Optician articles from November 2004

Optician archives from November 2004

Positively ortho-k.(Global Orthokeratology Symposium)(ortho-k wear)
November 5, 2004... Basil Bloom reports on the second Global Orthokeratology Symposium (GOS) held earlier this year in Toronto This was the largest gathering of RGP enthusiasts ever held, with over 600 delegates from 34 countries. I was looking forward to...

Polycarbonate.(materials used in eyeglass frames)
November 5, 2004... Dr Glyn Walsh continues his series on commonly held beliefs about frame materials Polycarbonate frames are transparent This does appear to be the case, but does not have to be. Polycarbonate frames have a high adjustment...

Orthokeratology: Principles and Practice.(book)(Book Review)
November 5, 2004... Basil Bloom is enthusiastic about a book that aims to help those practitioners interested in developing their skills in an increasingly popular technique There have been very few dedicated textbooks on orthokeratology published. The only...

RGP lenses.(Rigid Gas Permeable)
November 5, 2004... In her second article on rigid gas-permeable contact lenses, Judith Morris looks at the procedures for fitting a patient with an RGP lens. (CET module C5463b) In the first part of this series (October 1) we covered the factors a...

Practical experience with a daily wear silicone hydrogel lens.
November 5, 2004... The first silicone hydrogel contact lens designed specifically for daily wear was introduced in Europe in May this year. Six months on, Alison Ewbank talked to eye care professionals in four European countries about their experiences with the...

'-so--'-A-'-AoA-Ao-y-'-AoA-.(dry eye syndromes diagnosis)
November 5, 2004... , AAoAr[thorn]A[pounds sterling]'AoAAoAAoA'OoyAoAAoAAHooOAoA'A'A[pounds sterling][degrees][pounds...

Actman flags up new styles in motor sport theme.(eyewear industry)
November 5, 2004... u The new Andrew Actman catalogue is packed with stylish, affordable eyewear, with references to the creator's passion for motor sport. Over half the catalogue is devoted to new design additions. 'These can be easily identified by the...

Ex-D&A boss goes to Millets.(Dollond & Aitchison)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Russell Hardy, who left the helm of Dollond & Aitchison in September, is to become chief executive of the parent of outdoor retailer Millets. His appointment to Blacks Leisure Group plc will be effective from January 1. Hardy, 44, was...

Injured US troops wait for eye surgery.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Injured US troops in Iraq are waiting nearly three weeks on average to have foreign bodies surgically removed from their eyes. A review of 55 cases found that the soldiers wait an average of 20.6 days, according to a report by a colonel in...

Transatlantic allies launch PhD project.
November 5, 2004... Optometrists from across the globe have united on a newPhD programme which has been originated by Cardiff University School of Optometry and a fellow optical school in Philadelphia. The PhD is expected to lead to further international...

Allergan sheds 325 CL solution workers.(contact lens care product workers)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Allergan is to lay off hundreds of contact lens care product workers in Ireland as work is transferred to America. The Californian pharmaceutical giant - as famous today for making Botox as it is for its more traditional products -...

Average cost of spectacles falls.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Tough trading conditions have led to a fall in the average retail cost of a pair of spectacles. And the yearly survey, which uses a quarter of all annual sight tests as its source, reports that the least expensive has dropped below the [pounds...

Hughes calls for improved NHS fees.(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Outgoing FODO executive director Bob Hughes has used his final Optics at a Glance survey to call for improved NHS fees for optometrists. The survey found the average retail cost for spectacles has fallen (see story below). And Hughes, who...

Deadline nears for NVQ students.
November 5, 2004... Optical manufacturing students have until the end of the year to register for the National Vocational Qualification in optical manufacturing and enjoy the [pounds sterling]1,000 financial support package from the Learning and Skills Council...

Boots counts cost of weak optical market.
November 5, 2004... The challenge facing the new management of Boots Opticians was revealed last week. In interim results for the six months to September, turnover from the 300-outlet chain was down 7.6 per cent at [pounds sterling]93.8m with profits almost...

Specialist offers new approach to field test.
November 5, 2004... A Scottish inventor who is developing an easy-to-operate visual field tester for high street use is to share in over [pounds sterling]1m award money. Ophthalmologist Blair Donaldson and his company Aberdeen-based BID Instruments benefited...

CL device monitors intraocular pressure.(contact lens-based )(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Swiss researchers have developed a contact lens-based device for monitoring intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. A prototype of the device, tested on the enucleated eye of a pig, succeeded in detecting changes in IOP as the...

Polyurethane.
November 12, 2004... Dr Glyn Walsh continues his series on commonly held beliefs about frame materials Are they safe? As with any lacquer, their protective value depends on their integrity. If a frame is bent sharply, such as when changing a side length,...

Learning in practice.(optometrists-education)(General Optical Council)
November 12, 2004... In the first in a three-part series on education and training in optometry, Professor Barry Winn says it is time to provide more career pathways between dispensing optics and optometry The eye care professions have a long and distinguished...

