Optician articles from March 2002

Optician archives from March 2002

Dacryocystitis; (Acute dacryocystitis, chronic dacryocystitis, mucocele).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Description Dacryocystitis is an inflammation within the lacrimal sac and can be acute or chronic. Acute dacryocystitis is due to a bacterial or, less frequently, a fungal infection within the lacrimal sac. This usually occurs due to tear...

Made in Japan.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In the second report from Japan, Chris Bennett looks at the manufacturing techniques employed by Menicon in the production of its range ofhard and soft lenses At the heart of Menicon's contact lens business is the Seki plant where some 3...

At the cutting edge of practice.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... optician reports from the recent British Contact Lens Association's conference at Aston University Around 50 delegates attended this meeting at Aston University, the latest in a series of one-day seminars organised by the BCLA in...

Hunt is on to snap up the profession's 'David Bailey'.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Entries continue to be invited for the Daily Telegraph/Novartis Visions of Science photography competition (News, February 15). For the first time Ciba Vision, a division of Novartis, has created a special category for those in the optical...

Growth in practice.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Growing the market for contact lenses has been central to the mission of the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers and its member companies for some time. Chris Bennett reports on the ACLM's recent business training day at Aston University...

Specialist fitters get new forum.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Bill Harvey attends the first meeting of a club set up by Ciba Vision UK which will provide a forum for practitioners fitting specialist lens types The gothic sprawl of Coombe Abbey was an ideal venue for a gathering of contact lens...

Introducing silicone hydrogel contact lenses.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Part 2 - Fitting procedures and in-practice protocols In the second of three articles looking at silicone hydrogel contact lenses, Lyndon Jones and Kathy Dumbleton discuss how the lenses should be fitted and how practice procedures should...

Marketers look to raise profile of eye care.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... arSenior figures from the UK's marketing sector are holding regular meetings with bosses from the optical industry to create a strategy to put eye care higher on the nation's health agenda. Ciba Vision UK's managing director, Marcus...

Contact lens care.
March 1, 2002... Part 12 - Industrial contact lens sterilisation, in-practice disinfection and daily disposables In the twelfth part of our series on contact lens care, Carol Lakkis discusses the sterilisation of contact lenses and the advantages to be...

Factors influencing success with a soft multifocal contact lens.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Which patients are likely to be the best candidates for multifocal contact lens wear? Marcella McParland, Jerry Land and Bill Long investigate some factors to consider when fitting the Focus Progressive soft lens THEQUESTFORAmultifocal ...

W T Rees launches reading Spex.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... u Hilco Europe has released its catalogue for 2002 containing the complete range of the company's products - everything from batteries to hangers, polishing kits and tray labels. The company is launching a range of new products this year...

Optika Clulow sets sights on expansion.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Fashion-led retail group Optika Clulow has revealed plans to nearly double in size this year and increase its involvement in the refractive surgery market. The group, based in the south east, currently has 45 David Clulow and Optika...

Crimes against the person.(Brief Article)(Column)
March 1, 2002... How on earth is the public supposed to take the profession's clinical credentials seriously if those policing optics fail to do so? Two cases were reported in last week's issue (News, pages 7 and 8) which demonstrate the values placed by...

Domiciliary visits fall as GOS sight tests grow.(General Ophthalmic Service)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A startling 11 per cent fall in domiciliary visits and a decline in children's spectacle repairs are revealed within new Department of Health (DoH) statistics. The General Ophthalmic Service's (GOS) figures, which cover a six-month period...

Canadian study sees benefits of tomography.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The benefits of using scanning laser tomography (SLT), in particular the Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph, to determine optic disc changes in glaucoma patients have been highlighted in a new paper. Reported in the American medical journal...

nemowrites.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Theory and practice THE'REPORTON SOCIAL INSURANCE and Allied Services', the chef d'oeuvre of academic and economist, Sir William Beveridge, must surely rank among the most momentous treatises of the 20th century. Published in 1942, when...

Van Colle defendant pleads not guilty.(murdered optometrist Giles Van Colle)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The trial of the former employee accused of killing optometrist Giles Van Colle has continued at the Old Bailey, London. Former assistant Daniel Brougham - who has pleaded not guilty - is accused of shooting Mr Van Colle three times on...

