Optician articles from January 2004

Optician archives from January 2004

Rheumatoid arthritis and the eye.
January 9, 2004... Description Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a relatively common systemic collagen vascular disorder affecting both articular cartilage and non-articular tissue. It is more common in women but frequently follows a more aggressive course when...

Keeler offers two fields of view.(AMA Optic)(Beausoleil)
January 9, 2004... u The new Wide Angle Twin Mag ophthalmoscope from Keeler offers two fields of view with non-polarised, reflex and shadow-free images, ensuring optimum diagnosis. The whole unit is lightweight, compact, comfortable to hold and very easy to use,...

Innovative Sclerals annual conference.
January 9, 2004... Optometrist and contact lens practitioner Paolo Formichella reports from November's Innovative Sclerals conference in London It is easy to picture the dismay of some, when faced with a discussion on the construction, fitting and clinical...

A clinical comparison of two soft lens care systems used with silicone hydrogel contact lenses.
January 9, 2004... Silicone hydrogel lenses are often prescribed for daily wear but some combinations of lenses and lens care products have been associated with increased corneal staining. Chris Amos compares Ciba Vision's latest peroxide-based system, AOSept...

Kangol gives a new signature to sunglass line.(Inspecs)(International Eyewear)(Silverlink Enterprises)
January 9, 2004... u Kangol sunglasses' Spring Summer 2004 range features modern aviators with a graduated one-piece lens and oversized square and rounded acetate styles in monochrome and red colourways. Retro plaids in yellow and black match the fabrics used...

Profession is told of CET fees time-bomb.(continuing education and training)
January 9, 2004... Compulsory continuing education and training could bring with it hefty charges for practitioners and those who organise professional training. The proposals to impose sweeping fees for CET were unveiled at a pre-Christmas General Optical...

Points at what price?
January 9, 2004... Compulsory CET for optical practitioners is likely to be introduced next January. optician reveals that there now appears to be some movement in deciding exactly how the system will operate With less than a year to go before the originally...

Practitioner at a loss over frames delivery.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Practitioners who use delivery companies should ensure they have adequate insurance on the contents to avoid financial losses. This was the message this week from Ian Taylor, director of independent Cheshire practice Taylors Opticians, who...

Lens giant celebrates UK practice success.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Rodenstock celebrated in style in the run-up to Christmas with an awards bash at the Savoy in London for its Club member practices. Twenty foreign weekend breaks, a clutch of trophies and three cars were among the prizes handed out to...

Cold turkey.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... There was something that stuck in the craw over the holiday period and it wasn't the mountain of cold turkey left over from Christmas dinner. The morsel proving difficult to swallow was the proposal put forward by Act, the company...

Optometry overlooked by PCTs, admits report.
January 9, 2004... A new report by the NHS Alliance has highlighted the problem of the optical profession's lack of involvement in primary care trusts. The document, published by the representative organisation of primary care and PCTs, states that...

DoH plans to remove right to sign claims.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The Government has proposed changes to the GOS system which would see most optometrists lose their authority to sign sight test forms. The Department of Health told optical bodies FODO, ABDO and the AOP before Christmas that it planned to...

UltraVision in South America.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... UltraVision International has started to sell its range of contact lenses in South America, following the appointment of distributors in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. The breakthrough was a boost to the company said Chris Jamieson, sales and...

Mobile plans cause alarm.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... A plan to introduce a mobile eye treatment unit in Oxfordshire has sparked fears that Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary eye hospital will bear the brunt of health cutbacks. The plans to introduce the new service, which will be run by a private...

Publicity claim is subject of GOC hearing.(General Optical Council )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... A dispensing optician is accused of failing to comply with the profession's publicity rules after making press claims for his Carmarthen practice. Russell Evan-Jones is one of three people to appear before GOC disciplinary committees in...

Cataract linked to vitreous change.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... American ophthalmology researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have identified a key risk factor for the development of cataracts. For the first time, they have demonstrated an association between loss of gel in...

Macular disease in everyday practice.(eye diseases-care and treatment)
January 15, 2004... There is more to macular disease in optometric practice than age-related degeneration. Kirit Patel describes two cases CASE ONE History An Asian patient, aged 58, came for a routine diabetic eye examination. She had a history of...

