CooperVision, Inc. has expanded the availability in the U.S. of clariti 1 day, the world’s first and only family of silicone hydrogel 1 day contact lenses.

CooperVision added clariti 1 day to its product portfolio through its acquisition of Sauflon earlier this year, and is now significantly increasing access to clariti lenses, which previously had limited domestic availability. Customers can now order clariti lenses directly through CooperVision, with fast and convenient shipping from the company’s central distribution center. Fitting set availability will continue to grow in December, as well as availability of the lenses through authorized distributors.

clariti 1 day lenses feature sphere powers from +8.00D to -10.00D (0.25 steps up to ±6.00D, 0.50 steps beyond ±6.00D); a base curve of 8.6mm; and a diameter of 14.1mm. clariti 1 day toric lenses power ranges include plano to -6.00D (0.25 steps), -6.50D to -9.00D (0.50 steps) with cylinder options of -0.75D, -1.25D, and -1.75D in axes of 90° ±30° and 180° ±20°, –2.25D in axes of 90° and 180° ±20°; and +0.25D to +4.00D (0.25DS steps) with cylinder options of –0.75D, –1.25D, and –1.75D in axes of 20°, 70°, 90°, 110°, 160°, and 180°. clariti 1 day multifocal features the same base curve, diameter, center thickness and Dk/t as the clariti 1 day lens, with a power range of +5.00D to -6.00D (0.25 steps) with ADD powers of Low (up to +2.25D) and High (+2.25D to +3.00D).

clariti 1 day is available in 90-pack cartons, and clariti 1 day toric and multifocal are available in 30-pack cartons.

For more information, visit www.coopervision.com/practitioner.

CLX, a contact lens ordering, management, and patient marketing system, is now fully integrated with Diversified Ophthalmics, Inc. This integration provides all Diversified, Mid-South Premier, and Firestone customers the opportunity to order contact lenses, manage returns, and consolidate contact lens management reports in a simple-to-use, cloud-based system.

According to the company, by providing automated integration with these distributors, CLX is helps reduce the administration time required to call-in orders, check availability, or verify status from distributors. The system also includes additional resources and such innovations as Price Check, an updated “on-line” competitive pricing comparison report designed to help users improve profitability, and the Contact Lens Recall Report, a tool ECPs use to easily identify and contact patients due for contact lens reorders or re-examinations.

CLX System is a cloud-based management platform specifically designed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of contact lens administration as well as to provide valuable data and robust metrics reporting. To learn more, please visit www.CLXsystem.com.

Educators and key opinion leaders from around the world will gather in the UK in May 2015 when the International Association of Contact Lens Educators holds the Third IACLE World Congress on Contact Lens Education. Hosted at The University of Manchester, the congress takes place May 24-28 and is timed to precede the British Contact Lens Association’s 2015 Clinical Conference & Exhibition in Liverpool (May 29-31).

More than 100 delegates are expected to attend, including contact lens educators from IACLE’s three global regions: Asia Pacific, Americas and Europe/Arica – Middle East. Participation for IACLE members attending the congress will be facilitated by IACLE, thanks to the generous support of Platinum Sponsors Alcon, CooperVision and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.

The theme for the congress is Shaping the Future of Contact Lens Education. The program will harness expertise from a wide range of educational backgrounds to explore technologies and approaches that can be applied to contact lens education. Key features of the Third IACLE World Congress are:

• Four-day meeting prior to 2015 BCLA Clinical Conference & Exhibition
• Global participation by key opinion leaders in education
• Focus on innovation in teaching and learning
• Participation in live Web Lectures by IACLE members worldwide
• Welcome Reception and prestigious Congress Dinner
• Presentation of IACLE Award for Lifetime Achievement in Contact Lens Education
• Transport to BCLA Clinical Conference & Exhibition in Liverpool on final day

Keynote speakers will be Associate Professor Pat Caroline (Pacific University Oregon, USA), Associate Professor Helen Compton (Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA) and Apple Distinguished Educator Joe Moretti (UK).

Accu-Lens Inc. announced that it has renewed its Platinum Level Sponsorship with the Scleral Lens Education Society (SLS). The SLS is a non-profit organization committed to teaching contact lens practitioners the science and art of fitting all designs of scleral contact lenses for the purpose of managing corneal irregularity and ocular surface disease. SLS supports public education that highlights the benefits and availability of scleral contact lenses. More information on the SLS is available at www.sclerallens.org.

Accu-Lens, founded in 1970 in Denver Colorado, is a premier manufacturer of scleral and custom GP lenses including the Maxim Scleral Lens. For information on the company and the Maxim Scleral Lens visit www.acculens.com.

A scleral lens was used to restore quality vision to this eye. A large, thick pterygium created comfort issues. We had the lens notched and polished at 3:00 and 9:00 in a successful effort to minimize the lens edge rubbing against this enlarged, neo-vascularized tissue.

