In Other News

WCSM Bronze Medal winners. The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers (WCSM) last week awarded the 2024 Master’s Medal to Bledi Petriti for his work on the association of peripheral blood mononuclear cell respiratory function with progressive glaucomatous vision loss. Having recently achieved his PhD from the Institute of Ophthalmology/UCL, Petitri is now also a post-doctorate Fellow at Yale University in the US. The prestigious Ruskell Medal was awarded to another early-stage researcher, Yukun Zhou, for work done as part of his PhD on establishing a foundation model for generalizable disease detection from retinal images. Link

MiYOSMART in Practice. HOYA Vision Care is running a new myopia training course specifically for optical assistants and practice support staff. MiYOSMART In Practice will be delivered online in three 30 minute sessions that cover the basics of myopia, myopia management, and confident communication in practice. The course will also “unlock opportunities for independent practices to grow and prosper, attracting valuable new business and most importantly, helping more children to access the treatment they deserve,” says HOYA. The first live webinar takes place today (Wednesday, October 16, 2024) with a recorded version available shortly afterwards. Link

Optegra’s “clearly better” campaign. Specialist eye hospital group Optegra has launched a new regionally targeted campaign, including TV coverage, to raise awareness of its NHS cataract surgery options.The campaign conveys how difficult it is for people suffering with cataracts to engage with the everyday world. It is the first time Optegra has run TV advertising around its NHS offering; prospective patients are expected to see the advert five to six times over four weeks.

Looking after the CL patient. An upcoming BCLA webinar aims to improve the contact lens customer experience, examining recent research from eye care professionals and patients “to better understand the process and consider where practical solutions can be found to improve efficiencies in practice and enable an outstanding patient contact lens experience.” CooperVision’s Samantha Watson will lead the session on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 from 7–8 pm GMT.  Link

Lumio launch. Aston Vision Sciences (AVS) has introduced the Lumio, a portable handheld device offering “crystal-clear visualization, both in broadband white light and tuned blue light, perfect for fluorescein dye assessments.” The company adds, “Thanks to its high-performance, clip-in yellow filter, you can now perform fluorescein dye observations without needing a slit lamp.”  Link