Optician articles from March 2007

Optician archives from March 2007

Glaucoma - Primary open-angle assessmentPrimary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).(Features)
March 2, 2007... DESCRIPTION Glaucoma may be described as a complex of diseases and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is but one of this constellation of conditions. It is the most common of the glaucomas and accounts for about 90 per cent of the...

Pocket perfect.(P pages)(Andrew Actman Eyeware)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Andrew Actman has introduced a fun and quirky collection of ready-readers called Collision Too providing a 'quick and convenient solution for easy reading'. Compact and neat, the hardwearing frames feature a neat outline and are finished in...

The shortlists revealed.(News)
March 2, 2007... Shortlists for the 2007 Optician Awards have been drawn up following a busy judging day at the Optician offices. Eight categories in all were judged by individual panels of four judges. Separate panels will judge a further two categories...

Essential contact lens practice.(Features)
March 2, 2007... Part 1 - Initial patient assessment Public awareness of the benefits of contact lens correction is arguably higher today than at any time in history, thanks largely to advertising and public relations. And significant advances in contact...

The use of stains in dry eye assessment.(Features)
March 2, 2007... Andrew Matheson describes the use of stains, including lissamine green, in assessment of dry eye and explores various management options. C6178, one CET point, additional supply specialist point In dry eye disorders the corneal and...

The patient art of compliance.(Features)(patient compliance in using contact lenses)
March 2, 2007... Poor patient compliance is regularly a source of frustration for optical practitioners. Shannon McKenzie and Bill Harvey look at some strategies that can be employed Studies indicate that up to 80 per cent of contact lens...

Studying the solution.(Features)(contact lenses)
March 2, 2007... Recent studies have thrown more light on the interaction of contact lenses, solutions and the eye As contact lens materials and solution formulations become ever more complex, the compatibility of these products with the eye and with each...

Lens is comfortably compact.(P pages)
March 2, 2007... Carl Zeiss Vision's next generation progressive lenses have been engineered to fit small frames. Sola Compact Ultra offers the shortest corridor length and largest reading area of any short-corridor progresssive without compromising comfort,...

Graham Haynes.(News)
March 2, 2007... Dollond & Aitchison contact lens dispensing optician Graham Haynes died on February 8 2007, aged 52. After qualifiying in 1977, Haynes started his career at Hirst Opticians, Northampton, before joining D&A in 1980. In 1986 he moved to...

The trouble with grandfather.(Other)
March 2, 2007... * I wrote to Optician last year about the problems I had obtaining a new 'grandfather' when my optometrist and acting 'grandfather' left my practice. An optometrist colleague from afar stepped into the breach, but my PCT seemed intent to...

News.
March 2, 2007... 4 Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Institute, London, 'Be the best you can be' (www.bethebestyoucanbe.org) 5 Sight Care Group, Birmingham NEC, National one-day conference - The way forward (kateburge@sightcare.co.uk) 5 Northants Optical...

News.
March 2, 2007... Fight for Sight's new chief executive Michele Acton is one of 22 people to run the Flora London Marathon for the charity, along with staff from Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institute of Ophthalmology. Acton said: 'I thought this would be a...

P pages.
March 2, 2007... Giorgio Armani has teamed up with Essilor for its latest collection producing frames with Clean Touch sunglass lenses. The company claims these lenses are resistant to blemishes and impurities meaning that fingerprints are almost unnoticeable...

Murray Wells seeks 'hypergrowth'.(News)(Glasses Direct founder James Murray is planning for expansion)
March 2, 2007... Glasses Direct Founder Jamie Murray Wells has confirmed recent reports that the internet spectacle retailer is seeking further funding to accelerate its growth but has said a City float is not on the cards. Under the headline 'I'm ready to...

Head to go here.(Features)
March 2, 2007... Alison Ewbank hears what UK practitioners have to say about the Vision Care Institute in Prague Is your personality blue, red, green or yellow? Not the usual question you might expect to be asked on a contact lens CET course, but an...

Practice hit by raiders.(News)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... A GOC fitness to practise hearing for Anthony Vaughan Jones will take place on March 20 after being deemed 'guilty of deficient professional performance' by the Council. The Council alleges that Jones's fitness to practise is impaired...

News.(opening of Richard Desmond Children's Eye Centre)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Her Majesty The Queen last week officially opened the Richard Desmond Children's Eye Centre at Moorfields. After unveiling a plaque, Her Majesty took a tour of the new multi-million-pound facility, meeting patients, staff and major donors. The...

