Optician articles from September 2008

Optician archives from September 2008

Systemic lupus erythematosus.(Features)
September 5, 2008... DESCRIPTION Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rheumatic connective tissue autoimmune disease. It is a chronic, multi-system disease, with relapsing and remitting phases. Damage to various organs occurs in SLE when circulating immune...

Asda takes Tesco to task over online sales.(News)
September 5, 2008... Tesco has come under fire from rival Asda over the recent launch of its online eyewear collection with Asda saying there is 'no actual benefit to ordering online' for customers and it has no plans to offer a similar service in the foreseeable...

The new contract isn't so very different from the old.(Other)(Letter to the editor)
September 5, 2008... * Alan Donnelly (Letters, August 22) raises a number of interesting points. With regards to the negotiation of the contract, I fully agree that it was a missed opportunity. My opinion is that the negotiators were led a merry dance by the DoH...

News.(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... With a faster new processor, Buchmann's new Henson 6000 has been re-engineered to produce a clearer more definite stimulus and provides complete visual screening in less than two minutes. Designed for a compact consulting room, it has a...

GOC urged to consider patient's perspective.(News)(General Optical Council)(Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence)
September 5, 2008... The GOC needs to give patients access to precise details of conditions imposed on registrants and do more work on gaining patients' perspectives, the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) has recommended. The comments came in...

Dry but why?(Features)
September 5, 2008... Dry eye is a complex and often intractable condition that concerns all eye care practitioners. Optician looks at the latest research New information on the incidence, assessment and management of dry eye appears in the American Academy of...

P pages.
September 5, 2008... Charmant has reinforced its newly launched Charmant Z collection of titanium frames with four new models made from Z-titanium. With the same flexibility and stability of nickel titanium, Z-titanium is both soft, lightweight and like pure...

CLEER collects CL incident data.(News)(contact lens european evidence reporting)
September 5, 2008... More than 70 eye care professionals from 10 different countries have registered as reporters for the CLEER project (Contact Lens European Evidence Reporting) - a web-based initiative managed by the European Contact Lens Forum (ECLF). ...

Other.
September 5, 2008... Last week's decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the provision of Lucentis in England is one government U-turn that has been well received, but has been a long time in the coming. That sufferers of wet...

P pages.
September 5, 2008... Essilor's results for the first half of 2008, ending on June 30, revealed a net profit increase of nine per cent on the same period in 2007. Revenue growth was up 2.9 per cent at constant exchange rates on the first half of 2007 to...

News.
September 5, 2008... Profits boost: Essilor's results for the first half of 2008 revealed a net profit increase of 9 per cent on the same period in 2007. Revenue growth was up 2.9 per cent at constant exchange rates on the first half of 2007 to [euro]1.520.2bn....

Trust collects sunglasses for India.(News)
September 5, 2008... The Eyecare Trust and Rubicon Exotic Juice Drinks have launched the Save Our Sight (SOS) initiative to collect unwanted sunglasses in recycling bins through optical practices across the UK. All sunglasses will be checked for adequate UV...

Wescan Optical hooks FYSH UK.(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... Wescan Optical, a division of 46-year-old Canadian company WestGroupe, has introduced a new premium collection. The FYSH UK brand features slightly larger, deep frames to easily accommodate progressive lenses. Wescan described the...

Site updated.(News)
September 5, 2008... Fight for Sight has relaunched its website with an online edition of its newsletter. The site is a resource for information about eye disease and causes of blindness, in addition to a summary of outcomes of research programmes. It also...

P pages.
September 5, 2008... A toddler in Florida has been diagnosed with retinoblastoma after her picture was seen on an online message board by a woman in Manchester. 32-year-old business analyst Madeleine Robb from Stretford spotted a white shadow on the eye of...

News.
September 5, 2008... diagnosis down the line: A toddler in Florida was diagnosed with retinoblastoma after her picture was seen on an online message board by a woman in Manchester. Thirty-two-year-old business analyst Madeleine Robb from Stretford spotted a white...

More students miss retention deadline.(News)
September 5, 2008... The General Optical Council has removed a total of 399 student opticians and dispensing opticians from its registers for failing to renew their registration for 2008/9 by the deadline. According to the Council, when compared to last year's...