Instant Replay.(optical industry-conference)
January 15, 2004... Last month's Replay Learning Clinical Conference offered eight CET points and a challenging way to spend a Sunday. Paul Bradford reports from the University of Bradford Enticed by an 'early bird' low cost and the inducement of up to eight...

Pure titanium from Charmant.(eyewear industry)
January 15, 2004... u The I-Nova collection is a new range of titanium frames from Charmant. The pure titanium collection comprises nine models, with in a choice of three metallic colours. The nickel-free frames feature smaller and contemporary eyeshapes and...

Optyl.(thermoplastic materials to make eyeglass frames and use of other materials in frames)
January 15, 2004... Optyl is not a thermoplastic The truth of this depends on your definition of a thermoplastic. It cannot be permanently remoulded like many thermoplastics, but it can be bent into new shapes and will retain them, so it does become 'plastic'...

A sackful of CET credits.(Center for Educational Technologies)
January 15, 2004... Ranna Rai reports on the 10th Specsavers' Professional Advancement Conference. More delegates, more CET credits and more speakersthan ever before This one-day clinical conference is the biggest event of its kind in Europe, with more than...

Brands hatched.(Andrew Actman-owner of an eyewear company and deputy chairman of the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians)(Interview)
January 15, 2004... Search for Andrew Actman Eyewear on the web and you will find as many references to racing cars as you will about spectacles. Continuing our series of monthly interviews with British frame designers, Andrew Actman (right) talks to Rob Moss...

Cataract surgery post-Lasik.(power calculation of intraocular lenses)
January 15, 2004... Anant Sharma proposes a new approach to IOL power calculation in patients who have undergone refractive surgery Intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation for cataract surgery can be inaccurate after refractive corneal laser surgery.1-3 This...

Threlfall appeal goes before High Court.(optometrists-professional misconduct)(General Optical Council)
January 15, 2004... The outcome of the Nicole Threlfall legal appeal will have ramifications for the whole profession, the High Court heard last week. The optometrist was found guilty of serious professional misconduct in May, and the outcome of her appeal...

Optometrist faces hearing.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... An optometrist was scheduled to appear before a General Optical Council disciplinary committee this week charged with serious professional misconduct. The case of Eastbourne-based Wendy Ann Dick, who qualified 29 years ago, was to be held...

Specsavers takes the message to mobile phones.(Specsavers Opticians)
January 15, 2004... u Specsavers Opticians' online contact lens service, Specsavers Direct, has become the official sponsor of the interactive MMS picture messaging soap opera, FanTESStic. Developed by Endemol, the producers of Big Brother, FanTESStic is the...

New chapter in international optometry.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... UK delegates were among 640 people who attended the first conference organised between the European Chapter of the American Academy of Optometry and two continental bodies, the OVN and VDC. The three-day conference, held in Oberhausen in...

Fashion firm aims for 70 stores in Europe.(Europtic Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... An aggressive plan to open 70 European fashion eyewear stores has targeted Britain for a 2005 launch. A recruitment campaign aimed at attracting UK optometrists and other optical staff to sell its 'high-end' brand offer is also in the...

FODO reveals sharp drop in liability claims.(Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians )
January 15, 2004... Employers body FODO has revealed a sharp drop in the professional liability insurance claims handled by the body on behalf of its members. However, the Federation's professional adviser Professor Steve Taylor said he was concerned that...

Imaging technology wins global plaudits.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... A 'unique' new non-invasive technique for high resolution optical imaging of the eye is receiving global acclaim. The technique, pioneered by the University of Kent, combines two high-resolution imaging technologies, providing 3-D images of...

$1m to combat river blindness.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Efforts to combat onchocerciasis, the Third World disease commonly known as river blindness, took a step forward this week when American pharmaceutical giant Merck announced a $1m donation. The contribution, which involves the company's...

DO dies after plunging 300ft in Thailand.(dispensing optician )(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 15, 2004... A dispensing optician and experienced activity sports enthusiast has died in tragic circumstances in the Far East. Neil Queminet, 38, who was employed by Vision Express in East Anglia, fell 330ft as he prepared to paraglide from a cliff top...

Third of drivers have poor vision, says RNIB.(Royal National Institute of the Blind)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... New research on drivers' vision will claim that a third of motorists have poor eyesight and are putting themselves and others at risk. The research, which tested the vision of 700 drivers, will be released later this month as part of the...