Marco makes its Merchamp debut.(P pages)
March 2, 2007... Dublin-based Merchamp Optical promises to offer something 'eye-catchingly different' in sun eyewear for the new season. The Marco collection of plano polarising fashion sunglasses is equally suitable for glazing to prescription. The 21-style...

Proud of affordable optical service.(News)(Stephen Bryan )(Specsavers)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... * As one who lives in jogging bottoms and wheels out my one-and-only suit for funerals, I feel Stephen Bryan is himself being judgemental (Optician, February 23). Also, without a franchisor owning 51 per cent of my equity, I have been providing...

Hearing date.(News)
March 2, 2007... Ramraiders smashed into a practice in Muswell Hill, London last week stealing [pounds sterling]10,000 worth of designer sunglasses. The thieves rammed a car through the window of Panoptica Opticians in Muswell Hill Broadway in the early...

Other.
March 2, 2007... CooperVision has launched an online ordering system, available to practitioners at www.coopervision.com 24 hours a day, to place, track and view orders at any time that suits. Customer service manager Jacqui Rock said the system had been...

News.
March 2, 2007... in brief The BCLA is hosting a half-day four-point CET course ahead of its evening meeting to discuss the Section 60 laws on contact lens sale and supply on March 28. 'Past presidents reflect on new technologies' will feature presentations...

News.
March 2, 2007... A Glasgow-based eye care-focused technology company claims to have produced a superior contact lens that will reduce production costs by as much as 50 per cent. Over the past 18 months, Ocutec has developed a thermoplastic hydrogel polymer...

Other.
March 2, 2007... Grace Haine, Letters February 16, bemoans the lot of dispensing opticians and has mounted her own one-man campaign to emphasise this by metaphorically chaining herself to the railings of 41 Harley Street and refusing to renew her registration...

Budget recall.(P pages)
March 2, 2007... PCS Cheltenham has introduced the practice management system Basic Recall for the management of patient details, print reminder letters or postcards. The system also prints details onto GOS forms and is supplied with English/Welsh, Scottish and...

P pages.
March 2, 2007... ProDesign's Scandinavian style sunglass collection uses luxury materials combined with high quality mineral lenses for 'classic simplicity'. The collection comprises two lines with nine models. As well as follow ups to the titanium series...

Puma stays cool in racing trim.(P pages)
March 2, 2007... Puma Sunwear Motor Sport Collection reflects the elements of sport, fashion, lifestyle and innovative technology by combining aerodynamic construction, high-tech materials and trendy design details, said Charmant. With air rips across the...

RNIB to drop white stick from logo.(News)(Royal National Institute for the Blind)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The RNIB is to drop the distinctive white stick from its logo in a re-branding exercise to raise awareness of its work with the partially sighted. The charity said this week that the repositioning was necessary because the current design...

Rudy's new catalogue.(P pages)
March 2, 2007... Rudy Project has released its 2007 collection catalogue, providing the essential guide to its latest range of Italian-made sports eyewear. The guide is divided into sections covering the ranges from the Impact X series and Chrome series to...

News.
March 2, 2007... UK disability insurance provider UnumProvident has presented its charity beneficiary SeeAbility with a cheque for [pounds sterling]30,000. UnumProvident staff and other organisations raised the funds by taking part in Le Jo'G, a sponsored...

Myopia linked to too much TV.(News)
March 2, 2007... Permanent vision damage in children previously attributed to genetics is now being strongly linked to excessive TV viewing. The finding is made in a report compiled by psychologist Dr Aric Sigman which lists 15 health problems which he...

Regulation shake-up.(News)
March 2, 2007... by Perry Thakrar perry.thakrar@rbi.co.uk There has been a mixed reaction from the optical bodies and the GOC to the publication of the Government's White Paper on the radical shake-up of regulation of health professionals. The...

Sports Vision: Fast Forward!(News)
March 2, 2007... Affordable flights packed with skiers and snowboarders new sports clubs and fitness centres opening everywhere next year's Olympics bringing sport into ever sharper focus for enthusiasts and couch potatoes alike There's never been a better time...

News.
March 2, 2007... Giorgio Armani has teamed up with Essilor for its latest collection of frames with Clean Touch sunglass lenses. These lenses are designed to be highly resistant to blemishes and impurities. Model GA 487/s (above) is an aviator available in...