We thank Dr. Boshnick for this image and we welcome photo submissions from our other readers! It is easy to submit a photo for consideration for publishing in Contact Lenses Today. Simply visit http://www.cltoday.com/upload/upload.aspx to upload your image. Please include an explanation of the photo and your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.

Are 4th Year Optometry Students More CL Care Compliant Than 1st Year?

The American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting’s Scientific Program showcases cutting-edge posters and papers that help clinicians understand the etiology of what we see and do in practice—and offers insight into what we can expect in the future. This year’s November meeting in Denver, Colorado, was no exception.

It is no secret that patient noncompliance with their contact lens care plays a role in the pathogenesis of ocular infection. A poster at the Academy, “Contact Lens Compliance Rates Amongst First Versus Fourth Year Optometry Students,” by Drs. Amy Dinardo, Robert Buckingham, Stephanie Jones, and Hailey McClennan attempted to help shed some light on this topic.

They surveyed two groups, first year and fourth year optometry students (n=200) across the United States and Canada, to determine if formal optometric education improves contact lens compliance. In other words, in two cohorts matched for occupation, intelligence, lifestyle and age (+/- 3 years), do those who know better, do better? The answer, for some behaviors, is yes.

Their research showed that fourth year students were more compliant than first year with lens replacement, refraining from showering and swimming in lenses, refraining from switching brands of solution and topping off solution and contact lens case cleaning (p< .0001). However, first and fourth year optometry students showed similar rates of non-compliance when it comes to sleeping in lenses, hand washing, and rubbing/rinsing contact lenses. Interestingly, in these groups, patients who do not buy yearly supplies or bought lenses online tended to be more non-compliant.

Based on their surveys with these two groups, these researchers concluded that, regardless of the level of education, patients continued to be non-compliant with certain time-consuming behaviors and tend to believe that they are more compliant than they actually are.

A patient I had this week was a 49 year-old mid-hyperopic presbyope. He is a real estate agent but throughout the exam, he revealed to me his love of scuba diving. Being from Seattle, I quickly learned that he is doing well in his industry, as one does not scuba dive much in Seattle's Pudget Sound. If they do, there is no use for any contact lenses as the water is cold and dark. Instead, my patient was curious if there was a contact lens option that he could use part-time for scuba diving when he traveled. As a habitual glasses wearer, he is happy with his vision and comfort, but says it is hard to see as clearly as he would like and it is difficult to wear his glasses with mask. I can’t imagine trying to watch his attempts.

Is there a solution? Absolutely. First we had a discussion of how often he would like them and if he might enjoy being able to read his gages while underwater. Then we moved onto replacement. Although it’s never a great idea to wear contact lenses when in water, when we need to, we feel that it is best to go with single use lenses. We ended up fitting him in one of the single use multifocal lenses that is relatively new to the market this year. In fact, single use multifocals are at the top of our lens sales this year. After placing the lenses on his eyes, checking his near vision first, then his distance, we ended up dispensing the lenses to this scuba diving real estate mogul. Remember to ask about your patient’s profession but also their hobbies, it may steer you in the best direction for their contact lens choices.

The Canadian Dry Eye Disease Consensus Panel was developed to create a national guide for the clinical management of dry eye disease in an effort to assist Canadian optometrists in the diagnosis and management of one of the most prevalent ocular diseases they will encounter. The panel consists of experts from multiple areas of optometry including private practice, academia and research. Experts were chosen based on their clinical acumen in the field of dry eye disease management, publication frequency, clinical research and recommendations from Canadian colleagues citing their expertise in this area of practice. Due to Canada’s vast geographical area, experts were chosen from different regions of the country. The West Coast, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes were all represented. Editorial support was provided by Paul Karpecki, OD and Derek Cunningham OD, both of whom are Canadians who are involved in dry eye/surgical practices in the united States. Unrestricted educational funding was provided by Allergan Inc., Canada.

Supplement can be accessed here:
http://www.opto.ca/document/cjo-supplement-dry-eye-disease-guidelines

C. Lisa Prokopich, OD, MSc, Etty Bitton, OD, MSc, FAAO, Barbara Caffery, OD, PhD, FAAO, Langis Michaud, OD, MSc, FAAO, Derek N. Cunningham, OD, FAAO, Paul M.Karpecki, OD, FAAO, Andrew Webber, OD, Paul Neumann, OD, Jean-Sébastien Dufour, OD, MSc, Anthony Cullen, OD, PhD, FAAO, Scott D. Brisbin, OD, FAAO. National Dry Eye Disease Guidelines for Canadian Optometrists. Canadian Journal of Optometry. 2014. Volume 76, Supplement 1. Pages 1-30.