At the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) annual clinical conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom (UK), David Ruston, Director of Professional Affairs for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care UK, Ireland, the Nordics and the Netherlands, announced the expected launch in Autumn 2008 in the UK of the first daily disposable silicone hydrogel. This new lens is called 1-Day Acuvue TruEye. It contains Hydraclear 1 technology, specifically designed for this daily disposable silicone hydrogel. According to the company, Hydraclear 1 is a high molecular weight polyvinyl pyrilodone completely bound within the lens matrix. The new material is narafilcon A with 46% water and a Dk of 100 and Dk/t of 118. The lens will be available in an 8.5mm base curve with a 14.2 mm overall diameter and full Class 1 UV blocking. The modulus is 0.66MPa. The company claims wettability with this new lens is as good as any hydrogel daily disposable lens on the market.

SynergEyes, Inc., the high Dk hybrid contact lens manufacturer, announced that it has received two new patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to the company, one of the new patents pertains to SynergEyes' hybrid contact lens bonding technology and lens design, while the other recognizes SynergEyes' manufacturing and fitting techniques of hybrid contact lenses designed specifically for post-surgical patients.
     Both new patents complement prior patents awarded SynergEyes for its high Dk hybrid contact lens design, per the company. Joe Collins, SynergEyes co-founder and Vice President of Manufacturing and R&D, commented, "SynergEyes, Inc. is dedicated to providing our customers with innovative technology in hybrid contact lenses. These new patents significantly enhance our intellectual property portfolio and represent highly valued strategic assets that distinguish our products in the contact lens industry."

Prevent Blindness America announced the recipients of its 2008 Investigator Awards. The Investigator Awards are research grants awarded to those projects that seek to put an end to unnecessary vision loss and blindness. The winners were chosen by a panel of scientists from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Awards were given to:
     - Reza Dana, M.D., at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, for the research project "Effectiveness and Safety of Topical Bevacizumab (Avastin) for Treatment of Corneal Neovascularization"
     - Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, for the research project "Vision Impairment and Eye Care Utilization Among Older Adults Residing in Assisted Living"
     - Charlotte E. Joslin, O.D., at the University of Illinois at Chicago, for the research project "The Role of the Domestic Water Supply in a Persistent Acanthamoeba Keratitis Outbreak Following a Contact Lens Solution Recall"
     "Supporting research is one of Prevent Blindness America's fundamental core values," said Daniel D. Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America. "Since the Investigator Awards program began five years ago, Prevent Blindness America is proud to have awarded more than $500,000 in grants to those scientists who join us in our belief that research is key to our sight-saving mission."
     The group also declared June as Vision Research Awareness Month to draw attention to the essential part that research has in battling vision loss and eye disease.  

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Nearly 200 optometrists attended the Primary Eyecare Network (PEN) three-day program held earlier this year in Monterey, CA. "Focusing on Expansion and Growth" was the theme of PEN's third forum on Preserving Independent Optometry, titled PIO 2008.
     Strategies for maximizing practice income, as well as growing and marketing a practice, were presented by nationally recognized educators including: Brad Williams, O.D. and Bill Nolan of the Williams Group; Bob Schultz, President and CEO of Vision One Credit Union; Ron Goldman, of the Goldman Law Firm; Dave Ziegler, O.D., F.A.A.O., West Allies, WI; and Tim Fortner, Manager of Trade Development for Transitions.
     PEN provides a broad spectrum of products and services including a variety of practice management and paraoptometric training guidebooks, and a wide selection of optometric office forms. For more information about any PEN product or service call 800-444-9230, email info@PrimaryEye.net or visit www.PrimaryEye.net.

Researchers proposed to investigate changes in epithelial thickness following overnight wear of CRT H RGP lenses for the correction of hyperopia. Twenty subjects wore a +3.50D hyperopic-correcting CRT H lens on one eye for a single night in an attempt to induce myopia (first study). The untreated eye served as control.
     Corneal and epithelial thickness was measured at nine points across the horizontal meridian using OCT. Measurements were obtained the night before lens wear, immediately following lens removal the next morning, and after 1, 3, 6 and 12 hours. Measurements were obtained 28 hours later to observe recovery. The study then evaluated the attempted hyperopic corrections of +1.50D and +3.50D, using CRT H lenses in both eyes of twenty subjects for a single night (second study).
     All values were compared to baseline unless otherwise stated. In the first study, the treated eye's central and mid-peripheral epithelial thickness increased by 21.5 +/- 8.6% and 13.3 +/- 7.6% respectively, after lens removal (p<0.001). The control eye's central epithelial thickness (CET) increased by 7.1 +/- 6.0% (p<0.05). In the second study, CET increased 17.6 +/- 8.5% (p<0.001) in the +3.50D treated eye, compared with 13.3 +/- 4.8% (p<0.001) in the +1.50D treated eye. Mid-peripheral epithelial thickening was 5.9 +/- 4.7% (p<0.05) in the +3.50D treated eye and 6.0 +/- 6.3% (p<0.05) in the +1.50D treated eye.
     The authors concluded that CRT H lenses designed to correct hyperopia, when worn overnight, caused an increase in central epithelial thickness. The amount of epithelial change seemed to differ with modified lens design.
Haque S, Fonn D, Simpson TL, Jones LW. Epithelial thickness changes from the induction of myopia using CRT H RGP contact lenses. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008 Apr 17.

I believe that many spectacle patients would readily convert to full time or at least occasional contact lens wear if they only tried it. When I have a patient that I feel would benefit from contact lenses, I frequently will do one of two things.
     1. If I have dilated the patient, I will have used proparicane before dilation, so I apply a pair of daily disposable lenses or other appropriate trial lenses for the patient to wear while she dilates. The patient feels nothing so I can avoid insertion phobia.
     2. If the patient is simply choosing glasses and not being dilated, I will anesthetize the patient with proparicane and insert dailies which I promise to remove before the patient leaves.
     Of course I inform the patient of what I'm doing, ask permission first and assure her that there is no additional charge. The security of my being there to remove the lenses and the comfort level loaned by the anesthetic allows a surprising number of these patients to try contact lenses.
     I find that many of these patients are very excited by the type of vision contacts give them and ask to schedule a fitting. This not only benefits my practice but also fulfills my responsibility to make sure my patients understand all of the vision correction options open to them.
Dave Todd, O.D.
Hartford, CT

Recently my students listened to a two hour lecture on orthokeratology or corneal reshaping. Then they were able to practice what they learned in the laboratory immediately following by fitting these reverse geometry designs on each other. Many of them were pleasantly surprised by how simple the fitting process seemed after understanding the basics. Several stated this was definitely a lens design they would fit and promote in their practice. One student, who stated that she has not been particularly interested in the specialty designs we've been studying, thoroughly enjoyed this topic. Understanding the lens designs is critical when fitting reverse geometry and any specialty GP lens. However, I think the bigger battle is actually taking the plunge and using these designs in your practice. It is easy to get comfortable with what you know, but when you are willing to try new lens designs, you may discover that it is not as difficult as you thought.
Carla Mack, O.D., F.A.A.O.

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: the latest advancements in silicone hydrogel lenses, complications relating to over wear of hydrogel lenses, the growing popularity of silicone hydrogel lenses on a university campus, and part one of our 2007 AAO update.