News.
March 2, 2007... BBGR has produced a special ruler to help practitioners measure the pantoscopic angle and BVD. Described as an easy to use device, it was conceived for the launch of BBGR's new lens Anateo PdM where extra frame measurements are taken into...

PCTs urged to approve use of wet AMD drug.(News)
March 2, 2007... Lucentis is now licensed and available for use in the UK but nearly 20,000 people will go blind before the drug is assessed by NICE say its supporters. Rigorous clinical trials over the past two years have demonstrated that Lucentis...

Norville adds 12 new styles to ICE.(News)
March 2, 2007... Norville's ICE sunglass collection comprises eight metal and four plastic models in 'commercial and highly wearable designs'. The collection is available as a complete set or individually, and the styles are available with plano or as a...

Midlands optometrist to face GOC committee.(News)
March 2, 2007... A GOC fitness to practise committee hearing for Wolverhampton optometrist Samir Patel is scheduled to take place on March 23 in London. The inquiry will be based on the allegation submitted by the Council that Patel's fitness to practise...

Plano CL sales must be supervised.(News)
March 2, 2007... Plano contact lenses can only be sold by or under the supervision of a registered practitioner who must be on the premises when the lenses are supplied. Changes to professional guidance on contact lens fitting supply issued by the College...

Inspired by Prague.(Features)
March 2, 2007... Alison Ewbank hears what UK practitioners have to say about the Vision Care Institute in Prague Is your personality blue, red, green or yellow? Not the usual question you might expect to be asked on a contact lens CET course but an...

News.
March 2, 2007... ProDesign's Scandinavian style sunglass collection uses luxury materials and high quality mineral lenses for 'classic simplicity'. The collection comprises two lines with nine models. As well as follow-ups to its titanium series, the Danish...

Conditions imposed on optometrist.(News)
March 2, 2007... A locum optometrist at the Burton-on-Trent branch of Specsavers has had conditions imposed on him for eight months by the GOC after failing to diagnose that a patient was suffering from a detached retina. The GOC fitness to practise...

Hope for patients with vision loss.(News)
March 2, 2007... Stroke patients with visual field defects appear to show some improvement from a novel light stimulation treatment. Strokes can often cause a partial or complete loss of vision in one half of the visual field in each eye, causing...

Glaucoma - Primary open-angle management.(News)(Disease/Disorder overview)
March 9, 2007... DESCRIPTION, SYMPTOMS, SIGNS See previous condition. PREVALENCE POAG accounts for approximately 14 per cent of blindness registrations in the UK, Australia and the US. In the population as a whole, it is uncommon. However, it has...

Alliance seeks help at event.(News)(Eye Health Alliance will hold a conference at Royal College of Nursing to promote the importance of eye health)
March 9, 2007... The Eye Health Alliance will be promoting the importance of eye health and regular sight tests to the nursing profession at the Royal College of Nursing Annual Congress in April. The Alliance will be looking for optometrists to help operate...

Going that extra mile.(Features)
March 9, 2007... A strong commitment to the community earned accolades for the Specsavers South Shields practice team at last year's Optician Awards Going that 'extra mile' is a force of habit for staff at Specsavers South Shields, according to practice...

The judges decide.(News)
March 9, 2007... Final shortlists have now been drawn up for the 2007 Optician Awards following the final judging sessions. Trophies in all 10 categories will be presented at a James Bond-themed black tie dinner on the evening of April 21 at the Birmingham...

Bausch & Lomb issues another solution recall.(News)
March 9, 2007... Bausch & Lomb has recalled more than one million bottles of ReNu Multiplus contact lens solution. Excess amounts of iron were discovered which could cause the cleaner to lose its effectiveness earlier than normal. The company said it...

But will it make me go blind?(Features)
March 9, 2007... Lifestye choices, and their impact on vision, were the focus of this conference hosted by the charity Birmingham Focus on Blindness. Mary Bairstow reportse_SClB While most optical practitioners are well versed in the impact smoking can...

Pop star has eyes for CIBA campaign.(P pages)
March 9, 2007... Pop singer Rachel Stevens is the face of CIBA Vision's latest Focus Dailies consumer campaign to raise awareness among 16- to 24-year-olds about the benefits of daily disposable contact lenses. Stevens will feature in a series of...

Intermediate prescriptions.(Features)(Janet Carlton's views on lenses)
March 9, 2007... Janet Carlton continues her regular look at lenses A patient with adds over 2.00 may complain that some objects appear blurred through both the near and distance portion of their spectacles. They may have difficulty seeing their knitting...