D&A takes acclaim for the wit to woo patients.(Dollond and Aitchison)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Multiple retailer Dollond & Aitchison has received a centenary trade mark award for its famous Owl logo. Head of the trade marks and design registry at the Patent Office Peter Lawrence presented the award to chief executive Dollond &...

UK frame maker says it's 'business as usual'.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Cambridge Optical Group announced this week that it was 'business as usual' after the successful outcome of its meetings on Friday (February 22) with its creditors and members. As previously reported (News, February 8) the UK's largest...

AMD sufferers vent ire at Commons' launch.(age-related macular degeneration)(UK House of Commons)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Optometrists should be able to routinely refer patients at high risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) directly to ophthalmologists. This was one of the recommendations of a new report which surveyed UK health authorities' (HAs)...

German giant stays on course after downturn.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Fielmann, the giant European optical retailer, maintained its healthy profitability in 2001, despite pre-Christmas warnings that its returns would fall below expectations. The German company, which has 447 branches across Europe and plans...

Professor offers clues to mystery of disease.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A professor is to use his inaugural lecture next week to examine why the causes of common eye conditions have not yet been discovered by epidemiologists. John Thompson, Professor of Ophthalmic Epidemiology at the University of Leicester,...

Patients say designer frames are overpriced.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A massive 85 per cent of the public think that designer frames are overpriced, while threequarters say they would not consider spending more than ?200 on a pair of spectacles. The latest VisionTrak survey, from Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS),...

Vision Express 'helped by reorganisation'.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Vision Express increased its retail sales by 11 per cent, its director general of UK and Ireland, Simon Innes reported last week. Mr Innes told optician that the French-owned business was improving its finances, with ?136m sales for Vision...

Dellen; (Fuch's dimple).(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Description A dellen is a reversible, localised corneal depression. It is due to dehydration, with resultant compaction of the normal corneal stroma. This typically occurs from disruption of the pre-corneal tear film secondary to adjacent...

Frame manufacturing in crisis.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Twenty-five years ago, there were 20 UK frame manufacturers, and now there is one - and it's in trouble. Far Eastern manufacture now has a grip on the market and some in the manufacturing industry are worried. Samantha Dalton reports Last...

Paediatric optometry; Part 1 - Terminology and epidemiology.
March 8, 2002... In the first part of a new CET series on paediatric optometry, Lisa Donaldson presents an overview of the wide range of visual and ocular conditions that may be encountered when examining children in primary optometric practice, their...

Publicity rules to be agreed.(General Optical Council.)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Limited comparative advertising in the profession was expected to be given the green light yesterday at the General Optical Council. The much-anticipated approval of the proposed changes to the Rules on Publicity, which will allow strictly...

FMO to focus on benefits of membership in 2002.(Federation of Manufacturing Opticians)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... The Federation of Manufacturing Opticians (FMO) is planning a new range of benefits with the aim of improving value for money for its members. Chairman Ruth Gans Cole - whose company W T Rees has been a long-standing member of the...

moneowrites.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... A defining moment I would like to start my column this week by offering my sincere congratulations to South Derbyshire Health Authority and the Local Optometric Committee (LOC). What a common sense approach to a hoary, old chestnut in the...

Are the kids alright?(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Paediatric eye care in the UK is a mess and looks set to get worse. As the profession faces the prospect of the Government officially abandoning its paediatric screening programme and the state of paediatric education at best variable, it...

Dispensers wooed by new courses.(ABDO)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Dispensing opticians association ABDO has announced a comprehensive series of CET events for the rest of the year. A total of 13 dates have been released by the association, the first of which will be a new version of the 'Rule Book' day,...

Spring courses to target contact lens practitioners.(British Contact Lens Association)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Contact lens courses to be launched this spring will target practitioners new to contact lenses, and those returning to practice who need to build up their confidence. 'Getting back to fitting lenses again' is a one-day course organised by...

Murderer of OO gets life at Old Bailey.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Daniel Brougham, the man accused of killing his former employer, optometrist Giles Van Colle in November 2000, was jailed for life at the Old Bailey on Monday (March 4). The jury of six men and six women unanimously found him guilty,...

