NEWSspectrum
Hold the Phone: Interactive Print Comes to CLS
This month, Contact Lens Spectrum invites readers to “augment their reality” using a new technology that delivers an interactive print experience for certain articles. Download the free Actable app from Quad/Graphics to your iOS or Android device to gain access to bonus clinical video content available in two of this month’s articles: the Prescribing for Astigmatism column on p. 14, and p. 34 of the feature article “Scleral Lens Case Grand Rounds.” Download and usage instructions for the Actable app are located to the right.
1. Download Actable.
Search for Actable in the app store.
2. Launch Actable.
Click the icon to activate the app on your device.
3. Scan the page.
Frame the entire page in the screen, the scan activates, move the device away, and watch the interactive experience.
ACTABLE APP IS FREE.
Available for both iOS and Android mobile devices.
SynergEyes Hires Industry Veterans
SynergEyes, Inc. has hired Jonathan Jacobson and Geoffrey Ide as co-general managers of International Business. In this new position, they will lead SynergEyes’ global strategy to expand its business through distribution, licensing, and strategic partnerships.
Jacobson brings 30 years of experience in ophthalmic medical devices. His marketing background includes nearly 25 years with Bausch + Lomb (B+L), where he led PTC’s global GP lens business and forged strategic alliances to build a segment of the specialty lens category. Most recently, as president of Menicon America, he was responsible for re-positioning and expanding its business in North America.
Ide brings more than 30 years of experience driving revenue growth in global markets for leading technologies in life sciences and medical ophthalmic devices, including 17 years with B+L covering GP and soft contact lenses as regional vice president of marketing for Western Hemisphere, Europe and later president of B+L Japan.
Alcon Launches Air Optix Colors Media Campaign
Alcon is now engaged in a major national television, online, and print media campaign in support of Air Optix Colors lenses that is aimed at reaching fashion-forward and beauty-savvy female consumers through TV, online, and print media. Several 15- and 30-second TV spots are now airing on several major network and cable channels. In addition, a full-page print advertisement appears in fashion and beauty magazines showing a before/after image of a model wearing Air Optix Colors in Sterling Gray. Consumers are encouraged to virtually try on their perfect color at www.airoptixcolors.com or by visiting an eyecare professional.
In addition, one of four cover looks of the October 2014 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine features Oprah wearing Air Optix Colors lenses in Pure Hazel. The October issue is known as the “beauty” edition and tends to feature beauty and fashion brands, showcasing how Alcon is positioning the product.
CLS Mourns Longtime Designer
Kimberly A. Macheski, longtime art director of Contact Lens Spectrum and Optometric Management, both published by PentaVision LLC, passed away in early September after a lengthy illness. She was 49. Kim was an exceptionally talented designer whose artistic flair shaped the look and feel of Contact Lens Spectrum beginning in 1997. Her warm personality and great sense of humor earned her the friendship and respect of her PentaVision colleagues. She is greatly missed.
PCO LAUNCHES ACCELERATED OD DEGREE PROGRAM
The Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) is now offering an accelerated Doctor of Optometry degree program. Presented as a highly selective, continuous, three-year Scholars Program, the first class of 10 students recently began course work and is scheduled to graduate in June 2017. Students enrolled in the Scholars Program earn the credit equivalency of students in a traditional four-year program.
The curriculum emphasizes lecture and laboratory instruction, small group learning, case-based learning, and online and web-enhanced instruction. Guided independent study offers students the ability to work individually and in small groups with faculty mentors.
Students in this program are carefully screened and accepted based on qualifications, history of academic performance, and career path.
BCLA Clinical Conference Announces New Category
The 39th BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition (to be held at the ACC Liverpool, U.K. from May 29 to 31, 2015) is set to offer eyecare practitioners a broader range of speakers and topics addressing current trends and challenges.
A new category of submitted “educational courses,” in the form of one- to two-hour CET lectures or workshops, was launched to bring a fresh dynamic to the meeting—for which online submissions are now open. As always, the BCLA will consider submissions on any topic related to contact lenses and the anterior eye. The BCLA will pay a stipend of £250 per session, independent of the number of presenters.
To find out more about the new criteria and to submit an educational course as a lecture or workshop by the closing date of Oct. 31, 2014, visit the BCLA website, www.bcla.org.uk. Online submissions for scientific abstracts and case reports in poster format will open on Oct. 1, 2014, with a deadline of Jan. 16, 2015.