News.(City and Islington College's sports vision project)(Sanjay Rabdiya, Khairul Rahman and Ansar Asgar won the prize )(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... The winning team in City & Islington College's sports vision project to provide appliances for hopeful Olympic competitors has been announced. Final-year dispensing students Sanjay Rabdiya, Khairul Rahman and Ansar Asgar, pictured with cyclist...

Make the internet work for you.(News)
March 9, 2007... * Chris Bennett is right when he says 'the internet is here to stay' (Comment Optician 02.03.07), so surely the profession should be embracing this 'new technology' rather than viewing it as the enemy. Specslab.co.uk has created a unique...

DO in training for Great Wall trek.(P pages)(Cyril Hill will trek on Great Wall of China to collect funds for Institute of Cancer Research)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Sixty-three year-old dispensing optician Cyril Hill is trekking along the Great Wall of China this May on behalf of the Rotary Club of Oadby for the Institute of Cancer Research. Hill, who owns three practices in Oadby, Wigston and Earl...

News.
March 9, 2007... Dollond & Aitchison contact lens dispensing optician Graham Haynes passed away on February 8 2007, aged 52. After qualifying in 1977, Haynes started his career at Hirst Opticians, Kingsley Park Terrace, before joining D&A in 1980. In 1986 he...

News.(Calendar)
March 9, 2007... 11 Norfolk & Norwich Optical Association, Norfolk, CET day (deborah@broad141.fsnet.co.uk) 11 SCO, Glasgow, Glaucoma diagnosis - What's the problem? (info@sco-online.org) 12 Hertfordshire Optometric CPD, Herts, Electrophysiology...

Features.(Eye Examination)(Case study)
March 9, 2007... Back to Basics in Dispensing - Case Study As part of our ongoing series on all matters dispensing, Jim Farrell describes a case where careful dispensing solved the patient problems (C????, 1 standard CET point) Mr C (73-years-old)...

Why the multiples are to blame for the public's poor perception of DOs.(Other)
March 9, 2007... * As an optometrist who began his professional career as a dispensing optician, I read with interest the article by Robert Longhurst (Optician, Viewpoint, February 9) and must say that I agree with some of his sentiments. Dispensing opticians...

Needs of elderly not being met.(News)
March 9, 2007... Eye care services for the housebound elderly are woefully inadequate and result in four million over-60s being denied regular eye examinations says a study of domiciliary services. The report, from the Domiciliary Eyecare Committee of the...

News.
March 9, 2007... AOP chief executive Bob Hughes said a roadshow to introduce the CSU concept had received strong support from the 80 out of 84 LOCs who had attended. He rejected the idea that the optical bodies would be funded for services they already...

News.(Association of Optometrists)(Central Support Unit)(Local Optical Committee)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... AOP chief executive Bob Hughes said a roadshow to introduce the CSU concept had received strong support from the 80 out of 84 LOCs who had attended. He rejected the idea that the optical bodies would be funded for services they already...

P pages.
March 9, 2007... Fight for Sight's 22 marathon runners Fight for Sight is the designated charity for 22 people taking part in the Flora London Marathon including staff from Moorfields Eye Hospital, the Institute of Ophthalmology, several opticians and the...

Features.(advantages of bifocal and multifocal lenses)
March 9, 2007... Within the optical profession, progressive lenses form an increasingly important part of everyday practice. These lenses make it even more important for practitioners to ensure that patients are measured accurately and the spectacles fitted...

News.
March 9, 2007... The General Optical Council has appointed Stuart Heatherington as a lay member for a five year term, following the resignation of Shaheen Chaudhury last month. Heatherington has a technical background in computing for civil engineering and...

Insurance for contact lenses.(News)
March 9, 2007... * Jon Sames asks (Optician, February 23) if any readers know of a company which provides insurance for non-disposable contact lenses. Can I suggest that probably the simplest solution is for the practice to provide this service? Insurance...

News.(Association of optometrists)(Local Optical Committee)
March 9, 2007... by Chris Bennett chris.bennett@rbi.co.uk Doubts have been raised by sources close to the local optometric committees about the funding arrangements for the proposed LOC Central Support Unit (CSU). A meeting of LOCs will take place...