Eye Contact opens new East Yorkshire office.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Recruitment firm Eye Contact Recruitment has officially opened its new office in Howden, East Yorkshire. The company, was set up in January 1999 by Stella Gunston, who had worked her way up from receptionist to dispensing optician, practice...

New diabetic retinopathy guidelines issued by NICE.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... New clinical guidelines detailing standards of eye care services for people with diabetes were released this week by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. The guidelines cover the screening and early management of diabetic...

Centralised payments scheme trials by spring.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Efforts to computerise NHS ophthalmic payments could bear fruit later this year after years of development. The profession has been trying to introduce a system that will streamline the paperwork and provide a better system to prevent...

Optics aims to link CET costs to sight test fee.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... Expenses to practitioners relating to continuing education have been costed at 69p per NHS sight test by the profession's representatives. The costing is part of the latest claim by the OFRC (Optometric Fees Review Committee) for an...

Dendritic ulcer; (Herpes simplex keratitis).(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Description The herpes simplex virus (HSV) can cause a wide spectrum of corneal disease. One of the most common and recognisable is a dendritic ulcer. It is caused by active viral replication within the corneal epithelium. The term...

A brand new identity.(Inspecs eyewear)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
March 15, 2002... Inspecs is preparing to launch three high profile branded eyewear ranges this year. Rory Brogan reports on an ambitious company with a global outlook F rame firm Inspecs may just have taken the statement 'Every Englishman's home is his...

Dressing the part.(uniforms for optical service employees and practitioners)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Staff uniforms. Love them or hate them, they are proving an increasingly attractive choice for the independent practice keen to promote its professional image While optical uniforms are almost certainly more likely to be found in a...

Practitioners on safari.(Optometrists on charitable mission to Uganda)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Vision Aid Overseas teamleader Nigel Horrocksdescribes a trip to Uganda with fellow practitioners Derek Davidson, Sally Nethercott, Sian Hopkin, Nicki Jackson, and Virginie Vendiesse Being hugged by a Cabinet minister was one of my many...

Domiciliary provider sets up training days.(Healthcall Optical Services)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Domiciliary eye care provider Healthcall Optical Services has launched a new training programme to assist optometrists who are interested or already involved in domiciliary eye care. Thirty practitioners, including many non-employees,...

CET explained.(proposed standards for continuing education for optometrist in the United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Charles Greenwood and Rachel Kellett review the College's CET scheme and discuss future developments The College of Optometrists has a responsibility to ensure that the care its members deliver is of the highest quality, supported by an...

An overview of epilepsy.
March 15, 2002... Ahead of a forthcoming article discussing the visual consequences of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs, Emma Roff Hilton, Sarah Hosking, Lyn Greenhill and Tim Betts give an overview of the condition Epilepsy has a long and complicated...

people.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Dispensing optician Debbie Champion (pictured) has been appointed a director of Leightons Opticians. She is a retail adviser and a point of contact between the dispensing staff and the board of directors. Ms Champion has more than 15 years'...

College presents awards.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... City and Islington College held its 2002 Applied Optics Diploma Presentation and Prize giving ceremony last week at the Dame Alice Owen building in Islington, London. The event also included the first David Gulley lecture entitled 'The...

Preventive medicine.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 15, 2002... In the first of an occasional series of articles, Bill Harvey summarises the findings from a selection of recent research publications which may have some impact on clinical practice T he study of what influences the progression of common...

Specsavers responds to supermarket threat.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 15, 2002... The UK's largest multiple retailer Specsavers Opticians is set to go 'head-to-head' with the supermarkets and take control of nearly one-third of the optical market by the end of the year. The Guernsey-based company currently controls 27...

GOC sets up groupsto discuss changes.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... The General Optical Council held its first meeting of 2002 last week and discussed a number of proposals, including approving the Rules on Publicity (News, March 8). Samantha Dalton now reports on the other matters The General Optical...

CET bodies agree merger.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... The sub-committees which recommend policy on CET to both the College of Optometrists and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians are to merge. The new body will comprise equal numbers of representatives from the College and ABDO,...

nemowrites.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... New ballgame Over the years the leadership of the ophthalmic optical profession has continually sought to control lesser mortals, a trait which apparently goes with the job. We have seen, for example, draconian 'Publicity Rules', agitation...

