Optician articles from November 2002

Optician archives from November 2002

Haemangioma; (Strawberry naevus, naevus flammeus, port wine stain, cavernous haemangioma).
November 1, 2002... DESCRIPTION A haemangioma is a benign neoplasm (tumour) of superficial blood vessels. The lesion is not encapsulated and is composed of anastomosing blood vessels with an infiltrative growth pattern. Capillary haemangiomas are among the...

Playing the name game.(interview with Chris Stean of Advanced Medical Optics)(Interview)
November 1, 2002... One of the most powerful names in the contact lens care business recently decided to change its identity. Chris Bennett spoke to Advanced Medical Optics' Chris Stean to ask, 'what's in a name?' In the middle of 2001, bosses at the $2bn...

Optical public relations group offers deal for independents.
November 1, 2002... Optical public relations agency Ash Studios is to offer a fixed-price PR service to independent opticians. The company, whose clients include major UK eyewear firms, has taken the initiative following discussions with independents...

How to train staff in contact lens procedures.
November 1, 2002... When starting up a contact lens practice, training staff can seem a daunting prospect. Sarah Morgan looks at the principles of staff training and provides some helpful hints on where to begin Informed staff are critical to the success of a...

A spectrum of opportunities. Part 1 - The current status of coloured contact lenses.
November 1, 2002... Consumer awareness and interest in coloured contact lenses is considerable yet practitioners rarely recommend them to patients. In the first of a two-part article, Anna Sulley, Karin McCarthy and Cristina Schnider discuss some of the practical,...

True colours.
November 1, 2002... optician's clinical editor, Bill Harvey, describes the genetic factors that determine eye colour and suggests the use of coloured CLs could affect the way you are viewed by others To claim that a certain eye colour will evoke a specific and...

Why can't I see in my contact lenses? Part 1 - The optics of contact lenses.
November 1, 2002... Dr Michael Port begins a two-part CET series discussing the optics of contact lenses (Module C4203a) When you look through the average contact lens textbook there is an abundance of material on fitting, physiology, pathology and...

US cracks down on imports of illegal plano contact lenses.
November 1, 2002... America's customs officials have been instructed to stop all 'decorative contact lenses' entering the US to check their legality. The move coincides with a warning to American consumers from the Food and Drug Administration that they risk...

PC occupies one-tenth of space.
November 1, 2002... u The new Cassius Pro from Densitron Technologies is a space-saving PC designed for optical practitioners. The PC occupies one-tenth of the space of a conventional computer, less if wall-mounted, and weighs 18lbs. Designers have...

Record-keeping was appalling, admits Optometrist.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... An optometrist was fined pound sterling1,000 last week after admitting his record-keeping was 'appalling'. John Carrington, who is registered in Towcester, Northamptonshire, faced five charges of serious professional misconduct when he...

Scottish Ootimetris leads way in therapeutics.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Edinburgh optometrist David Crystal has become the first practitioner in Scotland to be awarded the Higher Qualification Diploma in Therapeutics. Mr Crystal, who specialises in dry eye problems at his practice, spent three years achieving...

Mintel International Group Ltd. warns of price war in the high street.
November 1, 2002... The future expansion of the supermarkets' optical offer to the public could spark fresh price wars among high street opticians. This is one of the conclusions of a new report on the UK market for optical goods from research company Mintel....

Public wants informed staff and fair prices.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Consumers need to believe they are paying a competitive price for the services and goods they receive. Mintel says this is one of the most important factors practitioners should keep in mind when selling optical goods. In its third...

It's a health service, Mr Browning.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... The College is pleased that the Department of Health is looking at the GOS contract and invited stakeholders to a summit to discuss the issues - but we do not believe that Simon Browning's analysis of the future (Viewpoint, October 25) is...

University of Waterloo launches free online resource for opticians.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Professionals, researchers and students who want to catch up on the latest data on refractive surgery, eye disease management and contact lenses can now access a new online resource backed by Bausch & Lomb. Last week Canada's University of...

Colour blind.(Marketing coloured contact lenses.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The contact lens manufacturers are clearly frustrated by the failure of optical practices to sell more coloured contact lenses. But is it really the job of the profession to do the commercial bidding of the manufacturers? The appetite for...

General Optical Council to verify contact lense credits.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The General Optical Council has acted to streamline the mechanism by which optometrists who have achieved six or more contact lens CET credits appear in the Opticians Register's special section. Following a meeting by its finance and...