Marcolin loses D&G brands to Luxottica.(Dolce & Gabbana drops Marcolin S.p.A. and chooses Luxottica S.p.A for distributing its eyewear brand)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Dolce & Gabbana and D&G eyewear will be made and distributed by Luxottica from January 2006, after the Italian fashion brand chose not to continue its 10-year relationship with frame company Marcolin. The loss of the D&G brands will be...

Conviction for theft leads to erasure order.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... A practitioner was struck off this week for stealing thousands of pounds from her multiple employer. At a GOC disciplinary hearing dispensing optician Razia Khan was charged that while a registered optician, she was convicted by a court of...

Rosacea keratitis.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Description Acne rosacea is a relatively common inflammatory skin condition of unknown cause. It affects the face in a classic butterfly rash configuration across the cheeks and nose. While most involvement is fairly mild it may rarely...

De Rigo's top sports stars just can't stand losing.(Independent Marketing Partnership )
January 16, 2004... u Ever in the habit of signing big name sports stars to promote its products, De Rigo has announced that England captain David Beckham returns as the face of Police sunglasses, while Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher will be the worldwide...

Augusto Valentini gives cause for consideration.
January 16, 2004... u It is not often that an eyewear manufacturer will recommend glazing a frame with a lens that is bigger than the design, but model 70030 from Italian brand Augusto Valentini calls for just that. Distributed in the UK by Capitol Optical,...

Top of the cloths.
January 16, 2004... How do you gauge the effectiveness and quality of a microfibre cloth? Is it the tightness of the weave and its cleaning ability? Is it its size, colour or how attractive it looks? Should it have writing or an image printed on it? Can it be sold...

NetLectures Live 2004.
January 16, 2004... Bill Harvey reports on NetLectures Live which included lectures on grading scales, obtaining the best visual and cosmetic performance in ophthalmic lens selection, and myopia development in children NetLectures may have chosen its annual...

Cycloplegia: pros and cons.
January 16, 2004... Catherine Viner examines the use of cycloplegia in refraction, considering both indications for the technique and the arguments against its use An active ciliary body controls the eye's accommodation process, and allows focusing on near...

Serving the suburbs.
January 16, 2004... Samantha Dalton reports on a practice in Sheffield offering the services and the attention to detail that build patient loyalty Independent optometrist Martyn Kemp has been practising in South Yorkshire for more than 30 years. During that...

New light on 'slow vision'.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Researchers in the US and Holland have identified a genetic defect that can affect a person's ability to adjust to bright light, according to a report in Nature. Koji Nishiguchi and colleagues in the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary...

moneowrites.(College of Optometrists)
January 16, 2004... Christmas cracker They say that if you want to announce bad news in a way that very few people will notice, you should announce it alongside other worse news or when other matters distract people's attention. I would like to remind all...

Euro stalls VE recovery.
January 16, 2004... The financial performance of Vision Express' 106 non-joint venture stores remains fragile. Following a fall of 14 per cent in its sales during the third quarter of last year, E48m compared to 2002's E56m, French parent GrandVision's latest...

VE boss to speak at retail conference.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The new boss of Vision Express will be one of the key speakers at a prestigious retail conference in London chaired by Newsnight's 'anchorman' Jeremy Paxman. Marcel Cezar, who was appointed chairman of Vision Express in the autumn,...

Lectures in Texas.(American Academy of Optometry )
January 16, 2004... Jonathan Walker reports from last month's American Academy of Optometry meeting and finds that the Americans are not ahead of the UK in everything Wavefronts, higher-order aberrations and their applications were very much the hot topics at...

Global charity needs your help.
January 16, 2004... Practitioners are being given the opportunity to show their benevolent side to customers by becoming involved in an important global charity. Earlier this week Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) was launched as a fund-raising and awareness...

Queue-busting plans draw flak.(Netcare)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Efforts to cut cataract operation waiting times before the next election stepped up a gear this week with the announcement that two mobile treatment centres will start treating patients from February. However, the scheme, contracted to...

Boots under pressure as Asda cuts prices.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Supermarket Asda has attempted to put more pressure on Boots Opticians ahead of the Nottingham group's trading statement expected today (January 16) by announcing optical price cuts and comparisons. National newspapers reported that the...

