Optician Gets Jefferson Award

Highmark Inc. recently gave 12 employees Jefferson Awards for Public Service. Highmark serves as a Jefferson Award Champion. It is one of only three companies with the privilege to recognize its employees with this prestigious award. Hector Gonzalez, a retail operations director for Eye Care Centers of America, a subsidiary of Highmark Inc., in Hialeah, Fla., will represent Highmark at the National Jefferson Awards ceremony this June in Washington, D.C. He worked to fight hunger among the homeless.

VSP and J&J Team Up for an Acuvue Promotion

VSP Vision Care's 56 million members now can try Acuvue lenses with a new guarantee. Should they not like them, up to $60 of their vision benefit will be reinstated. That's the arrangement between VSP and Johnson & Johnson, as reported on ContactLensHeadline. "The contacts must be obtained through a VSP provider, who will need to contact VSP within 30 days of the start of the trial if a reinstatement is desired. Members can use their reinstated benefit toward glasses or a different brand of contact lenses.
VSP members also are eligible for an additional $25 rebate on the purchase of a year’s supply of Acuvue lenses, on top of the current national Acuvue rebate program. For more information about the satisfaction offer and rebate program, visit specialoffers.vsp.com/acuvue."

Measuring the Visual Performance of Athletes

"The use of valid and repeatable visual acuity and contrast sensitivity tests is essential for measuring the differences in visual performance among athletes and nonathletes. The ability to improve already–normal visual acuity is unclear although contrast sensitivity can improve with fast–paced video games. Tinted contact lenses help reduce discomfort glare and speed up adaptation but do not have an appreciable effect on visual acuity and contrast sensitivity." That's the MDLinx abstract of study that appeared recently in Eye and Contact Lenses.

Soccer Officials Get Optical Sponsor

During football (soccer) matches throughout Great Britain, it's common to hear fans shout: "Should have gone to Specsavers," a leading Britsih optical retailer. "So it may amuse supporters that Haine & Smith Opticians...is to sponsor the match officials for the Wiltshire League cup finals, being played at Corsham Town on Saturday," goes the post on the SwindonAdvertiser. "General secretary Jim Thorn said: 'Some might see some irony in their sponsorship of the match officials. However, we are extremely grateful that, in these difficult financial times, they are able to support the league.'”

Surgeon Fixes Wrong Eye

CNNHealth reports that "Early one morning in April, Tasha Gaul and Dale Matlock took their young son, Jesse, to a hospital in Portland, Oregon, for surgery to correct his lazy eye. It was supposed to be an easy procedure: Jesse, who was 3 at the time, wouldn't even have to spend the night at the hospital. The surgery was indeed quick and simple. The problem was, it was on the wrong eye."

Avastin Beats Lucentis for AMD

"Results from the first year of a two-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial show that Avastin, a drug approved to treat some cancers and is commonly used off-label to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is as effective as the more expensive FDA-approved drug Lucentis for treating AMD," goes the post from MedicalNewsToday. "The report, from the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT), was published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. David M. Brown, retinal surgeon at The Methodist Hospital, oversaw the study, part of a multi-centered, single-blind, randomized clinical trial sponsored by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the NIH." For more information, go here.

Consumers Will Opt for Passive 3D Eyewear Says Oakley CEO

"Passive eyewear will emerge as the preferred choice of the consumer from the confusion around the 3D eyewear market, according to Oakley chief executive Colin Baden." That's what he reportedly said to OpticianOnline. "His comments followed proposals from the Consumer Electronics Association of America to standardise 3D active eyewear to ensure all 3D active glasses sold are compatible with all 3D TVs.Baden said the design limitations imposed by the electronic components of active eyewear, coupled with the higher price tag, means consumers will naturally opt for passive glasses."

Kids' Eye Problems Being Missed

WebMD reports that "avoidable and lifelong problems with vision could be going undetected in children according to the consumer magazine Which? An estimated 10 to 20% of children are likely to have a significant vision problem that could be detected by a simple three minute test. NHS funded sight tests are free to under 16s; however, freedom of information (FOI) requests submitted by Which? revealed that one in ten primary care trusts (PCTs) do not arrange eye tests for four to five year olds.  A further 42 did not respond to the FOI requests, and therefore the figure could be much higher. Even when screening is offered, uptake ranged from 99% to just 35%."

Making Eyewear in Shop--Faster

"Vision technology company QSpex Technologies raised $6 million of a targeted $12 million in an equity offering," according to a post on CityBizList. That brings the company halfway to what its officials imply will be an optical revolution on the retail level. 

Dr. Kai Su, the company's chief scientific officer who invented SoftColors CLs and Opti-Clean clearner, has developed a system and the materials that reportedly  would enable an optical shop to produce eyeglasses in less than 30 minutes (including those with photochromic and polarized lenses). The company's CEO is Steve Martin, founder of Ciba Vision and Ciba Vision Ophthalmics.

So You Want to Be Either an Optician or Roustable

What are the best and worst jobs for 2011? What about optician? CareerCast discovered the answer to these questions in a recent study, and the company posted the results. Opticianry came out 63 of the top of the 200 jobs analyzed, beating out careers such as mechanic engineer. Why? The work environment (317.7) is comfortable unlike that of a roustable (1731.45). Contrary to what opticians may tell you, they live a stress-free life (15.43), according to CareerCast, which states that it's about half that for a roustabout. The physical demands for a roustabout are about four times that for an optician. What about pay? It pays the same, more or less, but CareerCast's number reflects the national average for licensed and non-licensed opticians. So on the next tough, opticians remember this: You could be rousting for the same.