Silmo up 6.6% on the last comparable show.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Paris optical exhibition Silmo attracted more visitors last weekend than in previous years with figures up 6.6 per cent on two years ago. Organisers chose not to compare the statistics with 2001, given the effect of September 11. There were...

Department of Health seeks input from optics on new strategy.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Government has asked optics to contribute to a wide ranging document that will seek to develop significant change in the profession for the benefit of patients. This was the outcome of this week's two-day meeting of optical...

Optimax lands in trouble again.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Laser refractive surgery provider Optimax has landed itself in trouble again for making unsubstantiated claims in its advertising. Two unrelated complaints published by the Advertising Standards Authority on Wednesday join another...

Clulow targets high fliers at Heathrow.( David Clulow Opticians )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... David Clulow Opticians is to open its first 'concept store' at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 selling sunglasses and ophthalmic spectacles. Scheduled to open in February, the dispensing-only outlet will employ around 15 people to cover the...

Herpes simplex keratitis - classification.
November 8, 2002... Description The herpes simplex virus is a double stranded DNA virus and is the most ubiquitous viral infection in humans. Humans are its only known host. Ocular infection is common. It is estimated that approximately 500,000 people in the...

Paediatric optometry; Part 9: Dispensing to children.
November 8, 2002... Andrew Keirl continues our paediatric optometry series by looking at dispensing for the needs of children (CET Module C5025i) On reviewing several texts concerned with the subjects of paediatric optometry and general dispensing it was...

Operculated retinal tears.
November 8, 2002... In the second of an occasional series, William Jones discusses operculated retinal tears Operculated retinal tears are round, red breaks with an avulsed round (disc-shaped) retinal plug or flap (operculum) adherent to the detached cortical...

Job agency inspired by changing market.(Inspirations, recruitment agency, formed by industry expert)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... The days when an optometrist could walk into a new job and make big salary demands are gone. Candidates must now present themselves properly if they want to make the right career moves. This is the starting point for new recruitment agency,...

'Five million' turn blind eye to safer motoring.
November 8, 2002... One in two British motorists acknowledge taking to the wheel with poor vision is as dangerous as drink-driving - but five million of them would fail the regulation sight test for driving. This is the conclusion of the latest drivers' vision...

Dam buster abseils for RNIB.(news items about persons in the optometry business)
November 8, 2002... Optical assistant Laura Murray abseiled 200 feet down that face of Baitings dam near Ripponden, West Yorkshire, in aid of the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Staff at Bury opticians Yates & Suddell were approached to take part in the...

Blinded by the light.(Phyllis Northcott discusses visibility factors)
November 8, 2002... Phyllis Northcott discusses factors affecting visibility such as contrast and illumination in addressing vision problems How often do we meet patients whose presenting symptoms are that they are no longer able to read, sew, knit, do...

Scent and sensibility.(Kenneth Cole enters UK)
November 8, 2002... Kenneth Cole eyewear has made the leap from the USto the UK and is planning to make the most of its connection with a new perfume launch One brand making its first European appearance at the Silmo exhibition in Paris and making the most of...

moneowrites.(writer opines about the strategy and direction of the College of Optometrists)(Editorial)
November 8, 2002... Under attack He who sticks his head above the parapet must expect to get shot at. This is often the case in optometry when people feel threatened. The two most notable examples of this must be the recent attacks on Bob Chappell when a...

Boots opens laser clinic at Bluewater.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... Boots, which announced its half-year results yesterday (November 7), opened its latest laser eye clinic earlier this month. Based in the Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent, the pound sterling1.6m clinic is Boots' eighth since it launched its...

Police suspect inside job for series of thefts.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... Police investigating a series of thefts from practices in the Derbyshire area suspect that someone from the profession could be involved in knowingly handling the stolen goods. According to DS Dave Sismey, the investigation has not ruled...

Rodenstock announces Club award winners at the Savoy.(report from meeting of 12th annual Rodenstock Club awards and luncheon)
November 8, 2002... More than 300 practitioners and guests attended the 12th annual Rodenstock Club awards and luncheon at London's Savoy Hotel last week. Speaking at the event, Chris Hunt, Rodenstock UK managing director, welcomed many new participants who...

Advertising restrictions on OTC medicines could be abolished.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... Government is proposing to remove legal restrictions on high street advertising of non-prescription medicines - including those for serious eye diseases. Most over the counter (OTC) products can already be advertised to the public, but...

Dollond & Aitchison suffers sales decline.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... Sales at Dollond & Aitchison have fallen 4.4 per cent this year, its Italian parent De Rigo has reported. De Rigo's latest 2002 financial figures for the nine months to September 30 reveal the UK multiple continues to suffer from...

