How can you participate in the American Academy of Optometry's upcoming 93rd annual meeting in Denver, Colorado from November 12 to 15, 2014? If you would like to present a lecture or workshop, a scientific paper or poster, review the information below.

The Lectures and Workshops Committee invites you to submit up to three course proposals for consideration for Academy 2014 Denver. The submission window will be open January 1 - February 1, 2014. To get more information, visit the Call for Courses webpage.

The Academy's Scientific Program offers scientists, educators, and clinicians the opportunity to exchange the latest information in optometry and vision science in two formats, research paper presentations and scientific posters. Please visit the Scientific Program webpage for more information or to download resources on how to construct your Scientific Program abstract. Please note that you do not need to be an Academy member in order to participate.

Nominations for the 2014 Annual Awards are due April 1, 2014. Nominations must be received from an Academy Fellow, with an explanation of why the nominee is particularly deserving of the award for which the nomination has been made. A letter seconding the nomination must come from another Academy Fellow. These documents, as well as a CV of the nominee, should be emailed to Helen Viksnins at HelenV@aaoptom.org. For more information and a list of Academy Awards, visit the Awards webpage.

In May 2014 the program preview will be available and registration opens. Look for more information on Academy 2014 Denver at http://www.aaopt.org.

Safilens, an Italian contact lens company, will be at Opti 2014 for the German market launch of Open 30 – the first monthly silicone hydrogel lens based on the patented Fusion Technology.

Open 30 is the outcome of a three year research project and was presented for the first time at MIDO 2013. The goal was to develop a contact lens that has minimal side effects, and according to the company, this objective was reached by using an innovative material Filcon V – the patented bio-silicone hydrogel the lens is made of – and also by carefully analyzing each aspect of the interaction between the contact lens and the anterior segment to eliminate the most common causes of “rejection” with leading-edge solutions.

The Open system consists of the contact lens, all-in-one Reload solution and sonic wave generator. With Fusion Technology, the lens benefits from the combined action of hyaluronic acid (HA) and Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide (TSP); this synergy increases the hydrating, lubricating, protective and cellular regeneration effect of the two single polymers, and promotes tear film stability. Open Reload is an all-in-one solution containing a highly-concentrated Fusion co-polymer based on a superior quality hyaluronic acid, a pharmaceutical-grade acid that does not use raw materials of animal origin or organic solvents, for safety, stability and minimal risk of side effects. The sonic wave generator assures that any deposit build-up is removed and HA and TSP are reabsorbed during the night, for a regenerated lens every day.

In 2005 Safilens patented the first hyaluronic acid releasing contact lenses. This was the first step toward the development of the Safe-Gel line, a complete range of contact lenses and solutions. In 2009 Safe-Gel contact lenses obtained an American patent and are currently marketed in the United States under the name Safigel. Now, the company is focusing on its patented Fusion Technology, based on a bio-copolymer composed of hyaluronic acid and TSP, two natural substitutes for tear film.

We thank Dr. Lauenborg 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

Reverse Geometry

Reverse geometry (RG) has become a more frequent lens design feature for various contact lens options. Most commonly, RG is used in orthokeratology GP designs that allow lenses with very flat central curves to maintain centration on the cornea, an important requisite for successful treatment. Another growing use of RG is in the limbal area of scleral contact lenses. In this case, RG allows the scleral lens to achieve adequate limbal clearance, an important fitting characteristic to ensure long-term health of the cornea. RG is even used in some keratoconus corneal GP designs to attain a good mid-peripheral fitting relationship.

The most logical use of RG is with surgically induced oblate corneas, such as post-LASIK or post-penetrating keratoplasty. RG GP lenses are available through most GP laboratories and can provide a close fitting relationship for this type of cornea. Several soft RG options are also available from Metro Optics, Visionary Optics, X-Cel Contacts, and others. These options provide good stability and comfort, and they can deliver good vision even when there is central corneal irregularity. For highly oblate corneas where standard soft lenses do not fit acceptably, a reverse geometry soft lens may be a good answer.

As this is my final column for Contact Lenses Today, I would like to thank the CL Today staff for all of their support, and most of all thank the readers who felt my column was valuable enough to spend some time on every two weeks. Happy Holidays to all!

Acanthamoeba Keratitis Revisited

The outbreak of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) first reported a few years ago has been formally evaluated by federal agencies and universities to establish the risk factors for poor outcomes. They conducted a retrospective, population-based case series of 116 patients with AK and collected data via a medical record review by diagnosing ophthalmologists and by phone interviews with patients.

The vast majority of patients in their series (93.3%) wore contact lenses. The median time from symptom onset to care seeking was two days, whereas the median time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 27 days. Keratoplasty was performed in 27 of 81 patients and was about five times more likely in patients >40 years old. Patients with ring infiltrates were 40 times more likely to proceed to keratoplasty and patients with any sign of stromal invasion were 10 times more likely to proceed to keratoplasty. Ring infiltrates also predicted worse visual acuity, with a three times increased risk of best corrected visual acuity <20/200.

This data reflects what we have known for years, that AK remains challenging to diagnose. Consequently, patients with advanced disease are more likely to have poor outcomes, such as worse visual acuity and progression to keratoplasty.

Ross J, Roy SL, Mathers WD, Ritterband DC, Yoder JS, Ayers T, Shah RD, Samper ME, Shih CY, Schmitz A, Brown AC. Clinical Characteristics of Acanthamoeba Keratitis Infections in 28 States, 2008 to 2011. Cornea. 2013 Dec 6. [Epub ahead of print]