I'll see you at the small claims court.(News)
September 5, 2008... * Given the farce of the new contract, has any optometrist taken their PCT to court yet? Unfair contract forced at unfair speed on a minor party by a major party? How much valuable practice goodwill have optometrists who have signed the...

DOs to be recognised by new model LOCs.(P pages)
September 5, 2008... A new model Local Optical Committee (LOC) constitution has been approved by the Department of Health and the national representative/negotiating bodies detailing the functions of LOCs as prescribed by law. The updated constitution will...

NICE ruling welcomed.(News)(National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... The Macular Disease Society (MDS) has welcomed the decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to make Lucentis (ranibizumab) available to patients with wet AMD in England. Last year, the watchdog triggered...

Macular pigment measurement.(Other)
September 5, 2008... * When a patient reports wavy lines or when an Amsler Chart test detects abnormalities the clock is already ticking. In my own case wavy lines were noticed on day two of my wet AMD. Day one was when I felt slightly nauseous. How I wish...

Modo acts on its Italian heritage.(P pages)(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... Modo Eyewear, which successfully launched a Modo Sun collection last year, has boosted the line with the addition of seven new styles, all named after Italian actors of the 1950s. The company explained that, as the new designs are...

London hospitals pool resources.(News)
September 5, 2008... Moorfields Eye Hospital is one of five world-renowned medical research centres pooling resources and expertise in London to create a new academic science health partnership. To be known as UCL Partners, the group claims it will produce...

Contract rules are 'for the obedience of fools'.(Other)
September 5, 2008... * I have followed with interest the continuing correspondence in your letters column over the last few weeks on the subject of the new NHS/PCT contracts and noted the apprehension bordering on despair of those colleagues taking the trouble to...

Practices test potential of online vision therapy.(News)
September 5, 2008... Essilor has begun commercial trials in 11 UK practices of NeuroVision, a non-surgical internet-based treatment developed in Singapore that purports to improve visual performance in patients with low myopia (up to around -1.50D). The lens...

Openings at Optegra.(Features)
September 5, 2008... Shared care schemes and enhanced services are opening up opportunities to extend eye care and not just for optometrists Guildford is the kind of place you might expect to find the finer things in life.Despite its closeness to London it has...

Getting the right RGP lens.(Features)
September 5, 2008... Ngaire and Andy Franklin consider some of the finer points to be borne in mind when selecting the initial rigid gas-permeable lens The intended relationship between the cornea and the back optic zone of the lens will depend on the fitting...

Must-have line makes its mark.(P pages)(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... Approaching its 10th anniversary, Silhouette's Titan Minimal Art 'Must' range has sold 8m frames since its launch in 1999. Produced in Linz, Austria, it is the frame of choice for NASA astronauts due to its lack of small parts and...

Boyfriend charged with DO's murder.(News)
September 5, 2008... A 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of his girlfriend, dispensing optician Hollie Green, who was found dead in her home in Lordswood, Southampton early on Sunday morning. Police were called to the third-floor...

Tear sampling in practice.(Features)
September 5, 2008... Bill Harvey tries out a new in-practice technique for assessing tears and finds it very easy to use The significance of tears and any disorder affecting them will be very familiar to anyone in general eye care practice. Not only are the...

Other.
September 5, 2008... One does not have to look far in the media at the moment to see various doom and gloom reports on the state of the economy. Whether it is the increasing price of food and petrol or a reduction in house prices, the media feeds on the next...

SMC reveals its career development plans.(P pages)
September 5, 2008... The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers (SMC) is providing specific training programmes and qualifications for optical staff in sub-professional grades, offering them nationally-recognised career progression opportunities. Training is...

18pt head to go here.(News)
September 5, 2008... The Eye Health Alliance is gearing up for this year's political party conference season, which kicks off with the Liberal Democrat party conference which takes place in Bournemouth between September 13 - 17 2008. This year the Alliance is...

Tears and dry eyePart 3: Diagnosis and management.(Features)
September 5, 2008... In the third and final part of our comprehensive series on dry eye, Dr Michael Johnson looks at the clinician's role in diagnosing and then managing the various dry eye presentations. Module C9600, two CL points for optometrists and CLOs, two...