Multiple buys another regional optical chain.(Specsavers Opticians buys Sight Centres)
November 8, 2002... The consolidation of the retail profession continued this week with another chain swallowed up by one of the multiples. Sight Centres, based in the south west, has been bought by Specsavers Opticians for an undisclosed sum. The...

Patients pay average of [pounds sterling]127 for spectacles.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... The average cost of a pair of spectacles to the public rose by pound sterling7.84 to pound sterling127.09 in 2001-2002, according to this year's Optics at a Glance. This is a less impressive increase than the previous rise of pound...

Squeeze on supply.(optical industry report)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... A cold shiver will have been sent down the spine of anyone working in the industry side of the optical world last week on reading the latest Mintel report (News, November 1). Optical Goods and Eyecare is the third such report Mintel has...

Dorset partners celebrate 120 years.(IJ Brown Partnership of optometry practices)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... The IJ Brown Partnership of practices in Dorset is celebrating its 120th year. Established in 1882 at 2 St Thomas Street, Weymouth, the group expanded, under the management of the founder's son Alexander Jackson Brown, with branches...

College gives green light to radical change.(College of Optometrists releases report on its future)
November 8, 2002... Efforts to make the College of Optometrists more responsive to its 11,000 members took a step forward this week with the release of a consultancy report on its future. On Wednesday the College council met at its London headquarters to...

Behavioural specialist comes to UK.(Paul Croucher to address British Association of Behavioural Optometrists)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... A partner in one of the largest paediatric practices in Australia will address a meeting of the British Association of Behavioural Optometrists later this month. Paul Croucher lectures at the University of Melbourne and the University of...

FODO offers eye care plan.(Creating a Community Eyecare Service)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... Optics' employers body FODO handed its vision of the future of eye care in the UK to government last week. Creating a Community Eyecare Service was distributed to Department of Health officials at last week's meeting of the profession and...

Scots debate primary care.(Scottish Committee of Optometrists conference)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2002... Scotland's optometrists will have their own one-day conference on developing primary care services later this month. The Scottish Committee of Optometrists will host its annual event on Sunday, November 24 at the Business & Learning...

Herpes simplex primary blepharokeratoconjunctivitis; (Primary herpes simplex infection).
November 15, 2002... Description The herpes simplex virus is a double-stranded DNA virus and is the most ubiquitous viral infection in humans. Humans are its only known host. The initial or primary infection usually occurs in children and involves the...

Boots Opticians brand outpaces other offers.(profits)
November 15, 2002... Boots Opticians returned sales of pound sterling101.3m, ahead 7.2 per cent, and delivered a profit of pound sterling4.2m - up 7.7 per cent - for the UK retailer. While most of the national press dwelt on the Boots Group's rivalry with the...

Co-management in refractive surgery: a honey trap?
November 15, 2002... In their enthusiasm to become involved in co-management schemes optical practitioners run the risk of practising outsidetheir professional remit, warns Dr Sandip Doshi Many practitioners have decided to move with the times and acquire the...

Assessing the suitability of a refractive surgery clinic.
November 15, 2002... Douglas Clarkson discusses the standards required for safe practice across the diverse range of procedures performed in refractive surgery clinics Assessing refractive clinics in the West Midlands and Warwickshire within the framework of...

Eye trackers.(laser refractive surgery)
November 15, 2002... A major factor in the improvement in the outcome of laser refractive surgery has been the development of sophisticated tracking systems. Amy Schryver explains the use of eye trackers in the laser refractive surgery clinic and discusses the...

Safilo targets the 'streetwise clubber' with latest frame and lens designs.
November 15, 2002... u Elvis-style side arms, muted pastel colours and extensive use of logos are the hallmarks of the 2003 Safilo ranges. The frame company is currently previewing the look of its ranges for next year at its new central London showroom housed...

Cresting the wave in Nice.
November 15, 2002... Mark Korolkiewicz reports from the 20th ESCRS conference held recently in Nice Nice, situated on the picturesque Cote D'Azur, was the setting for the 20th European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons' congress. The city, on the...

directory of laser clinics.(Directory)
November 15, 2002... The following clinics participated in the 2002 optician survey Advanced Laser Eye Clinic 14 Somerset Place Sauchiehall St Glasgow G3 7JT Tel: 0141 353 2297 www.eyeclinic.co.uk 21 Walker St Edinburgh EH3 7HX...