Master's Prize worth [pounds sterling]500.(Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers )(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... A prize of [pounds sterling]500 awaits a young professional making his or her first published contribution to ophthalmic science. The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers has announced the launch of the Master's Prize 2004 aimed at newly...

Costing key to unlock screening opportunity.
January 16, 2004... The profession must prove that its diabetic retinopathy screening schemes are efficient to win over doubters within ophthalmology and PCTs. That was one of the key messages to emerge from a specially convened conference on diabetic retinopathy...

'Miracle' cataract cure not clinically proven.
January 16, 2004... Favourable publicity in the mass media for a 'miracle' cure for cataract has received short shrift from the professional community. Grandiose claims for the Bright Eyes drops were made in a pre-Christmas Daily Mail article (December 16)....

OOs are first to diagnose.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... A primary care trust's clinical governance manager has spoken of the value of optometrists as efforts increase to encourage diabetics to attend free eye screenings. Liz Graham, of Darlington PCT, said people with diabetes should be...

Salzmann nodular degeneration.
January 23, 2004... Description Salzmann nodular degeneration is an uncommon anterior corneal condition usually seen secondary to chronic keratitis and often occurring in childhood. Common precipitating causes of this condition are phlyctenulosis, trachoma,...

who's on the ; move.(Lynx IDG)(Batemans)
January 23, 2004... Dunfermline technology company Optos has appointed Cathy Jackson as the new sales and marketing director for the UK and Ireland. 'My first job is to refocus the business in the UK and Ireland. The profile of our customers here has changed from...

Cutting a dash.
January 23, 2004... Hairdressing brand Toni & Guy opened its first optical practice in September. Freelance journalist Andrew Bussey went along for an eye examination and gives his opinion of what the new concept has to offer The name Toni & Guy has become...

'80s revival brand.(Cazal)
January 23, 2004... If you are a major music fan with a keen eye for sunglasses it's likely that you have spotted vintage Cazal designs in some recent videos, from Christina Aguilera to Missy Elliot. optician charts the trend Cazal sunglasses from the 1980s...

Paintball injuries on the increase.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Renewed warnings about the dangers to ocular health posed by the activity sport paintball have emerged from the US. A study by New York paediatrician Dr David Listman appeared in January's edition of the American Pediatrics journal. His...

The optometrist's role in glaucoma management.
January 23, 2004... Glaucoma patients constitute up to 30 per cent of consultant-led outpatient visits within the Hospital Eye Service and this figure is poised to increase as the current population ages. Amanda Jones discusses the current scheme at Manchester...

Optom takes website to task.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Lancashire optometrist Derek Pellowe has been waging a one-man crusade against members of the public being able to sell prescription contact lenses via internet auction site eBay UK. Pellowe first contacted eBay when he noticed a plano...

Annoyed? Then it must be working.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... A Specsavers Opticians advert has been voted the second most irritating commercial of 2003, according to a survey commissioned by Marketing magazine. But while it displeased viewers, it was also likely to be memorable, according to a...

Measuring reading speed.
January 23, 2004... Rabiah Narband looks at the need to measure reading speed rather than text size when deciding on the appropriate correction for a patient. This is increasingly being incorporated into routine assessment of the visually impaired One of the...

Eye staff win bursaries.(Moorfields Eye Hospital )(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Optical charity Fight for Sight has awarded three [pounds sterling]1,000 bursaries to Moorfields Eye Hospital staff. The bursaries have been awarded to clinical staff for specific short-term projects or to attend conferences and courses. ...

Norville gets ready for fun in the sun.
January 23, 2004... u The Norville Group has released a number of products to help practices get ready for this summer. Flips, clips and sunshields for virtually every shape and size of frame are now available from the 2004 Peepers Collection. Included in the...

Diabetes care for the future.(College of Optometrists)(Association of Optometrists )
January 23, 2004... optician reports on last week's one-day conference organised by the College of Optometrists and the Association of Optometrists which looked at proposals for optometrist-based shared care schemes The interest in maintaining a strong...

Moorfields leads way to foundation status.(Moorfields Eye Hospital )(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Moorfields Eye Hospital is on track to become one of the first NHS foundation trusts, following adoption of the controversial Health Service 'modernisation' scheme. The London-based hospital - one of the world's leading centres for eye...