Universities plan merger.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... Consultations for the creation of a new university for Manchester have begun between UMISTand the University of Manchester. The proposal would see both universities dissolved to make way for a new institution, which would share research and...

Registration onus could be placed on employers.
March 15, 2002... Faced with the prospect of 30 per cent of practitioners not registering this year, the General Optical Council is considering making employers accountable. The Council wrote to 17,000 practitioners in an effort to prevent the situation...

You have been warned!
March 15, 2002... Why do optical practitioners fail to register with the General Optical Council in such large numbers? Peter Coe, registrar of the GOC estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 names are still missing from the register as the cut-off date arrives...

Aston to run study on children with myopia.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 15, 2002... Aston University has been awarded an NHS West Midland research and development grant worth ?28,000 to examine the prevalence of high myopia in children seen in practice and discover whether they have associated ocular and systemic conditions....

FODO to place greater emphasis on eye care.(Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... The Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians will emphasise the importance of eye care in primary and preventative healthcare as part of its core priorities and activities. The FODOcouncil this week agreed on a revised strategy...

Sunglass firm aims to take optical market by Storm.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 15, 2002... Sunglass name Blue Gem is setting its sights on the ophthalmic market with branded sunwear and the promise of a range of ophthalmic frames. Blue Gem claims to be the largest sunglass supplier in the UK, with a ?9.9m slice of the ?220m...

Wingate puts practice group up for sale.(Melson Wingate)
March 15, 2002... South coast-based practice group Melson Wingate is on the market because its chairman Nigel Wingate is planning his retirement. Mr Wingate, a well-known figure in the optical profession, has informed his staff that he is going to sell the...

Voucher rates to rise in April.(optical voucher)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 15, 2002... The optical voucher values in England will increase overall by 1.95 per cent from April 1. The new values are: A ?30.50, B ?46.40, C ?63.20, D ?142.70, E ?52.70, F ?67, G ?81, H ?157, I ?157, and J ?44.60 per lens. The complex lens...

UMIST forges links with GPs.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2002... The Vision Centre at the Department of Optometry and Neuroscience at UMIST recently held a training evening to update GPs in the North West about primary eye care. Manager Dr Clare O'Donnell offered an insight into how optometrists can...

Dermatochalasis and blepharochalasis; (Pseudoptosis).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Description Both of these conditions affect the eyelids leading to redundant skin and a baggy appearance around the eyelids. Dermatochalasis: This is a very common, usually bilateral, degenerative condition affecting both the upper and...

Breitfeld & Schliekert get UK agency.(multiple brief articles)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... u German tools, spares, consumables and accessories manufacturer, Breitfeld & Schliekert, has appointed Pro-Laser as the exclusive agent for the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Breitfeld & Schliekert, known as B&S, has been supplying a...

Indentation tonometry: the Schiotz returns.
March 22, 2002... In the final report from the Optica show in Cologne, clinical editor Bill Harvey finds a new tonometer which appears to rely on the principle of indentation, without requiring anaesthesia Many of us who studied optometry before the 1990s...

Lasik offers more, sayUltralase optometrists.(laser eye surgery )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Optometrists see laser eye surgery as complementary to their training and are attracted by its opportunities which are not usually offered in the high street, according to a recent poll. Leeds-based Lasik network Ultralase questioned its 50...

The team player.(Federation of Manufacturing Opticians Chairwoman Ruth Gans Cole)
March 22, 2002... Ruth Gans Cole became the first female chairman of the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians at the end of last year. Samantha Dalton discovers the woman behind the title Last December Ruth Gans Cole became the first woman to sit in the...

Cazal parades shades in extra large.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Cazal's new collection of frames and sunglasses has been inspired by the international catwalks and incorporates the latest fashionable extra-large lenses. Trends such as the bright colours of Tyrolean costumes, to cheerful styles...

Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II.
March 22, 2002... Bill Harvey tries out a new instrument in the City University optometry clinic which promises to be another weapon in the fight against glaucoma A significant feature of an eye examination is a thorough assessment of the optic nerve head....

Vision therapy over the internet.
March 22, 2002... Andrew Field describes how to use Orthoweb, the world's first prescribable vision therapy available to patients on the internet Exercises in managing various ocular or visual difficulties are often very useful, but their effectiveness is...

