AccuLens announces the availability of Clarity Plus Extended Add in the patent-pending SureFit GP Delivery System from Paragon Vision Sciences. SureFit provides practitioners a single-use, 2-to-3-lens fitting and dispensing system for Clarity Plus Extended Add, a presbyopic gas permeable design. According to the companies, this new system will ensure a high probability of day 1, first fit success with GPs. The companies further state that the SureFit selection of predetermined and highly predictable lens parameters, offered exclusively in Paragon HDS material, will simplify fitting, minimize chair time and dramatically improve patient convenience by reducing office visits. Practitioners can order Clarity Plus Extended Add in SureFit from AccuLens using corneal, spectacle measurements and pupil diameters.
     "SureFit is on the cutting edge of product fitting philosophy and takes GP fitting to a standardized and simplistic level. With practices forecasting increased profit-per-patient, Clarity Plus Extended Add with the SureFit GP Delivery System provides a seamless way to achieve higher profit margins while minimizing chair time. It's clear, as the GP market focuses on specialty modalities like presbyopia, SureFit will enable a practitioner to meet the demands of the growing specialty GP market in an extremely efficient manner," said Bill Masler, President of AccuLens.
     For additional information, visit www.acculens.com or call 800-525-2470.

As part of its support for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, The Vision Care Institute, LLC (TVCI), a Johnson & Johnson company, and its sister facility in China provided vision care services and contact lenses to athletes, coaches and staff during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympics Games at the Olympic Village Polyclinic, the onsite health center in the Olympic Village.
     According to TVCI, thousands of athletes, coaches and staff visited the Polyclinic during the Olympic Games. In addition to receiving vision care at the Polyclinic, athletes were able to learn more about vision and eye health through educational videos available to them when they passed through the Polyclinic. The videos, developed by Eyemaginations, Inc. of Towson, Maryland, were available in ten different languages so every visitor could learn about the eye care information presented in the videos, such as the importance of routine eye care, the need to protect the eyes from ultraviolet light, and the proper care and benefits of wearing contact lenses.
     The AchieveVision Program was also available to athletes at the Polyclinic. This state-of-the-art program is a customized visual skills assessment and optimizing program designed to help get an athlete's vision in peak condition for his or her specific sport and lifestyle.

CooperVision has added two new free, video-based Continuing Education (CE) courses to its Online Learning Center. The new courses, which review the benefits of 1-Day contact lenses and provide an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of silicone hydrogel material, are being offered in conjunction with the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association (AOA), and can be found at http://learning.coopervision.com.
     The CooperVision Online Learning Center provides practitioners and staff with information on a broad range of topics, from new staff training to fitting advanced lens designs, and offers easy access to CE opportunities in an interactive, video-based format.
     The CooperVision Online Learning Center offers links to accredited prepaid courses available from the AOA and Contact Lens Society of America. It maintains personalized account information that records what courses and tracks have been completed. For more information or to access the CooperVision Online Learning Center, visit http://learning.coopervision.com. 

Research suggests that many toric contact lens wearers are not satisfied with their visual performance. Make your patients' experience satisfying with new ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses for ASTIGMATISM. The latest in toric lenses combines HYDRACLEAR® Plus for all-day comfort with Accelerated Stabilization Design for crisp, clear vision. To learn more, go to jnjvisioncare.com.
Important Safety Information
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Acucela Inc. and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to co-develop Rebamipide ophthalmic suspension (hereinafter, Rebamipide), Otsuka's proprietary compound for the treatment of dry eye which is currently in Phase III clinical development in the United States.
     Under the agreement, the parties will collaborate in the clinical development efforts for Rebamipide in the U.S., with Acucela spearheading the regulatory strategy to gain approval for the product in the U.S. Upon regulatory approval of Rebamipide, the parties may negotiate the terms under which Acucela may co-promote Rebamipide with Otsuka in the U.S. Otsuka shall pay Acucela a cash upfront payment as well as clinical development milestones and a royalty on sales of the product. Otsuka shall be responsible for all clinical development and commercialization expenses.
     According the companies, Rebamipide has a new mechanism of action, which is to increase the level of mucin in the tear covering the conjunctiva and cornea. It is expected to be effective in dry eye treatment by stabilizing the tear film and leading to improvement of the corneal-conjunctival damage associated with dry eye.
     For more information on Otsuka please visit the company's web site at www.otsuka-global.com.

International Vision Expo West, to be held October 3-5, 2008 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, will host a one-day Leadership Academy on Sunday, October 5, as part of its comprehensive continuing education program. Presented in partnership with Tracom Group, experts in leadership training and workplace performance, the Leadership Academy is a workshop designed to enhance interpersonal skills with co-workers and clients to lead to a higher level of performance for the individual and their organization. Key areas of focus include training on developing insights about behavioral strengths and areas for improvement, utilizing coaching to improve team performance and job skills development and enhancing management effectiveness. Space is limited.
     The organization is also pleased to announce "Super Sunday." This special show promotion offers attendees over $60,000 worth of prizes awarded hourly on Sunday, October 5. Prizes include 20 Apple iPhones or iTouches; a $5,000 show floor shopping spree; five $1,000 show floor shopping sprees; trips to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Masters and the Super Bowl; as well as the grand prize of a two-year lease on a Toyota Prius plus one year of gas.
     Attendees will automatically be entered to win "Super Sunday" prizes when their registration badge is scanned upon entering the exhibit hall from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 5. Drawings will take place on the exhibit floor on the hour between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
     To register for the Leadership Academy or for "Super Sunday" rules and regulations, please visit www.visionexpowest.com.