Alliance visits political party conferences.(News)(Conference news)
September 5, 2008... The Eye Health Alliance is gearing up for this year's political party conference season, which kicks off with the Liberal Democrat party conference in Bournemouth from September 13 to 17. This year the Alliance is vice chair of the Health...

Features.
September 5, 2008... 1 Which of the following diseases is dry eye not associated with? A Acne rosacea B Rheumatoid arthritis C Hypertension D Systemic lupus erythematosus 2 Which of the following is false about the phenol red thread? A...

News.
September 5, 2008... AHEAD OF THE HERD: East Yorkshire-based Michael James Opticians will support the Alzheimer's Society throughout 2008 and has put in place a busy programme of events and activities to raising funds and awareness. As part of the campaign, the...

Progression of myopia slowed.(News)
September 5, 2008... Daily use of an anti-muscarinic appears to slow the rate of progressive myopia. A study in the latest Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (August 2008, Vol 12, 4, pp322-324) has shown that use of...

News.(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... in brief The organisers of next April's Optrafair have negotiated discounted hotel rates for visitors through an exhibition booking agent, Event Express. The company has availability at all hotels within the Birmingham NEC campus and more...

Vision Direct pleads guilty.(News)(Brief article)
September 5, 2008... As part of the computerisation of the NHS, all sites in England and Wales which deliver ophthalmic treatment will be required to submit data to the Organisational Data Service (ODS). Part of NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CFH), an agency of...

News.
September 5, 2008... Recruitment drive: A campaign to recruit a new lay chair and 11 GOC members to be independently managed by the Appointments Commission got under way this week. The move is line with a government White Paper requirement and will mean that...

News.
September 5, 2008... Vision Direct was due to plead guilty on all charges at a legal hearing to consider a General Optical Council prosecution over alleged contact lens sales without supervision at Hendon Magistrates Court on Wednesday (September 3) after Optician...

News.
September 5, 2008... Vision Direct were due to plead guilty on all charges at a legal hearing to consider a GOC prosecution over alleged contact lens sales without supervision which was due to take place at Hendon Magistrates Court on Wednesday (September 3) after...

Talc retinopathyRetinal embolisation.(Features)
September 12, 2008... DESCRIPTION Talc is used as filler in the manufacture of many tablets. When intravenous drug users inject crushed and poorly-filtered tablets (often containing methylphenidate or methadone), most of the talc crystals are deposited in the...

Let your body do the talking.(News)
September 12, 2008... ABDO has booked renowned motivational speaker, life strategist and counsellor Susie Johns as a keynote speaker for its conference in Manchester which begins on September 27. Johns will conduct a session entitled 'Body Talk' to close the...

News.(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... Keeping in line with its 'new vision' theme for its forthcoming conference and exhibition, ABDO has announced the inclusion of renowned motivational speaker, life strategist and counsellor, Susie Johns AGSM, B.ED, as a keynote speaker to...

Adidas prepares for winter.(P pages)
September 12, 2008... Adidas Eyewear has launched its next generation of winter sports eyewear, with the release of the ID2 goggle. Winner of the Red Dot Design Award 'Best of the Best 2008', ID2 offers dual frame levelling, a front and main frame construction...

Advancing to a higher level.(Features)
September 12, 2008... Dr Shehzad Naroo introduces Aston University's ophthalmic doctorate, describing it as a unique qualification to encourage eye care professionals to enhance their knowledge and critical awareness of current issues through taught and research...

Complete course in dispensing.(Features)
September 12, 2008... In the latest in our major series on dispensing, Andrew Keirl and Richard Payne look at frame materials. Module C9647, two general CET points, suitable for optometrists and dispensing opticians For practitioners and clients alike, the...

Charmant boosts Z collection with addition of four new styles.(P pages)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... Charmant has reinforced its newly-launched Charmant Z collection of titanium frames with four new models made from Z-titanium. With the same flexibility and stability as nickel titanium, Z-titanium is described by the company as both soft,...

