EyeMed Launches Member Mobile App

EyeMed Vision Care has launched a mobile app so its members can access information about their vision plans, a digital copy of their member ID card, and locate network provider. The “EyeMed Members” app is available through the iTunes store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users. EyeMed plans to launch a version of the app for Android devices soon. The current version  requires iOS 6.1 or later version and is optimized for iPhone 5. Read more.

CooperVision Releases Consumer App in U.S.

The new app for consumers from CooperVision, Inc. provides ways to find a nearby optometrist, to identify potentially ideal lenses, and a customizable reminder that will sound when it's time to replace CLs. Features of the CooperVision app include:

• Doc Finder — Using the mobile device’s GPS or a zip code, the app will find nearby eye care professionals with a tap of a finger.
• Lens Finder — By choosing from a variety of eye conditions and lifestyle factors, app users can identify the CooperVision best suited for them.
• Lens Reminder — Users can set up reminders for the replacement of their contact lenses.
• FAQ's — What are astigmatism and presbyopia? How does the eye convert light to an image? What is the proper way to clean and care for contact lenses? How do you put contact lenses in your eyes? All of these common questions and more are answered within the app.
• Products — Users can delve into the information about CooperVision’s family of contact lenses. They can save their favorite products, share them with others via email, and discuss them with eye care practitioners.

“This is the third launch of our consumer app,” said Catherine Muriel, vice president of marketing North America, CooperVision. “The app was previously launched in the U.K. and China.”

TVCI Releases Free Clinical Grading Scale App

U.S. eye care professionals (ECPs) now have access to what is being called one of the most comprehensive grading scales used in clinical practice. The Vision Care Institute (TVCI), a part of Johnson & Johnson, has launched a free i-Phone compatible app designed to help practitioners assess the severity and evaluate the progression of complications associated with contact lens wear. TVCI calls it The Vision Care Institute Clinical Grading Scales. ECPs can download it from the Apple App Store. TVCI notes that it is not intended as and does not constitute a medical or optometric advice. It is only available in the U.S. App Store at this time.

The  app allows users to do the following:

• Evaluate nine common eye conditions (bulbar redness, corneal staining, lid redness, lid roughness, limbal redness, meibomian gland dysfunction, pterygium, pinguecula, cortical cataract) with severity levels that lessen and increase with real-time animation based on touch. 
• Evaluate the progression of complications by comparing severity levels in 0.1 increments side-by-side. 
•  Demonstrate clinical assessment to patients. 
•  Export a report for office records without collecting personal data. 
•  View a comprehensive assessment guide including slit lamp illumination techniques, corneal inflammation vs. infection, signs of oxygen deficiency, staining and lid assessments and more. 
• Read more or download now.

ClearVision Offers Catalog Like App

ClearVision Optical has launched second app, CVO 2012 iGuide for iPad, according to Midwest Lens. It's reportedly similar to a consumer catalog "that allows for an interactive brand experience while simultaneously providing in depth information on some of the company’s most significant product offerings."  Read more.

App Connects Patients with VSP and Davis Vision

Guardian members can now locate vision providers with the new Guardian Anytime mobile app for iPhone and Android. The app, created by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, comes at a time when nearly two out of three smartphone users are interested in using an insurance app, according to research done by Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc., on behalf of Guardian. The free app can be downloaded from www.GuardianAnytime.com. Read more.

Cassius Releases Eyewear App for iPhone

"Cassius Eyewear's new app lets you try on the brand's entire collection via an iPhone camera, save portraits to your phone, and scroll through the optical and sunglass collections to find the best frames for your face using something called the 'retina display screen,'" according to Racked. "In celebration of the app's launch, Cassius invites you to take a photo of yourself in your favorite frames and share it along with when and where you would wear Cassius Eyewear. Post it on their Facebook page for a chance to be one of five who receive a free pair of shades, your choice." Read more.

New Eyewear "Try-On" App for iPhone

"Application for virtual try-on of eyewear. The application uses fully automatic real-time 3D head tracking to place virtual eyeglasses on the user's face. User can choose different models of eyewear and adjust transparency and reflectivity of the lenses," reports CNET. "What's new in this version: Improved initialization speed and quality.Added support for iPhone." Read more.

New Texting App for the Vision Challenged

"Imagine if smartphone and tablet users could text a note under the table during a meeting without anyone being the wiser. Mobile gadget users might also be enabled to text while walking, watching TV or socializing without taking their eyes off what they're doing," according to Medical News Today. "Georgia Tech researchers have built a prototype app for touch-screen mobile devices that is vying to be a complete solution for texting without the need to look at a mobile gadget's screen." Read more.

iPhone/iPad App for Silouette Eyewear

Have you ever wondered what you would look like wearing a new model of eyewear? The Silhouette iMirror , an app for the iPhone4 and iPad2, reportedly answers that question. App users can watch themselves move around freely like in a real mirror, wearing any pair of the famous sunglasses in the Silhouette collection. Read more.