OpticalCEUs Sets Date for Its Spring Seminar—May 17

On May 17, 2020, OpticalCEUs will offer opticians from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and other states seven continuing education credits. Opticians can apply these credits to the state licensing requirements and to renew their ABO certification. Nationally respected speakers, such as Linda Conlin, Joseph Forte, and Herb Fletcher, will offer three ABO approved and four NCLE approved courses.

During the past two and a half decades, OpticalCEUs has proven itself one of the nation’s most innovative, entertaining, and cost effective optical education programs in the country. So come join us on Sunday, May 17, at the Fox Tower in the Foxwoods Resorts. You will learn. You will meet old friends. You will make new ones. And you will enjoy yourself.

Should you have questions, email me at LindaConlin@opticalceu.com or call my new telephone number: 302-335-8144.

Isn’t Spring a wonderful time. See you at the Fox Tower on May 17^th.

OpticalCEU's Seminar Now Approved for New York State Credit!

In association with the Opticians Alliance of New York, OpticalCEUs is offering credits to a New York opticians license (ID 071317-071220.017). OpticalCEUs welcomes New York Opticians for a day of learning and fun at Foxwoods. You can register here.

So if it is time to earn 7 credits towards your New York State license, OpticalCEUs has what you want and need! Pick up the latest ideas in the field - from lens technology to reduce blue light exposure to rigid contact lens fitting.  Earn your ABO/NCLE credits with 7 courses at the CELEBRITY BALLROOM, FOX TOWER, Foxwoods Resort and Casino on Sunday, October 22. So register now online.

Linda Conlin Named Managing Editor of Pro to Pro for 20/20 Magazine

As the new Managing Editor of Pro to Pro for 20/20 Magazine, Linda Conlin invites you to check out the latest issue at https://www.2020mag.com/. You can contact her (lindaconlin@opticalceu.com) to sign up for Pro to Pro "Email Blasts".

Register Now for OpticalCEU's Fall Continuing Education Seminar for Opticians

Is it time to renew your state license and ABO/NCLE certification?  Why not do it with the best value in continuing education?  Do  you need a full-day, 7-credit program?  Either way, F.E. Enterprises’ OpticalCEUs has what you want and need! So register now online.

Pick up the latest ideas in the field - from lens technology to reduce blue light exposure to rigid contact lens fitting.  Earn your ABO/NCLE credits with 7 courses at the CELEBRITY BALLROOM, FOX TOWER, Foxwoods Resort and Casino on Sunday, October 22.

They’ll help you:

·         Explore options in new blue filter lens technology

·         Learn about medications that affect vision

·         Provide top-notch patient care with rigid contact lens fitting

·         Understand and experience optical phenomena

Register now!  Earn accreditation!  Have some Foxwoods fun!

P.S.  As always, conference attendees can enjoy a delicious hot buffet lunch compliments of OpticalCEUs.

Our Lecturers Accredited lecturers Linda Conlin, Deborah Kotob of Vision-Ease and Joe Forte will present seven courses enabling you to earn three ABO and four NCLE credits. 

 

For over 15 years Linda, the new Managing Editor for 20/20 Magazine’s Pro to Pro, has provided continuing education and training for opticians at the state and national levels. She is ABO and NCLE certified, licensed in CT, MA and RI, and has written for 20/20 and EyeWitness magazines.  She founded OpticalCEUs and launched OpticalCEU.com and Optical News from OpticalCEUs news blog for opticians.

Deborah, the ECP Education Facilitator for Vision-Ease, creates and presents ABO, NCLE and JCAHPO seminars related to optics and best practices. A Massachusetts-licensed optician, she has owned two optical businesses and was a sales representative for MODO and Luxottica.  Deborah has achieved ABOM and NCLE certifications. 

Joe, the director of contact lens services for Greenwich Ophthalmology Associates, lectured at CUNY Tech, Vision Expo and Optifair. He received his Master in Contact Lens Technology (NCLEM), is certified as an Advanced Level speaker, and was program director of the Interboro Institute College of Opticianry where he taught courses in various areas of contact lenses and optics. Joe has been a Fellow of the CLSA since 1992.

Directions FOX TOWER, FOXWOODS is located at 39 Norwich-Westerly Rd, Ledyard, CT 06339 on Route 2 between I-395 and I-95.  Go to www.OpticalCEU.com for map and directions.  Valet parking is free.  For accommodations, call Foxwoods at 1-800 PLAY BIG.  Overnight reservations are not associated with the seminar.