How to keep the gorilla at bay.(Other)(Murray Wells)
March 9, 2007... * I think that your 'Comment' is this week's Optician makes a valid and valuable point about the threat of internet sales posed by companies such as Murray Wells' Glasses Direct. I have to take issue with you though about the fact that you have...

Masters in optometry.(Features)(University of Manchester's School of Optometry )(Christine Dickinson )
March 9, 2007... The University of Manchester's School of Optometry is part of its faculty of life sciences and offers a three-year BSc Hons course and four-year MOptom course. Emma White reports Programme director Christine Dickinson says the MOptom course...

Missing.(News)(John Thomas Poole returned home)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... Staffordshire optician John Thomas Poole who was reported missing by his family on February 27 has returned home, Staffordshire Police has confirmed. Police launched a public appeal in a bid to locate the 63-year-old optician. He was last...

Other.(National Health Service)
March 9, 2007... Last week gave me an insight into the extremes of the NHS. On the Monday I was privileged to attend the NHS Health and Social Care Awards. This was a very uplifting occasion, full of people who had developed services within their communities...

head to go here.(P pages)
March 9, 2007... Mykita model Rocco has won the 'Red Dot Product Design Awards 2007'. Introduced at Paris exhibition Silmo last year, Rocco is the second award for Mykita's Collection No.1. The Red Dot award received 6,000 submissions from 52 countries in...

News.
March 9, 2007... Disposable toric and multifocal contact lens specialist mark'ennovy has acquired monthly disposable contact lens company Visaq for an undisclosed sum. Visaq's full range of contact lenses will continue to be shipped to customers from its...

News.
March 9, 2007... Disposable toric and multifocal contact lens specialist mark'ennovy has acquired monthly disposable contact lens company Visaq for an undisclosed sum. Visaq's full range of contact lenses will continue to be shipped to customers from its...

Topical AMD treatment enters Phase II trials.(News)
March 9, 2007... A new eye drop used in conjunction with anti-angiogenic treatments such as Lucentis or Avastin might significantly improve their action. Results from trials on chick embryos have shown that OT-551 applied topically has a synergistic effect with...

High hopes for new CL.(News)
March 9, 2007... by Emma White emma.c.white@rbi.co.uk A Glasgow-based eye care-focused technology company claims to have produced a superior contact lens that will reduce production costs by as much as 50 per cent. Over the past 18 months, Ocutec...

Positive moves for Optisoft.(News)
March 9, 2007... * We read the recent article 'Managers transfer to See 20/20', (February 9) with some amusement, as it is a masterpiece in stretching the truth for marketing gain. So, congratulations go to whoever wrote it, but we would like to correct and...

P pages.(PCS Cheltenham's marketing)(Brief article)
March 9, 2007... PCS Cheltenham director Mike Preston is offering Optrafair visitors the chance to ride in an original Bugatti Type 50 - one of only two remaining in the world. This car won its class at Le Mans last year with Preston at the wheel. The car is a...

News.
March 9, 2007... StyleMark, a leading American distributor of fashion, sport, and children's sunglasses, has acquired the Polaroid Eyewear International business, the eyewear division of Polaroid Corporation, for an undisclosed sum. StyleMark said this...

News.
March 9, 2007... Practice management company See20/20 is launching a national five-a-side football competition to raise funds for Optometry Giving Sight and Vision Aid Overseas. The competition, created by marketing director Paul Houston, is open to any...

News.
March 9, 2007... Practice management company See20/20 is launching a national five-a-side football competition to raise funds for Optometry Giving Sight and Vision Aid Overseas. The competition, created by marketing director Paul Houston, is open to any...

Join me for some nostalgic memories.(News)
March 9, 2007... * I would like to celebrate those who have had 50 years or more in optics, especially those who qualified circa 1957-61. I propose to have a reunion dinner during the forthcoming Optrafair, or any other venue, and suggestions are welcomed....

Seminars focus on style and profitability.(News)
March 9, 2007... The Sight Care Group's 2007 training and development programme is designed to help independents improve practice performance and profitability by differentiating the patient experience from competitors. The programme starts with an...

News.
March 9, 2007... Most practitioners agree that increasing awareness amongst teenagers that smoking increases the risk of blindness is important, but few discuss the risks with their patients. Last month, Optician reported that teenagers fear blindness...

News.
March 9, 2007... Most practitioners agree that increasing awareness amongst teenagers that smoking increases the risk of blindness is important, but few discuss the risks with their patients. Last month, Optician reported that teenagers fear blindness...