EyeMed: There's an App for That

A mobile app reportedly makes it easy for the 36 million U.S. members of EyeMed Vision Care plans to access plan information and a digital copy of their member ID card. Members also can locate network providers. It works with an iPhone or iPad, and the free “EyeMed Members” app is now available through the Apple iTunes store. The company says that it will launch an Android version soon. Read more.

Sunglasses that Your iPhone Tracks

“Everybody knows that the more you spend on a pair of sunglasses, the faster you lose them. Death, taxes and lost sunglasses: these three things are guaranteed,” goes the Time magazine post. “I can say with 99% confidence that I’ll never spend $350 on a pair of sunglasses. One, because I’m cheap. Two, because the last pair of $100+ sunglasses I owned were swallowed whole by the Atlantic Ocean before I even got my credit card statement….But – BUT! — the idea of a $350 pair of sunglasses that connect to your iPhone and alert you if you lose them seems to be a better use of $350 than a $350 pair of sunglasses that don’t connect to anything. These Tzukuri sunglasses will be available toward the end of the year for around $350,” Read more.

VCI's Grading Scale App and Its Guide

Colleen Jones, director of the Vision Care Institute, sent an email to many ECPs with great news: the available of VCI's Clinical Grading Scales App and its guide. She explained: "Adapted from the Efron Grading Scales, this free, interactive and easy-to-use app can be downloaded via the Apple App Store for use on an iPhone."

VCI also has provided a guide for using the app. It "provides straightforward instructions for using the app to grade a condition, perform side-by-side comparisons, generate reports, and leverage valuable resources to excel in techniques and continue to refresh and expand your clinical knowledge. The guide can also be downloaded from our website. Click here to download the manual from...[VCI's] website."

If you are not familiar with the institute's app, here's what it can do, as noted by the VCI director:

• "Evaluate nine common eye conditions that lessen and increase with real-time morphing animation of severity levels.
• "Evaluate the progression of complications by comparing severity levels in 0.1 increments side-by-side.
• "Demonstrate clinical assessment to patients.
• "Export (print or email) a clinical assessment report for each patient record and/or patient education without collecting or releasing 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...

"We believe this tool will be a valuable asset to your practice, aiding the delivery of efficient, high quality care to help patients maintain healthy contact lens wear. We would like to thank Nathan Efron for use of the grading scales and his partnership in this effort to assist eye care professionals.

"Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact The Vision Care Institute, LLC, at theinstitute@vcius.jnj.com or (800) 874-6690."

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.

AAO with New Eye Apps

The American Academy of Ophthalmology is collaborating "with Cloud Nine Development, LLC, to enhance its free iPhone application, the Eye Handbook. The application, created for ophthalmologists by ophthalmologists, offers ophthalmic calculators, clinical videos, study tools and more. Through the partnership, the Eye Handbook now features select Academy Summary Benchmarks for Preferred Practice Pattern® Guidelines, patient education videos and a link to the Academy's latest online clinical offering, the EyeWiki," according to a post on MedicalNewsToday.