Eyecare 3000 offers more choice.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Scotland's mini Optrafair - Eyecare 3000 - starts this Sunday with organisers promising greater flexibility for delegates attending its CET course. Over 50 exhibitors will pack the Glasgow Marriott Hotel, with the likes of CooperVision,...

Supermarket bullish over optical 'success'.
January 23, 2004... Tesco says optometry has confirmed its place as a major element of its offer after the policy of aggressive price promotion has proved successful. Following a profitable Christmas trading period, the UK's largest supermarket plans to...

Thinking of selling up?(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Thinking of buying or selling your practice? A series of nine nationwide seminars aims to help practitioners with practical advice on improving the profitability of their outlets, as well as other aims including changes of ownership. ...

CET courses under threat from fees plan.(continuing education and training)(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... The wrangle over funding for compulsory CET is set to escalate after FODO and the AOP said this week they had 'enormous concerns' about the current fees proposals ('CET fees time-bomb', News, January 9). The bodies met with provider Act to...

Victory for profession over GOS proposals.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... The Department of Health has been forced to back down over its proposed changes to the GOS regulations after meeting with optical representatives last week. ABDO, the AOP and FODO met with the Government on Friday to contest its plans to...

Optometrist cleared by GOC committee.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... An optometrist accused of serious professional misconduct has been cleared of the charge. Valerie Kitchener, who practises in Stockport, cried with relief after she left the GOC disciplinary committee which took place in London earlier...

Boots Opticians boss to leave the company.
January 23, 2004... Boots Opticians boss Norman Usher is to leave the business after last week's redundancy announcement at the pharmacy group's Nottingham head office. It was Usher, who succeeded Stephan Murray in 2001, who wrote to practices 12 months ago...

World comes to Contamac.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Contamac welcomed guests from around the world to its Saffron Walden, Essex headquarters this week to hear about the launch of a new family of RGP materials. The polymer development specialist drew interest from as far afield as India,...

Record crowds attend Opti Munich trade fair.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Europe's youngest optical exhibition Opti Munich again broke its own records last weekend with massive growth in attendance and exhibitor numbers. The move to the larger New Munich Trade Fair in the east of the city proved a success with...

Super salaries for cataract 'super docs'.(Netcare )(Brief Article)
January 23, 2004... Private doctors brought into the NHS to bring down cataract waiting lists will be paid more than half-a-million pounds a year, it is reported. The report, in the Sunday Mirror (January 18), claims that massive salaries for 'super docs'...

Scleritis - classification.
January 30, 2004... Description Scleritis is a protean and diverse group of clinical syndromes. It is much less common than episcleritis, but more commonly leads to significant ocular complications. Despite the occasional occurrence of significant scleral...

Airess folds.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... French frame firm Airess, which produced the Dunhill, Escada and Morgan brands, has gone into liquidation following debts of E45m and with the loss of 198 jobs. The French website Acuite reported that L'Amy and a Swiss investment company...

Headsets without the wires.(Kata Europe )
January 30, 2004... u Keeler's Vantage and All-Pupil indirect ophthalmoscopes are now available in a wireless version, leaving practitioners free to examine patients without the restriction of power supply cables. Each of these lightweight instruments is fitted...

DO wins visit to R+H.(Rupp + Hubrach )
January 30, 2004... u Dispensing optician Stephen John from Worcester was first-prize winner in a Rupp + Hubrach launch draw and recently visited the company's headquarters in Bamberg with his wife Jacqui. The tour took in a trip around the company's prescription...

December doldrums.
January 30, 2004... While growth was up by 12 per cent over the year, turnover in December fell back by 21 per cent, compared with the high of November December is always a poor month in terms of revenue and dispensing compared to the rest of the year. This...

The animated eye.
January 30, 2004... David Ruston reviews eyeMaginations and HeyeLites, two modules of a software programme which may help to improve the way an optometrist educates patients about eyes, eye care and the risks of contracting eye diseases Movies like Toy Story...

nemowrites.
January 30, 2004... seal of official approval was finally affixed in 1958 by the Opticians Act, according them professional status. Thus inspired, the Great and the Good set out to create a profession of their own devising. Prominent among them was the...