Report shows public's ignorance of eye care.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... The public is confused about where to go for eye care and has little or no awareness about serious eye conditions, new research has revealed. The study, commissioned by the Guide Dogs for the Blind, showed that of the 1,000 people surveyed...

Pupils: does size matter?
March 22, 2002... Joy Myint describes the methods of measuring pupil size, seen as increasingly important with the rise of refractive surgery, and details the benefits of the Procyon P2000SA Pupillometer It is well documented that pupil sizes vary between...

Milburn urged to make more use of optometry.(care for cataract patients)(Association of Optometrists (AOP) chief executive Ian Hunter in a letter to health secretary Alan Milburn )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Optometrists can help cut queues of patients waiting for cataract operations and prevent the need for the NHS to send its cataract patients abroad for treatment. This was the message of Association of Optometrists (AOP) chief executive Ian...

Riding high with Norville.(Norville Lens Supplies)(multiple brief articles)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... u SunSensors' summer promotion for its high performance photochromic lenses has found its first winners of the 15-speed Shimano powered mountain bikes - with eight more still to be won in the prize draw. The next stage of the lens...

Digital imaging.
March 22, 2002... In the first of an occasional series, Bill Harvey looks at some of the different ways in which digital imaging equipment is being employed in optometric practice throughout the UK The ability to capture and store a high-resolution image of...

Intervals memo to go active on April 1.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... A new document confirms that the decision to carry out an eye examination remains a matter entirely for the clinical judgement of the optometrist or ophthalmic medical practitioner in England. The Memorandum of Understanding on the...

Biocompatibles seeks new business focus.(now selling its interests in stents after divesting its contact lens business)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Biocompatibles International, the medical devices company which recently sold its contact lens division to the Cooper Companies, is now selling its interests in stents. The ?165m deal, which comes 10 days after a Biocompatibles...

Specsaviours?(United Kingdoms' Specsavers Opticians battles supermarkets for its market)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Has Specsavers emerged as the saviour of the optical profession in the face of an aggressive onslaught from the supermarkets? The comments made by Speccies' boss Doug Perkins last week could well be seen as such given the silence on the...

Diabetes care inadequate.(survey by Diabetes UK)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... Elderly people with diabetes are being put at serious risk through inadequate healthcare provision in care homes, according to the charity Diabetes UK. A survey of care homes in Newham, London, found that less than half the residents with...

'Data Protection Act' firm targets practices.(suspected scam by Data Protection Agency Services Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 29, 2002... Optical practices are being warned to be on the look out for direct mail campaigns urging them to register with the Data Protection Act. Direct mailings have been received at practices in Scotland and the south from a company called Data...

Eye care provider bags bank deal.(Eye Care Plans contract with Barclays Bank)(Brief Article)
March 29, 2002... The director of a corporate eye care provider which has just won a contract with Barclays Bank has spoken out on the 'misconception' the profession has on returns from corporate appointments. Jonathan Kent, managing director of ASE (Eye...

Descemet's membrane breaks; (Corneal hydrops, forceps injury, Haab striae).(Brief Article)
March 29, 2002... Description An acute break in Descemet's membrane leads to rapid and gross corneal stromal oedema termed corneal hydrops. This most commonly occurs with the ectatic corneal dystrophies (keratoconus, keratoglobus and pellucid marginal...

Examnerves.(discussion of fees charged by optometrists)(Industry Overview)
March 29, 2002... Charges for clinical procedures additional to the eye examination have divided the profession ever since they were first mooted by the Association of Optometrists, three years ago this week. optician reports on where the debate stands at...

Amaurosis fugax - a review.(fleeting loss of vision)
March 29, 2002... Nicholas Phelps Brown discusses the nature and the causes of amaurosis fugax, a fleeting loss of vision resulting from a temporary interruption of blood flow to the retina or optic nerve There are just a handful of conditions which turn up...

Visio-Max offers one-month trial.(new vitamin supplement intended to promote healthy eyes)(Brief Article)
March 29, 2002... u Nutrition and the eye is constantly in the news and there is a growing body of evidence linking certain vitamins and antioxidants to improved protection against cataract and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Wassen, a supplier of...