sight charity, Optometry Giving Sight. Fern and husband, Dr. Jeremy Hall, have raised nearly $7,000 for Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) in their optometry practice since 2007.   
     Fern credits her staff and patients with raising such a large amount of funds. "Our staff members wear their OGS World Sight Day shirts each Monday; this simple act promotes conversation about the charity with patients in our practice," said Fern. The practice also holds a trunk show each year and sells raffle tickets to benefit OGS during the event, and donates all profits from contacts lens solutions sales to OGS.
     CEO of OGS in the U.S., Dr. Victor Connors said, "Fern is well deserving of this prestigious award for her unfailing passion to help others. Her leadership has encouraged her peers and patients in the practice to donate and help others with very limited access to vision care, thus enabling those in poverty and despair to have a life of hope and dreams. Fern serves as an inspiration to all of us to reach out and help those less fortunate than ourselves."
     Learn more about Optometry Giving Sight by visiting www.givingsight.org. 

Dynamic Contour Tonometry (DCT) has been shown to measure the intraocular pressure (IOP) independent of corneal physical properties such as thickness, curvature and rigidity. The aim of this study was to find out if DCT remains accurate when it is applied on regularly shaped corneas while a thin, daily hydrogel contact lens (CL) is worn.
     This was a prospective, randomized study and included 46 patients (46 right eyes): 26 females and 20 males. The age varied from 22 to 66 years (mean: 43.0+/-12.70 years). IOP and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) measurements were taken with and without a daily disposable hydrogel CL (-0.50D, Filcon IV) in situ (using the DCT), with a randomized order of measurements.
     The average value for the IOP measurements without CL was 16.51+/-3.20mmHg, and with CL in situ it was 16.10+/-3.10mmHg. The mean difference was 0.41mmHg and not found to be statistically significant (p=0.074). The average value for the OPA measurement without CL was 2.20+/-0.79mmHg. With CL in situ it was 2.08+/-0.81mmHg. This gave a mean difference of 0.11mmHg and was statistically significant (p=0.025). The Bland-Altman plot showed a maximum difference in IOP of +2.44 and -2.00mmHg (CI 0.95). Regarding OPA, the maximum difference was +0.81 and -0.60mmHg (CI 0.95).
     The researchers concluded that the presence of a thin hydrogel CL did not affect the accuracy of IOP measurements using the DCT. The ocular pulse amplitude was measured on average 5.45% lower with a CL in situ.
Nosch DS, Duddek AP, et al. Dynamic Contour Tonometry (DCT) over a thin daily disposable hydrogel contact lens. Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2010.  

One of the things I always hear when lecturing outside of North America are questions as to why the use of daily disposables in the United States and Canada is so low. Data from our International Contact Lens Prescribing Survey (Morgan and coworkers, Contact Lens Spectrum, 2010) do indeed show that North American eyecare practitioners fit amongst the lowest levels of daily disposables in the world (not more than 10% of lens fits). There are some countries that fit over 40% of their patients in daily disposables (e.g., Denmark, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Qatar and Taiwan) and the worldwide frequency of daily disposable lens fits is about 20%. Is it simply a matter of cost? Do North American eyecare practitioners not believe in the potential benefits of disposing a lens so frequently? Or is it something that has to do with the patient? I know that I frequently ask for your thoughts, and this is another topic about which I particularly would like to hear from the readership. Please email directly at jnichols@optometry.osu.edu.
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.