In unrelated news, the BCLA announced that it will now hold its Clinical Conference and Exhibition every two years.
NovaKone Distribution Expanded
Alden Optical has named ABB Optical Group as an authorized distributor of NovaKone, the company’s soft lens for correcting vision in patients who have keratoconus. Alden Optical and ABB Optical have conducted extensive joint customer service and consultation training to ensure the quality of support. ABB Optical has been an authorized distributor for all Alden lenses except NovaKone since 2008. In September, ABB Optical was named as Alden’s exclusive U.S. distributor.
NovaBay Creates Optometry Advisory Board
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has created an Optometry Advisory Board to help oversee the development, marketing, and medical use of NovaBay’s i-Lid Cleanser and other eyecare products. The five members of the new board are Dr. Katherine M. Mastrota, center director of Omni Eye Surgery in New York City; Dr. Arthur Epstein, director of the Dry Eye - Ocular Surface Disease Center and director of Clinical Research at Phoenix Eye Care; Dr. William Townsend, optometrist in Canyon, Texas, president of the Ocular Surface Society of Optometry, and adjunct professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry; Dr. Scot Morris, owner and medical director of Eye Consultants of Colorado, LLC, in Conifer, CO; and Dr. Paul Karpecki, head of the ocular surface disease clinic and director of clinical research at Koffler Vision Group in Lexington, KY.
The company says that the new board will play a vital role in getting information to U.S. optometrists about the benefits that i-Lid Cleanser can offer to patients. NovaBay says that i-Lid Cleanser is ideal for managing common and potentially sight-threatening eye conditions, such as blepharitis and dry eye syndrome.
INDUSTRY BRIEFS
■ Contamac has appointed Philipp Polonyi as sales and marketing director. Polonyi joined Contamac in January 2011. Over the past two years, he was employed as the company’s business development manager, bringing many new opportunities to the business, Contamac’s customers, and the industry as a whole.
■ Consumer eyecare information site AllAboutVision.com now features articles on the latest information and research on myopia control. The Children’s Vision section of the site now offers five articles on the subject, accompanied by a new infographic that eyecare professionals can share with their patients.
■ Members of the U.S. eye-care industry and professions again joined forces in a coalition to celebrate World Sight Day on Oct. 9 and supported Optometry Giving Sight and its annual fundraising campaign, the World Sight Day Challenge. World Sight Day Challenge Coalition members include ABB Optical Group, Alcon, AllAboutVision.com, Cooper-Vision, Essilor of America, TLC Laser Eye Centers, Transitions Optical, Vision Source, ZeaVision, Zeiss, and VSP Global businesses (Eyefinity, Marchon Eyewear, VSP Optics Group, and VSP Vision Care). Members have planned numerous events to raise awareness of the importance of eye health and to provide eye care and eyewear to people in need.
■ Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation is now accepting applications from third- and fourth-year optometry students for several scholarship grants. Third-year students can apply for one of two InfantSEE Scholarship Grants ($5,000 and $2,500), sponsored by Vision West, Inc.; the Dr. Seymour Galina Grant ($2,500); and the new Bernard Maitenaz Scholarship ($10,000), sponsored by Essilor. Fourth-year students can apply for the Dr. Pat & Patrick Cummings Scholarship ($5,000). Scholarship application documents and information about each scholarship are available at www.aoafoundation.org. The submission deadline for all of the aforementioned grant applications is Nov. 11, 2014.
■ Essilor of America is developing a new mobile app for consumers called AskAboutEyes that will help them find relevant information on individual issues or concerns about their eyes prior to visiting their eyecare practitioner (ECP). Consumers can ask individual questions and even send photographs to an ECP for additional details and guidance. Essilor has partnered with AllAboutVision.com, who will provide up-to-date information on vision correction and eye health. AskAboutEyes will be led by Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO, who will manage a network of ECPs across the country to ensure users are receiving precise and timely answers and advice. The app is not intended to be a diagnostic tool or to usurp independent ECPs.
■ The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Investigational New Drug application (IND) of Herantis Pharma Plc. for a Phase 2 clinical study of Cis-UCA Eye Drops for the treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES). Patient enrollment in the clinical study is planned to start by the end of 2014. Cis-urocanic acid (Cis-UCA), the active product ingredient of Cis-UCA Eye Drops, is an endogenous small molecule component of human and animal skin. It is constantly present in the human body and has been identified as a locally acting anti-inflammatory agent that also reduces free radicals.
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