Sixth-generation progressive power lenses.
November 12, 2004... Professor Mo Jalie discusses the latest designs of progressive ophthalmic lenses and in particular the recent launch of Hoyalux iD The first integrated double surface progressive power lens has been launched this year and is sure to become...

Silmo on a high.
November 12, 2004... Chris Bennett provides the first of our two reports on last month's Silmo exhibition in Paris with a look at ophthalmic lenses and contact lenses Silmo seldom ceases to surprise its visitors but diversity is usually its trump card. Anyone...

Measuring the ring scotoma.
November 12, 2004... Dr Juan Aparicio, Beatriz Matesanz, Isabel Arranz, Victoria de Juan, Laura Marcos and Professor Santiago Mar describe a method of assessing the ring scotoma for a patient wearing a +10.00D ophthalmic lens. The results are surprising The...

Fashion performs for Luxottica.
November 12, 2004... u Ray-Ban ophthalmic is now 'firmly established as Luxottica Group's best-selling prescription brand, representing nearly 20 per cent of total Ray-Ban sales'. This was one of the findings in Luxottica's third quarter results, a period...

Practice finds the recipe for charity.
November 12, 2004... u Waveney Eye Care in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena recently hosted an open night for its customers and donated a percentage of sales to the Jordanstown School for the Visually and Hearing Impaired. The school principal Stephen Clarke...

A flying start-up.(awards for opticians)
November 12, 2004... The optician Award for Start-up Practice of the Year 2004 sits proudly on display in the front window of Philip Jones Opticians. David Challinor reports on a practice now reaping the reward for some astute business planning 'The awards...

PCTs slow to deliver diabetes screening.(Primary Care Trusts)
November 12, 2004... A postcode lottery is developing within one of the Government's most vaunted health delivery programmes involving optometry. And 22 months on from its high-profile launch - personally backed by diabetes sufferer deputy prime minister John...

Getting progressively richer?
November 12, 2004... A single-vision lens can change hands for less than a pound, yet an individualised progressive costs more than [pounds sterling]200. Mark Mackenzie explains to Rob Moss why high-value product is so important for the lens manufacturers An...

J&J claims CLlead over rivals.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Johnson & Johnson is claiming that its Acuvue Advance with Hydraclear lens has become the most popular reusable lens in the UK and the US. In the second of a series of three surveys the daily wear silicone hydrogel lens took 14 per cent...

Are you on the right list?
November 12, 2004... Efforts to communicate the complex changes to the ophthalmic list regulations for optometrists and dispensing opticians have started in earnest. The importance of the alterations initiated by the Department of Health cannot be overstated...

Boots' laser claims questioned.(General Optical Council)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Even though Boots has sold on its loss making laser eye surgery business the agony for the plc goes on. This week, in a rare move against a corporate body, the General Optical Council's disciplinary committee hosted a hearing brought...

Leeds research team finds 'blindness gene'.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Claims that the UK discovery of a new 'blindness gene' could save the sight of thousands of people were made this week. It is believed that the find, by researchers at Leeds University, will eventually help the vision of sufferers of...

OO is suspended for failure to refer child.(Ophthalmic Optician )
November 12, 2004... An optometrist whose failure to refer a young girl to a doctor was said to have left her virtually blind in one eye, has been suspended for three months. Gary Berrington, who worked at Redgold Opticians, in Seaford, East Sussex, admitted...

Scrivens buys two Leightons outlets.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Scrivens, the Birmingham-based opticians which bought the Melson Wingate chain two years ago, has increased its south east presence with more acquisitions. It has bought the Eastbourne and Southsea branches of Leightons Opticians to expand...

D&A scoops top training prize.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Dollond & Aitchison has won a national training award for workplace training and development. It received the Training Excellence Award for outstanding achievements in workplace training and personal development at the National Training...

OO and wife injured in rail accident.(Ophthalmic Optician )(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... An optometrist and his wife were among the casualties of last weekend's Berkshire rail crash. Brian Knapman, who runs a Torquay-based domiciliary service, was badly shaken but escaped with minor cuts and bruises. His wife, Maggie, however,...

De Rigo sets up Vision arm.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... D&A owner De Rigo has announced internal restructuring. The changes will see the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of its eyewear transferred to a new company, De Rigo Vision. The move paves the way for further collaboration between...

Practitioners warned over GOS regulations.(Generalized Order Statistic)
November 12, 2004... Practitioners were being told to urgently check their future eligibility to provide GOS and claim sight test fees this week. Under forthcoming changes to ophthalmic list regulations optometrists and dispensing opticians will need to address...

Verdict expected in Nicole Threlfall case.
November 19, 2004... The outcome of the 'landmark' appeal case involving optometrist Nicole Threlfall is expected to be known today. Justice Stanley Burnton will present his High Court determination in a written judgement seven weeks after the appeal case,...