Trends in laser refractive surgery in the UK.(Industry Overview)
November 15, 2002... optician's second survey of laser refractive surgery clinics reveals rapid expansion in the number of sites over the past 12 months and changes to the type of procedures on offer. Alison Ewbank reports In September 2001, optician conducted...

GOS work continues to grow, reports DoH.(General Ophthalmic Services )
November 15, 2002... England's health authorities paid for 9.8 million NHS sight tests in the year to March 31 2002, an increase of 3 per cent on 2000-2001. These figures are the latest to be prepared by the Government Statistical Service for the Department of...

nemowrites.(Opinions by a columnist)(Column)
November 15, 2002... in BMA News by Dr Ian Bogle, chairman of the British Medical Association. Medicine, he claims, is suffering as the NHS is allegedly pushing doctors into becoming a bunch of technicians at the beck and call of ministers and managers. It...

Cataract work ; gains award.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... A team searching for a cure for inherited cataract has won the annual BUPA Foundation Research Award. The team, based at the Institute of Ophthalmology in London, has spent seven years looking into the disease - which affects six out of...

SAD specs touchdown in York.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... A US company which is developing spectacles to combat seasonal affective disorder - or SAD - is about to set up for business in a UK science park. Enlightened Technologies Associates (ETAI) claims that its spectacles, which have fibre...

Holland wins again in Gloucestershire.(Behavioural optometrists Keith and Clare Holland win at the Gloucestershire Business Awards)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... Behavioural optometrists Keith and Clare Holland have won another accolade - this time in the Gloucestershire Business Awards. At a ceremony in Cheltenham Town Hall Keith Holland & Associates accepted the 'Small Business of the Year Award'...

Courting the consumer.(Industry Overview)
November 15, 2002... In the first of a two-part report on Silmo, optician reports on how optical companies are hoping to raise the profile of their fashion eyewear and lens brands among consumers At a bustling 35th Silmo the tie-up between branded eyewear and...

The laser show.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... Just a quick scan of the latest Boots group results, announced this week, reveals the importance of laser surgery in the company's health offering. Boots Opticians and eye care sales increased by 12.4 per cent, 'driven by a continued...

Where the streets are famous.
November 15, 2002... Visitors to next year's Optrafair will be invited to stroll down several of the world's most famous shopping streets in a specially created 'International City' area for exhibitors. The concept ran at Optrafair last time in 2001, but for...

GOCcensures OOfor deliberate dishonesty.
November 15, 2002... A landmark GOC disciplinary case has ended with an optometrist being found guilty of serious professional misconduct, some five years after the accusations against her initially came to light. Carol Le Bosquet, who ran the domiciliary...

Frames worth [pounds sterling]35,000 stolen in raid at Boots Opticians outlet.
November 15, 2002... Thieves got away with designer frames worth pound sterling35,000 from an optical practice earlier this week. The raid took place in the early hours of November 11 at Boots Opticians' branch in Fakenham, Norfolk. The haul included...

Patsy pulls it off at Eyecare Trust awards.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... Actress Patsy Kensit was named Sunglass Wearer of the Year 2002 at this year's Spectacle Wearer of the Year awards. Ms Kensit, who is known for her roles in Absolute Beginners and Lethal Weapon 2, said: 'Of all the accessories you can wear,...

Rapid growth in laser refractive surgery clinics set to continue.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... After a 59 per cent growth in the number of UK laser eye clinics in the year to September 2002 the number of outlets is expected to grow 'significantly' in 2002-2003. This the prediction of an exclusive optician survey published this week,...

University invests in sports vision centre.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2002... The Sports Vision Association is to establish a 'Centre of Excellence' for sports vision at Loughborough University next year. It is intended that sports vision practitioners will be authorised to practise at the centre, following a...

Optometry diploma to be European standard.
November 15, 2002... Europe's Diploma of Optometry will be a continent-wide benchmark of knowledge that all European optometrists can attain via their university. This was the outcome of last week's ECOO (European Council of Optometry and Optics) meeting in...

Herpes zoster ophthalmicus; (Shingles).
November 22, 2002... Description Herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) is caused by infection of the first division of the trigeminal nerve with the herpes virus varicella zoster (VZV). The same virus causes chicken pox (varicella), usually in children. After the...

Focus on France.(education, practice of optometrists)(Industry Overview)
November 22, 2002... optician continues its travels around Europe with a report by Bernard Barthelem on the state of optics in France An optometrist in France is also recognised as an optician. There are 13,000 to 14,000 opticians in France for 8,000 optical...