College Kids Help with Dry Eye

"Rice University bioengineering students responded to an ophthalmologist's cry for help with a device to diagnose dry eye, the itching and burning sensation that results when a person doesn't produce enough tears or the tears evaporate too quicklym,"so starts the  MedicalNewstoday post. "A team of five seniors made a portable unit that controls the air around a patient's eyes so doctors can study and treat those who suffer from this painful condition. ...'He wanted a way to control temperature, humidity and air flow all around the eyes and record it over time so he could track changes in their dryness,' said Daniel Hays, a member of Team ClimaTears, the student group that included Austin Edwards, Amanda Shih, Anastasia Alex and Michelle Kerkstra"

Artificial Retina Has a Long Way to Go

“In this month's Physics World, Richard Taylor, professor of physics, psychology and art at the University of Oregon, warns that artificial retinal implants - a technology fast becoming a reality - must adapt to the unique features of the human eye in order to become an effective treatment,” reports MedicalNewsToday. “The gap between digital camera technology and the human eye is getting ever smaller, in terms of both the number of light-sensitive detectors and the space that they occupy. A human retina typically contains 127 million photoreceptors spread over an area of 1100 mm2. In comparison, today's state-of-the-art CMOS sensors feature 16.6 million photoreceptors over an area of 1600 mm2. Despite the impressive progress of camera technology, several differences still remain, which is why, Taylor states, camera technology cannot simply be incorporated into the eye to restore the vision of patients with damaged rods and cones.”

What Are the Drawbacks to Glaucoma Therapy, Doctors Ask

"The side effects and drawbacks of long-term medical therapy in glaucoma patients should be more carefully considered by specialists, according to a panel of surgeons speaking at a meeting" in Bassano Del Grappa, Italy, according to a post on the OSNSuperSite.

Vitamin D and Mac-D

“High concentrations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D may protect against early age-related macular degeneration in women younger than 75 years, according to a large observational study,” posted on the OSNSuperSite.

OpticalCEU's Spring 2011 Conference Sold Out!

OpticalCEUs has again sold out its Spring 2011 Continuing Education Conference for Opticians at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods. OpticalCEUs is no longer accepting reservations online, by phone, or via mail. 

OpticalCEUs plans to hold its Fall 2011 Continuing Education Conference for Opticians. Look for announcements here or at www.opticalceu.com. 

May Is Healthy Vision Month

"May is the Healthy Vision Month, an annual observance established by the National Eye Institute," as we are reminded by MedicalNewsToday and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. "As part of Healthy Vision Month, Mass. Eye and Ear is encouraging people to schedule comprehensive dilated eye exams with their ophthalmologists. In addition, people are urged to become knowledgeable about their family's eye health history. Do the following to help keep your eyes healthy and protect them from trauma:"

• Eat foods high in omega-3 fatty acids- proven to be beneficial in eye health;
• Wear protective eyewear;
• If you're a smoker, quit. If you don't smoke, don't start;
• Wear sunglasses year-round;
• Rest eyes every 20 minutes from staring at a computer or television monitor;
• Wash hands thoroughly before handling or changing contact lenses; and
• Always practice workplace safety as part of the healthy vision mission.

Acuvue Runs Facebook Contest for Consumers

ModernMedicine reports that “People can enter to win prizes in Vistakon’s Acuvue 1-Day Contest through May 23 by submitting a photo and a one-sentence caption about their aspirations at www.facebook.com/acuvue; see the site for details.”

European CL Marketing Growing

“A new report on soft contact lenses and lens care in Europe has found that the market grew in 11 major markets – including the UK and Ireland – by 5.6% in 2010,” starts a report from OptometryToday. “Strongest growth among the reported countries was Spain (+9.7%), UK-Ireland (9%) and Italy (7.2%), with Denmark the only one of the 11 to decline in value (-5.2%). All 11 countries showed a growth in wearers, with daily disposables ‘again the driver’, up 6.9%, with weekly/bi-weekly and monthly growing 4.1% and conventional soft lenses growing too.”

Manufacturers Awarded for Frames

"Top industry names Rodenstock and Luxoittica were amongst the winners of the  OptraAwards for the most inspiring frames of 2011 at Optrafair," according to OptometryToday. "

"Luxottica achieved four accolades while International Eyewear and Marchon each achieved two. The winner of the female ophthalmic frame category was Luxottica with the Chanel black gloss acetate 3201 C501 with a delicate temple logo. Second was The Eyewear Company with Vanni V1084 C518, and third was Fashion Eyewear International with Dilem OFO53."

Poor Vision Leads to Multi-Million Dollar Career

One woman's struggle with eyewear and contact lenses turns into a fortune. The Irish Times reports that "female comedian [Tina Fey] who had to wear glasses to read the autocue [cards] – there is a brief but grisly account of her attempts to put in contact lenses – Fey's life was changed on August 29th, 2008, when John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate." And she was paid $6 million to put it in a book.