Help OAA Support Texas Opticians

We received the following email from the Opticians Association of America: 

We are all aware of the devastating hurricane that wreaked havoc in the State of Texas. The Opticians Association of America is working with the Certified Opticians Association of Texas (COAT) to assist those opticians whose dispensaries and homes were damaged during the historic storm.

COAT is hopeful to raise a minimum of $10,000 in order to help these opticians. Unfortunately, most people in the Houston area do not have flood insurance. OAA is asking that you make a donation through COAT's GoFundMe Page (https://www.gofundme.com/helptexasopticians).

Any size gift is deeply appreciated as we try to assist our fellow opticians recover from the devastating damage caused by the hurricane. Click Here to make your donation today.

 

Thank you for your support and please keep your thoughts and prayers with the people of Texas.

Kala Looking to Fund Expansion into Drug Delivery System Using Mucous Penetrating Particles

"Drugs that must pass through protective layers of mucus to deliver treatment to organs of the body are often not very effective, because the mucus—a sticky, meshlike material—prevents the drug from ever reaching its intended target," according to a Johns Hopkins University Ventures newsletter.

"But hope is on the horizon in the form of a novel drug delivery system developed over the past 15 years by a research team led by Justin Hanes, director of the Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins.

"Hanes’s system packages drugs into nanoparticles small enough to penetrate a mucus layer through tiny openings in the sticky mesh, and it gives those nanoparticles a minimally adhesive coating that enables them to slide through the mesh without getting stuck to it. Kala Pharmaceuticals, a startup co-founded by Hanes, is developing these coated nanoparticles."

In another release about the development: "Biopharmaceutical firm Kala Pharmaceuticals is focused on developing treatments for eye conditions and diseases using its proprietary mucous penetrating particles technologies," according to Don Dion, of SA Stock Market News. "The company completed very promising Phase III clinical trials for delivering drugs to relieve pain and inflammation following ocular surgery. So far, it has applied MPP technology in two product candidates (KPI-121 1.0% and KPI-121 0.25%), both of which are in Phase III clinical development. It anticipates submitting new drug applications for KPI-121 1.0% and KPI-121 0.25% by the end of 2017 and the first half of 2018, respectively. Kala Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2009 and is based in Waltham, Mass." For more information go to these sites: SA Stock Market News and Johns Hopkins University Ventures Program.

OpticalCEUs Spring Seminar, A Success!

Opticians from New England attended OpticalCEUs 19th annual continuing education seminar. For the past 15 years, it has been held at the renowned Foxwoods Hotel and Casinos, in Connecticut. They listened as gifted and knowledgeable speakers Joe Forte, Deborah Kotob of Vision Ease spoke about the following:

• Advise your patients about the effects of blue light exposurez
• Review spectacle lens options and considerations for the correction of Ametropia and Presbyopia
• Provide top-notch patient care with new technology for specialty contact lens fitting 
• Expand your knowledge of contact lens materials, treatments and their applications.

The opticians also enjoyed a complimentary breakfast as well as OpticalCEUs renowned buffet lunch of soup, salads, pulled pork, and other offerings as well as a wonderful dessert bar.

CT Optician Helps Haitians See Clearly

Bruce Tooker (last row, center) with MATH health care workers in Hiati this past November.

Just before Thanksgiving (Nov. 13-19), Connecticut Optician Bruce Tooker flew south. He went to Haiti as part of the Medical Aid to Haiti (MATH) program. The group served thousands of individuals without access to health care. "With help from Sister Ellen Flynn and interpreter Pastor Fenold, I was able to test more than 200 people for eyeglasses. All but three had never before had an eye test," reports Tooker.  MATH http://www.medicalaidtohaiti.orgsupports two full-time doctors who serve the poorest in and around Port-au-Prince. Six times a year, it sends medical volunteers from the greater Hartford area to help. Last year the main clinic and six mobile clinics served about 15,000 people. MATH “helps Haitians heal Haitians, with a commitment to serving the poor and supporting a reliable, consistent and sustainable healthcare system in Haiti.” Learn much more by visiting the organization’s website.

British Health Services Paying for 10 Bionic Eyes

"The NHS [British version of the NIH] will pay for 10 blind patients to have 'bionic eyes' to help treat an inherited form of blindness," reports the BBC."The bionic eye is a retinal implant which interprets images captured by a miniature video camera worn on a pair of glasses. Five patients will be treated at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and five at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 2017.They will be monitored for a year afterwards to see how they get on in everyday life.