College reveals plans for CPD pilot scheme.(News)
September 12, 2008... Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is being introduced by the College of Optometrists for optometrists and the wider optometric community on a voluntary basis. A working group has been set up to develop a CPD programme with the view...

Coopervision expands Biofinity.(P pages)
September 12, 2008... Coopervision has again expanded its Biofinity range of monthly disposable silicone hydrogels made from Aquaform technology. The company has added further plus and minus powers, so that the available parameter range now covers +8.00 to...

News.
September 12, 2008... Resembling items of jewellery, the opulent Daniel Swarovski crystal eyewear frames manufactured by Silhouette are aimed at the highest segment of the luxury market. Its most recent range, Crystal Christmas, is the latest in a series of...

Ever Clean offers two-layer care.(Mid-Optic )(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... Newly-available from Mid-Optic is the Ever Clean contact lens solution for cleaning and disinfecting all types of soft, silicone hydrogel and RGP contact lenses. Ever Clean has a two-layer tablet that includes a built-in protein remover,...

Spectacle prescriptions main cause of concern.(News)
September 12, 2008... Despite an overall increase in the number of complaints against practitioners in the past year, less than 1 per cent of opticians were the subject of a fitness to practise complaint, according to the latest figures from the GOC. The data...

Halifax Optical shuts up shop.(News)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... West Yorkshire-based Halifax Optical will close on September 30 after 77 years in business. Owners Dr Chris Hall and his wife Fiona bought the business in 1992 when its then owners ran into financial difficulties. In the 1970s the business...

News.(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... Hoya Lens UK will make 27 employees redundant at its Wrexham site. This comes after part of its production was moved to a sister plant in Thailand in April, after which it said it would end a number of temporary contracts and cut weekend...

Soft CLs 'do not add to childhood myopia'.(News)
September 12, 2008... A multi-site study investigating the myopic progression of children has disclosed that wearing soft contact lenses does not increase myopia progression more than other vision correction options. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care,...

News.
September 12, 2008... capital collection: Featured on the current TV series of Britain's Next Top Model, Jai Kudo's new frame range, JK London, went on sale in the UK on September 1. Aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds, each model of the first collection is named after an...

Show off your photographic skills.(Features)
September 12, 2008... Optician and Keeler team up again to offer readers another chance to show off their skills with the fundus camera and to bag a top prize Credit crunch, uncertain financial markets, global political insecurity, environmental threat thank...

LOC unit joins Alliance.(News)(LOC Central Support Unit)(Eye Health Alliance)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... The LOC Central Support Unit has pledged to work with other optical bodies to promote eye health across the UK by becoming the latest member of the Eye Health Alliance. Georgina Gordon, head of unit, commented: 'The Eye Health Alliance is...

NICE dismisses Macugen appeal.(News)
September 12, 2008... The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) has hit out at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for its decision to dismiss an appeal by Pfizer to allow treatment with Macugen (pegatanib) for patients allergic to...

News.
September 12, 2008... in brief Essilor Vision Foundation is to stage a fundraising concert in Las Vegas in aid of its Adopt -A-School campaign. Taking place on October 4 at rock venue The Joint, EyeRock will feature OffAxis, a rock cover band comprised of...

Trivex colours up.(P pages)
September 12, 2008... Norville has unveiled new NXT Trivex colours to enhance its sunspec range. The lenses are 16 per cent lighter than CR-39 and 10 per cent lighter than polycarbonate and come in a fixed tint 15 per cent LTF grey, brown and green. * Details:...

Optical Service unveils Slim-Fits.(P pages)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... Optical Service UK has launched two new Ferucci Slim-Fit frames, aimed at patients with smaller faces who find it difficult to find suitable eyewear with the current trend for heavier fashion frame styles. Men's model 967 and women's model...

PAC announces programme.(News)
September 12, 2008... Specsavers' annual Professional Advancement Committee Conference on October 12 2008 will start with a lecture on the secrets of silicone hydrogels by Professor Lyndon Jones. Dr Philip Morgan will speak about CL care systems, an area he...

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.(Other)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... * I was saddened to read Alan Gilbert's response to Bill Harvey's report on behavioural optometry dismissing the use of Colorimetry as 'hood-winking' the profession. Mr Gilbert obviously considers his opinion to be of greater value to the...