The Novissphere visual field analyser.
November 22, 2002... Harbouring all the advantages of the 'confrontation test' for rapid screening of a patient's visual field, the Novissphere analyser has none of the drawbacks, writes Neil Cook Examination of the visual field is an integral part of the...

Advanced practice.(presentations at Specsavers' Professional Advancement Committee Conference including keynote on anterior segment conditions)
November 22, 2002... The latest Professional Advancement CommitteeConference, sponsored by Specsavers, provided a broad range of high quality presentations for both optometrists and dispensing opticians. Ranna Rai reports Specsavers' PAC Conference has...

The Melbourne Edge Test.(contrast sensitivity measurement technique)
November 22, 2002... In the last of our series on less well-known assessment methods, Dr Frank Eperjesi gives details of how the portable Melbourne Edge Test can provide a quick measure of contrast sensitivity, for use in schools, clinics and the patient's home ...

Innovation; according to Silmo.
November 22, 2002... In our second report on the Silmo exhibition in Paris, optician looks at more products launched at the show and catches up with some manufacturers' plans for 2003 The recent trend for lenses being fixed on to rather than into the frame has...

Inspecs unveils loyalty scheme.(eyeMiles offers gifts)
November 22, 2002... Inspecs has launched a new loyalty scheme called eyeMiles, to reward independent practitioners' continued custom. The scheme, which offers gifts as a reward for buying Inspecs' products, is described as perhaps the first loyalty scheme to...

Tonometry on the move; The Reichert PT100 Portable NCT.(non-contact tonometer )
November 22, 2002... optician follows optometrist Ainsley Smith as he trials a new portable non-contact tonometer both in his practice and on a domiciliary visit The measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is an important part of the full eye examination. As...

Free software for intuitive users.(Essex University Professor Arnold Wilkins writes a computer program for Colorimeter users)(Brief Article)
November 22, 2002... The release of an Excel spreadsheet program is good news for regular users of the Colorimeter Professor Arnold Wilkins, director of the visual perception unit in the department of psychology at Essex University, has written a computer...

Upgraded Airlock system unveiled by Marchon UK.(720 series)
November 22, 2002... Marchon UK has launched the new 720 series of Airlock, a new proprietary mounting system for Airlock. The latest system is an upgrade of the original, and has been designed to increase retention strength and make drilling and mounting...

Digital dispensing; The Zeiss Video Infral II.
November 22, 2002... Optician travels to Leeds to see the installation of a new version of a computer-based system for dispensing Neil Brosgill has several practices in the Leeds area and has attempted to keep abreast of any new developments in instrumentation....

Scotland to receive cash boost for diabetes care.(Brief Article)
November 22, 2002... Scotland's health minister has called on its NHS boards to start making diabetes a priority and to implement the Scottish Diabetes Framework. Malcolm Chisholm used last Friday's Diabetes in Scotland Conference 2002 to announce a pound...

Making waves: A topography-based system for RGP fittings.
November 22, 2002... Optician initiates a trial at City University of a new system for fitting contact lenses to match the corneal profile Critics of current standards in contact lens fitting often point to the increasing dependence of practitioners on...

Lens edging; The Briot Axcell CL.(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 22, 2002... Optician reports on the Briot Axcell CL, the in-practice edging system with fully automatic centring and blocking, as well as 'five-dimensional' frame tracing The Axcell CL lens edging system combines many of the lens processing stages...

Revalidation lines up on the starting grid.
November 22, 2002... The process of introducing universal revalidation for registration to the profession started yesterday (November 21) at a meeting of the GOC. A scheme, which mirrors a process now taking place for doctors led by the General Medical Council,...

RNIB hopes to hasten regulation of 'fun' CLs.(Royal National Institute for the Blind supports contact lens bill)
November 22, 2002... Efforts to regulate the sale of plano contact lenses could take an important step forward this week with the possibility of a private member's bill in the House of Commons. The bill has been proposed by the Royal National Institute for the...

nemowrites.(medical profession opinions)(Column)
November 22, 2002... Plain speaking A great deal has understandably been said and written about the proven serious shortcomings in recent years of a number of members of the medical profession. While drastic remedial measures were only to be expected, comments...

D&A plans aggressive marketing campaign.(Dollond & Aitchison)(Brief Article)
November 22, 2002... Dollond & Aitchison has signed a deal with advertising agency Target Direct to handle its direct marketing. The contract includes eye examination reminder mailings and other promotional messages to patients. The advertising will be created...