"'I'm delighted,' said Prof Paulo Stanga from the Manchester hospital. He has been involved in earlier trials of the Argus II Bionic Eye, made by the company Second Sight, in retinitis pigmentosa. He added: 'It surpassed all of our expectations when we realised that one of the retinitis pigmentosa patients using the bionic eye could identify large letters for the first time in his adult life.'
This disease, which is often passed down through families, destroys the light-sensing cells in the retina. It leads to vision loss and eventually blindness." Read more.

Optical Researcher David Robinson Dies

"David A. Robinson, a founding member of Johns Hopkins University's Department of Biomedical Engineering and distinguished service professor emeritus of ophthalmology, biomedical engineering, and neuroscience, died on Oct. 18. He was 92," according to a memoriam from Johns Hopkins University.

David A. Robinson, a founding member of the Johns
Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering

 

"Robinson, who retired in 1993, studied electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins and received his master's and PhD degrees in 1956 and 1959, respectively. He joined the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine faculty as an instructor in 1961 and was named an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in 1966. In 1965, Robinson published a groundbreaking paper in the Journal of Physiology that is still considered to be the most comprehensive and thorough investigation of the mechanics of eye movements. 
 Robinson, named a full professor in the Department of Ophthalmology in 1975, developed a magnetic field search coil technique that remains today as the standard for recording eye movements in both basic and clinical eye movement laboratories. 
He was the first researcher to simultaneously record eye movements and activity of ocular motor neurons from fully alert behaving primates. The results produced the mathematical relationship known as the pulse-step of innervation."

Dating Life Span Using the Eye Lens

"In an investigation recently published in Science, a team of researchers used radiocarbon dating to put together a timeline of the Greenland shark's lifespan," writes ARSTechnica. "Because Greenland sharks lack bones—they’re cartilaginous fish—conventional methods of tracking growth, like carbon dating of bones, won't work. Instead, the team used a modified radiocarbon dating technique that has worked before on other boneless animals: tracking the chronology of the eye lens. The eye lens nucleus is composed of inert proteins. The central portion of the lens is formed during prenatal development, and during growth, the tissue retains the original proteins, which were largely made before birth." Read more.

OpticalCEUs Succeeds Again!

Some twelve dozen opticians from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island attended OpticalCEUs Annual Fall Conference for continuing education in the Grand Pequot Ballroom, at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino on October 23. They picked the latest ideas in the field - from lens technology to reduce blue light exposure to contact lens fitting for irregular corneas. They listened to the following presentations:

• Just the Blue Light Facts, Ma’am! 
• Lensology – Lens Basics Review 
• Become a Contact Lens Fitter 
• A New Approach to Fitting Irregular Corneas 
• Contact Lenses – How We Got Here From There 
• Managing Ocular Allergies.

We love hearing from our attendees. Laura Crane wrote a while ago: "I always like to tell people that I was at the very first seminar that you ever did for opticians in Connecticut. I'm so glad to see how much you've grown over the years! I will always continue to attend your seminars as I find them very informative. Thank you for providing us with alternative options!"

Our Lecturers
Accredited lecturers Linda Conlin, Deborah Kotob of Vision-Ease and Joe Forte presented the seven courses for ABO/NCLE credits.

For 17 years Linda, an Adjunct Instructor with the Goodwin College Ophthalmic Sciences program, has provided continuing education and training for opticians at the state and national levels. She is ABO and NCLE certified, licensed in CT, MA and RI, and has written for 20/20 and EyeWitness magazines. She founded OpticalCEUs and launched OpticalCEU.com and Optical News from OpticalCEUs news blog for opticians.

Deborah, the ECP Education Facilitator for Vision-Ease, creates and presents ABO, NCLE and JCAHPO seminars related to optics and best practices. A Massachusetts-licensed optician, she has owned two optical businesses and was a sales representative for MODO and Luxottica. Deborah has achieved ABOM and NCLE certifications.


Joe, the director of contact lens services for Greenwich Ophthalmology Associates, lectured at CUNY Tech, Vision Expo and Optifair. He recently received his NCLE Masters Certificate. He is certified as an Advanced Level speaker, and was program director of the Interboro Institute College of Opticianry where he taught courses in various areas of contact lenses and optics. Joe has been a Fellow of the CLSA since 1992.