Scots warned vision problems will rise.(News)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... The number of Scots with visual impairment will more than double over the next 25 years as a result of high rates of diabetes, smoking and poor health as well as an ageing population, according to RNIB Scotland. The number of people in...

See20/20 deal.(News)(Experian Group)(Real Time Marketing)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... See20/20 has formed a strategic partnership with the Experian Group and Real Time Marketing to guarantee new customers to its software users. The pay-as-you-go service will enable practices to target non-specific patients and build their...

News.
September 12, 2008... The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against a Specsavers national press advertisement that said 'If you are looking for an optician we have the most qualifications' stating that it could mislead by ambiguity. There were five...

Other.(Column)
September 12, 2008... I would like to start this week's column with a quote from an advert I received from an 'opticians'. 'The (name of company) eye test is as thorough a test as you'd receive anywhere in the world. Yet it only takes around 25 minutes and is...

Mass mailing marks launch of TVI lens.(News)
September 12, 2008... Thousands of packs marking the introduction of the latest generation of Transitions lenses will be despatched this weekend ready for aMonday launch. A major feature of the launch pack will be peer to peer testimonials with well-known and...

Time to calm down about Colorimetry.(Other)
September 12, 2008... * I am just catching up with the news following my holidays, and was interested in the letter from Alan Gilbert (Optician, August 15) entitled 'The profession has been "hood-winked"'. He touches on the report about behavioural optometry,...

UK Eyeworks brings You's to UK.(P pages)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... UK Eyeworks has launched You's eyewear's latest kid's collection for children aged five to 12. Carrying the core message that wearing glasses is fun, the Youpi collection is named after the French word meaning 'yippee'. The five frames come in...

Locum OO cleared at hearing.(News)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... A locum optometrist accused of failing to treat a 65-year-old woman suffering from 'markedly' high intraocular pressures while working at Specsavers in Fleet, Hampshire was cleared by a GOC fitness to practise committee at a two-day hearing...

Features.
September 12, 2008... Books go interactive Bill Harvey looks at two recent publications, one of use for clinicians wishing to help patients, the other for them to help themselves Compared to previous years where publishers appeared to be producing books...

Buchmann speeds fields test.(News)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... With a faster new processor, Buchmann's Henson 6000 has beenA[yen] re-engineered to produce a clearer more definite stimulus and provide complete visual screening in less than two minutes. Designed for a compact consulting room, it has a touch...

Direct action.(Features)
September 12, 2008... What exactly does the GOC's recent court victory against Vision Direct (News this week and last) mean for internet retailing? The name Vision Direct became synonymous with the GOC's efforts to police contact lens supply by the internet when...

News.
September 12, 2008... September Sight Care Group, 17 Belfast, 22 Bristol, 23 London,24 Birmingham. Frame styling, adjustments and dispensing (info@sightcare.co.uk) 15 Area 5 (Midlands), Birmingham, six-point CET day (ian@ihardwick.orangehome.co.uk) 17...

Edgbaston to play host to next meeting of FMO network event.(Federation of Manufacturing Optician)(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... TAking to the field: Edgbaston cricket ground is the venue for the Federation of Manufacturing Optician's next networking meeting which takes place on October 15. The trade body's individual group associations for frames, lenses and...

News.(Brief article)
September 12, 2008... The billionaire ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has announced that he will fund the treatment of one million people suffering from eye diseases which can lead to blindness. In addition to the United Arab Emirates, of...

The handover.(Features)
September 12, 2008... Accuracy and good communication between professionals ensure high standards of care. Shaunagh Aitken emphasises the importance of the handover from optometrist to dispensing optician The optometrist comes out of the refraction room with the...

News.
September 12, 2008... Laser trends: Opticiane_SSRqs 8th survey of refractive surgery clinics in the UK and Ireland will be mailed out this week. The annual survey monitors trends in refractive surgery and the range of treatments offered. Clinics have until October...

Show off your photographic skills.(News)
September 12, 2008... Optician and Keeler team up again to offer readers another chance to show off their skills with the fundus camera and bag a top prize Credit crunch, uncertain financial markets, global political insecurity, environmental threat thank...