An eye on the past, present and future.(Premiere Optical Services )
November 19, 2004... As a third-generation business, Premiere Optical Services has a unique understanding of the history and traditions of the trade, writes Steve Wright Premiere Optical Services harbours a determination to meet the challenging demands of...

Vision for the homeless.
November 19, 2004... Edwin Achu explains the aims of Vision Care, a charityset up to provide eye carefor the homeless that isaiming to go nationwide Discussions to form a charity to provide eye care for homeless people started back in April 2003 between...

Bespoke designer.
November 19, 2004... Eyewear designer Tom Davies is a man with a mission - to establish himself, his frames and his bespoke service in optical practices nationwide. Continuing our series on British frame design, Sam Dalton caught up with him at London Fashion Week...

Box of tricks.
November 19, 2004... Graham O'Regan describes how a digital camera and TVset can be used as a low vision aid and for domiciliary eye testing As a consequence of the older age of patients seen in domiciliary work, inevitably there will be a number with poor...

Rubber.
November 19, 2004... Dr Glyn Walsh continues his series on commonly held beliefs about frame materials The rubber used on spectacle frames is silicone rubber This is usually the case, although the properties of some silicone components suggest that the...

Optometry in Pakistan.
November 19, 2004... Dr Shehzad Naroo describes a recent trip to Pakistan, where his lectures gave a small boost to the country's teaching programmes My visit to Pakistan started with the Munawar Memorial Hospital (MMH) in the district of Chakwal, 60 miles...

Tour de force.
November 19, 2004... UK practitioners visiting Paris last month will have found the Silmo exhibition on top form. The buoyant mood throughout this hugely international show matched much of the expressive and exuberant eyewear many of the exhibitors had to offer....

Hoya offers single-vision Suntech.
November 19, 2004... u Hoya has applied its Suntech photochromic technology to its single-vision range of Eyas 1.60 lens designs as a result of demand. Previously only available on selected progressives, Hoya has applied Suntech to its single-vision Hilux and...

Too busy Brits put sight at risk.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Hard working Brits who spend more hours at work than many other Europeans are using lack of time as the excuse for not having their vision corrected. A YouGov survey carried out among 2,000 adults in the UK for the London-based Clinic...

Ready to roll on reform.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... GOC members got their final chance to view the much delayed programme of legislative changes this week. The GOC held a special seminar on Wednesday to consider the programme of policy intentions - which ushers in mandatory CET and other...

ESA research tracks sunglass buying trends.(European Sunglass Association)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... UK consumers still purchase their sunglasses more frequently at department stores, fashion stores and chemists than at optical practices, according to the latest research from the European Sunglass Association. This was one finding from...

Eye drop labels too small to read.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Many medicines come with the recommendation that instructions should be read carefully, but little thought is given to whether patients can actually read the information printed. Ironically some of the worst offenders, according to...

New CET rules could lead to rush for points.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... The profession could see a stampede of education providers offering practitioners last-minute courses to retain their registration after the initial statutory period of mandatory CET. At yesterday's GOC meeting, proposals for continuing...

OO complaint led to multiple being fined.
November 19, 2004... Boots Opticians' laser eye publicity was found to be in breach of the profession's publicity rules last week. A complaint brought by an independent optometrist based in Yorkshire led to the multiple being fined for its promotional material....

Business ban for OO whose company failed.(optical outlets)(Keegan Opticians )(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... The boss of a string of optical outlets in Lancashire paid himself over [pounds sterling]20,000 when his business owed thousands of pounds in tax. The optometrist, whose Keegan Opticians enterprise ran up significant debts, has now given...

OO cleared in third case of amblyopia.
November 19, 2004... The third optometrist in four weeks has appeared before the GOC's disciplinary committee regarding a seven-year-old anisometropic amblyopia sufferer. By the time Emily Swift, who is now aged 11, was seen at Eastbourne General District...

Help for practitioners in race to meet regulations.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... optician and the professional bodies continue to help practitioners' race against time over changes to ophthalmic list regulations (News, November 12). With the new regulations due to come into force soon optician has emailed the detailed...

Shetland OO in more bother.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... The troubled life of Highlands optometrist Brian Kelly continued this week. Earlier this year he was attacked by an angry husband after being involved in a love triangle. Now it is reported he has broken a court order by...

VDU glaucoma link gets wide attention.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... The aftermath of this week's umpteenth media scare story, linking eye disease to VDU use, is at least likely to boost the number of people considering booking an eye examination. Initial responses to the research from the profession - which...

Safilo reports turnover and profits boost.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... In spite of the weak dollar, the Safilo Group posted third-quarter results for 2004 showing growth in turnover and profit. Consolidated turnover for the first nine months was E713m, up 6 per cent with current exchange rates, or 10 per cent...

Participants sought for 'Ideal Home' style perfect practice.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Next year's 'perfect practice' at the Optrafair exhibition will be the first ever complete working optical practice at an international trade show. This is the claim from Optrafair 2005 organisers who are currently planning the Birmingham...