Contact Lens Spectrum and the Health Care Conference Group will host the Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS), January 15-18, 2009, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The GSLS will include presentations on the latest techniques and technologies for the successful management of ocular conditions using today's specialty contact lenses. Truly an international meeting, GSLS will provide insights of experts from around the globe and hands-on access to the most current products available. The program will be accredited for continuing education under COPE, NCLE and JCAHPO, offering 17+ credit hours.  
     Visit www.GSLSymposium.com for more information or to register for this unique meeting. Companies interested in exhibiting should contact Sean Casey at 732-483-4302 or sean.casey@wolterskluwer.com.
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PolyVue Distribution, which specializes in presbyopic soft contact lenses, relocated on September 1, 2008. The new location is: 3810 Oceanic Drive, Suite 209, Oceanside, California 92056. Toll free number and e-mail remains the same. For additional information about the relocation and products, please call 877-734-2010 or e-mail info@polyvue.com. 

Lynn White, MSC, FCOptom, Keratoconus Consultant for United Kingdom based UltraVision, was recently invited to help keratoconus sufferers in the Caribbean by presenting contact lenses options and a series of clinical sessions at a conference in Trinidad and Tobago's Sangre Grande Hospital. The conference, Eye Care Week, was held in the hospital's ophthalmology department and organized by Petra Bridgemohan, Principal Optometrist at the hospital. The aim of the conference was to draw attention to conditions that affect the eye, such as diabetes and glaucoma, but the highlight of this event was keratoconus, which, according to the company, seems to affect people in the Caribbean more than the U.S. or Europe.
    Lynn White gave three presentations covering an introduction to Keratoconus in Trinidad and Tobago, the use of soft contact lenses as an alternative treatment to GP lenses or spectacles, and keratoconus case studies with Dr. David Jory, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the London Centre for Refractive Surgery.

LifeGuard Health, the leader in condition specific Omega-3 products, announced that it has launched a new subsidiary, Omega Eye Health. Kenneth A. Krieg has been named the Chief Executive Officer and Robert D. Bauer has been named President. This company will be co-located with Lifeguard's corporate headquarters in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.
     Omega Eye Health will offer specialty Omega-3 nutritional supplements targeted for eye health. The new company will recruit a national roster of prominent eye care physicians to serve as an appointed Medical Advisory Panel (MAP). According to the announcement, Omega Eye Health will distinguish itself by offering its specially formulated eye care products exclusively to ophthalmologists and optometrists. Per LifeGuard Health, several medical studies suggest a higher consumption of Omega-3 fish oil is beneficial for several eye conditions, and Omega Eye Health will use this growing body of medical evidence to support its product development strategy
     For additional information, visit www.omegaeyehealth.com.

Imagine not being able to work or look after your family simply because you don't have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
Take the World Sight Day Challenge on October 9, 2008
         ...and give sight - and hope - to people in need.
Register at www.givingsight.org or contact 1-888-OGS-GIVE / usa@givingsight.org.
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The researchers' objective was to investigate the uptake and release characteristics of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin-HCl in conventional and silicone hydrogel lenses, and evaluate their potential as therapeutic drug delivery devices.
     Nine differing soft contact lens materials were soaked in a 0.3% ciprofloxacin-HCl solution at 34[degrees]C. The uptake of the drug into the lenses was measured by the change in concentration over 24 hours using fluorescence spectrophotometry. The lenses were then placed in a buffered saline solution, and the release of the drug from the lenses was also measured using spectrophotometry.
     The release of drug varied from 0.016 +/- 0.004 mg/lens for lotrafilcon A lenses to 0.42 +/- 0.03 mg/lens for etafilcon A lenses, with an average of 0.133 mg/lens. The three conventional lenses used in the study released a statistically significantly different amount of drug when compared with the silicone hydrogels. The release of drug was very rapid, with drug release reaching a plateau after no more than 10 minutes for the majority of the lenses. The majority of the lenses were able to release enough drug to achieve minimum inhibitory concentration 90 for most resistant ocular pathogens. Ciprofloxacin was found to heavily precipitate on the etafilcon A lenses during the release phase at physiologic pH.
     The authors concluded that, while balafilcon A released the most drug from the silicone hydrogel materials, all materials released the drug too quickly to be effective as drug delivery devices.
Hui, Alex; Boone, Adrienne PhD; Jones, Lyndon PhD., FC Optom, FAAO. Eye & Contact Lens: Science & Clinical Practice. 34(5):266-271, September 2008.

I would imagine that contact lenses make up a significant portion of your successful practice. Estimates vary, but suggest contact lens exams and sales may make up 20 to 30% of many of your practices. How often do you consider the profitability of your contact lens patients relative your overall practice and its growth? You are likely very active in promoting safe and comfortable contact lens wear in your patients, but do you promote other activities that improve your profitability while enhancing the quality of life of your patients? There probably are many ways that contact lens patients might indirectly contribute to your bottom line. For instance, do you prescribe over-specs for patients with special visual needs? What about pharmaceutical treatments or punctal plugs in your lens wearers with allergy or comfort issues? How often do you have your contact lens patients return for medically-coded examinations? Please share your comments with me and continue to send your thoughts, feedback, and tips to tips@CLtoday.com.
Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: multipurpose solutions, one- and two-step peroxide solutions and the effect of continuous wear on epithelial barrier function.