CONTACT LENSES TODAY
September 9, 2007
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Carla Mack and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week
CLToday® reaches more than 12,000 readers in 74 countries.
WaveTouch Completes Marco 3D Analyzer Certification
WaveTouch Technologies has completed certification of the Marco 3D Wave Analyzer as an in-office
aberrometer to be used for production of the company’s individualized WaveTouch soft contact lenses. The lenses are manufactured
using patient aberrometry readings of lower- and higher-order aberrations. After the initial assessment, the aberrometry readings
are taken again over a specially designed acquisition lens that the company says yields lens positioning and refractive data for
each patient. The information is then transferred to the company, which manufactures the individualized lenses and sends them back
to the fitting practitioner.
AOA Releases Survey Results
The American Optometric Association (AOA) Paraoptometric Section has released the results of a
Practice Efficiencies survey conducted in January 2007. The survey, provided through an educational grant from Vistakon, included
the responses of 712 O.D.s. Of those, 87% designated themselves as self-employed and 13% designated themselves as employed by others.
Nearly 77% were in solo practice or a small group. Key findings include:- The average
number of personnel per office in 2006 was 7.8, performing a variety of duties.
- Approximately 44% of respondents said at least
some of their staff was certified. On average, they reported employing 2.9 certified staff members.
- Nearly 92% provided
in-office training for non-optometric staff; 98% provided on-the-job training and 43% provided for staff to participate in state
optometric/paraoptometric association training, with 52% paying for staff certification and 70% paying for staff to attend related
continuing education courses.
- One-third of respondents provided time off for continuing education and 45% provided paid time
off.
- A majority of participants, 85%, are interested in learning how to effectively utilize staff; 63% preferred to receive
such training at state meetings and 50% would like to see related online CE.
- In terms of compensation, 19% of respondents paid
non-O.D. staff $25,001 to $30,000 in annual base salary and 18% paid between $22,501 and $25,000 per year. On average, O.D.s paid
employees for 11 vacation days, three sick days and two days of personal leave; close to two-thirds offered health/medical insurance
benefits.
Home Eye Safety Awareness Month
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says in 2006, more than 219,000 Americans went to the ER
for treatment of eye injuries and more than half of those injuries occurred in the home, more than any other location. In an effort to
encourage the public to make protecting their sight a priority, Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has declared September Home Eye Safety
Awareness month.
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Global Keratoconus Congress 2008
Contact Lens Spectrum and the LWW Health Care Conference Group will host the second Global
Keratoconus Congress (GKC), January 25-27, 2008, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. As with the 2007 meeting, the 2008
congress will include information for vision care professionals in all disciplines, with both surgical and non-surgical treatment
options. GKC 2008 will also feature 15 new speakers providing hands-on workshops, strategies for irregular astigmatism and expert
insights into fitting after surgery and corneal trauma. More than 500 participants attended the 2007 meeting, which was accredited
for continuing education under COPE, NCLE and JCAHPO and offered 17.5 credit hours. Those interested in attending the 2008 Global
Keratoconus Congress can visit http://www.GKCongress.com for more information or to register
for this unique meeting. Companies interested in exhibiting should contact Heather Seasholtz at 215-643-8073.
--ADVERTISING
Give Sight, Give Hope
Join the World Sight Day Challenge on October 11, 2007. Optometry Giving Sight hopes practitioners will
help give sight to the millions in need by: donating exam fees on World Sight Day, signing up for a regular monthly donation of $25,
$50 or $100, and asking patients to add $5 to their invoices in October. Visit
www.givingsight.org.
--ADVERTISING
VCA Offers Eye Safety Kits
Vision Council of America’s (VCA) Check Yearly. See Clearly. Campaign and the National Association
for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) have partnered to distribute eye safety kits. The kit includes a poster highlighting the
dos and don’ts of emergency eye care treatment as well as a fact sheet, “Help Protect Your Child’s Vision,” that educators can copy
an distribute to parents. More than 20,000 kits were distributed to NASPE members and physical education teachers. VCA says in one
week, it has received hundreds of requests for additional eye safety kits. For more information or to obtain a copy, visit
www.checkyearly.com.
Abstract: Long-Lost GP Lens Causes Keratitis
Researchers at Gartnavel General Hospital’s Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology in Glasgow, Scotland
recently reported a case of peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK) associated with a hard contact lens retained in the superior fornix
for over 16 years. PUK consists of a crescent-shaped destructive inflammation of the perilimbal corneal stroma.
After
investigators removed the embedded CL, they performed a superior forniceal conjunctival pedicle graft to prevent corneal perforation.
Postoperative management included topical steroids and antibiotics. Systemic immunosuppressive therapy was not necessary in this
patient.
They conclude that micro-trauma and micro-keratitis may have occurred as a result of the mechanical
effect of the CL. However, they also note that if this was the sole mechanism, earlier presentation would be expected, leading
researchers to believe pathogenetic mechanisms may have contributed to the development of this ulceration. They also say this report
highlights the importance of lid eversion when examining patients with anterior segment pathology.
Bhatt PR, Lam FC, Roberts F,
Ramaesh K. Peripheral ulcerative keratitis due to a ‘long lost’ hard contact lens. Clic Experiment Ophthalmol. 2007
Aug;35(6):550-2.
Editor's Commentary:
Caring for the Contact Lens Case
Several readers have recently asked about the proper way to care for a contact lens case in light of
the recent Acanthamoeba infections and the association with water. I opened three MPS starter kits and read through the package
instructions in full. To get to the instructions printed on the inside of the boxes, I had to completely tear apart all three packages
to read the instructions printed on the inside. I would encourage all of you to do this if you have not done so recently. One box was
particularly difficult to open and I ripped through the portion pertaining to how to maintain a clean case. Two of the solutions recommended
rinsing the case with the solution and allowing the case and caps to air dry. The third advised recapping after rinsing with solution
(this was CibaVision's Aquify MPS, which comes with the Pro-Guard lens case that releases silver ions when exposed to moisture
providing antimicrobial activity). While it is important to know the specifics of the package information, we must be vigilant with
our recommendations.
Carla Mack, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Notes to the Editor:
TSA-Approved Solution
CLToday received the following responses to Dr. Mack’s commentary on travel-sized solutions in
the August 26 edition of CLToday:
·
B&L has made a 2oz. ReNu MultiPlus retail package available specifically to assure that TSA requirements may be easily
met by travelers (avoiding any need to engage in a discussion with TSA personnel while passing through security lines about TSA
guidelines).
Chris Snyder, O.D., M.S., Director Professional Relations, B&L
·
We wanted to let you know that Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) has a travel size for COMPLETE that has been available
to the public in retail stores for the past couple of years. It is called the "COMPLETE Active Pack" and conforms to 3oz. and under
travel restriction for solutions.
Mike Cox, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Eye Care, North America, AMO.
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org review the
discussion of whether SH lenses have solved the problems seen in daily wear, and read about fitting SH lenses to myopic presbyopes.
Differences in tear volume with low and high water content SH and hydrogel lenses are revealed in this month’s poster.
Report adverse contact lens reactions here:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ or call (800)
FDA-1088.
Send your favorite tips to tips@cltoday.com -- if your
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