Fitting Background
• Safety in sclerals – Part 3
• The Summit of Specialty Contacts
• 20 years “sleeplens”
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The big wave of layoffs is currently underway in the USA. Especially the tech companies, where it seemed that employees could feel untouchably safe, are being hit by it. Be it the planned job cuts at Amazon and Google, with more than 10,000 people affected each, or at Meta, where it is said to be as many as 11,000.
And ever since Elon Musk fooled himself with the biggest prank of his career, taking over Twitter, the consequences have been felt. His firing roundhouse went far and has farreaching consequences. For example, according to various media, he gutted formerly high-ranking projects and wiped out a team of artificial intelligence researchers. The team for global human rights was also allowed to take its hat. Other cuts resulted in the moderation of the website being handled only by a skeleton staff.
One may smile at his decisions and enjoy watching how, with a swollen ego, he almost drolly stumbles into countless faux pas before our very eyes. But this is not visible to all. For one group of users, doors are closing again that were only recently pushed open. Because one victim is accessibility. It wasn't that long ago that, following pressure from visually impaired people, Twitter had done a lot to make the platform more inclusive – which was also implemented with numerous options. But then Elon Musk fired his accessibility team.
Large tech companies do not have a good track record when it comes to accessibility, but among the successes this department has introduced in recent years is Twitter Spaces, for example, which includes a live discussion feature complete with subtitles so that the deaf and hearing-impaired can follow and participate in conversations. Another step was the introduction of "alt text" badges for all images and the encouragement to users to
include them as well. This move makes Twitter more accessible to blind and visually impaired users, who can use alt text to hear a description of an image. Twitter Support has a whole treatise of further ways to do this. For the future, however, these positive developments seem to be over for the time being.
One example. It is very difficult for a blind person to identify that "you are not a robot" on websites. We all know them: the little pictures or graphics that are supposed to determine whether a real user is sitting at the keyboard or a bot. These "captchas" show picture puzzles and make us click on cars, houses or traffic lights or recognize distorted letters.
The picture puzzle is simple and should be easy for humans to solve, but the bot should fail. However, blind and visually impaired people also fail such a test, which is all about visual perception. It doesn't work without a person to assist. If an attempt is made to overcome the captcha with a program, the security check is reduced to absurdity.
The digital world has many possibilities to offer solutions to visually impaired people, but in areas where there is not a great deal of profit, savings are made. ■
SILKE SAGE Editor-In-Chief silke@global-cl.com
20TH – 22ND APRIL 2023
THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
Dutch culture combined with ancient and modern science has found The Hague to be the perfect location for business and leisure time as well.
The 49th EFCLIN Congress & Exhibition takes place there from 20th – 22nd April 2023. For an engaging lecture program, EFCLIN forum and the best trade exhibition in the business, it can’t be beaten. It’s where the Contact Lens & IOL Industry from Europe, the Far East, North America and beyond come together… will you be there?
www.efclin.com/congress or e-mail us on info@efclin.com
Title: Contamac, www.contamac.com
Inside front cover: Bausch + Lomb Inc., www.bausch.com
Page 4: Efclin, www.efclin.com
Page 7: LAMBDA-X S.A., www.lambda-x.com
Page 9: K & Y Diamond Ltd, www.kydiamond.ca
Page 15: Schneider GmbH & Co. KG, www.schneider-om.com
Page 17, 23: OPTOCRAFT GmbH, www.optocraft.com
Page 21: AMETEK Precitech, Inc., www.sterlingint.com
Page 25: Optimec Systems Ltd., www.optimecsystems.com
Page 29: Rotlex, www.rotlex.com
Page 33: Larsen Equipment Design Inc., www.larsenequipment.com
Inside back cover: Acuity Polymers, Inc, www.acuitypolymers.com
Outside back cover: DAC International, Inc., www.dac-intl.com
askyou
to takenote of the 2023 wall calendar enclosed with this issue.
Johnson & Johnson Vision and Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) announced the 20-year anniversary of Sight For Kids, a co-founded program to close the gap in access to eye care by providing comprehensive eye care services for children in low-income and underserved communities. To mark the occasion, Johnson & Johnson Vision and LCIF will be showcasing the power and impact of delivering healthy sight over the past 20 years through 20 stories of people who have experienced that impact.
Founded in 2002 to address inequity in eye care among children, Sight For Kids is now the largest-known, school-based eye health program in the world, having already served more than 42 million children in Asia, Africa and, most recently, the U.S., since the program’s inception.
In 2021, the program expanded to the U.S., collaborating with the Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program, a division of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, to serve students across Miami-Dade, Broward, St. Lucie and Palm Beach
Bausch + Lomb announced its ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care Recycling programs have collected a total of 58,677,480 million units, or 356,723 pounds, of used contact lens, eye care and lens care materials, which is equivalent to the weight of 108 midsize vehicles. The programs are made possible through a collaboration with TerraCycle, a world leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle postconsumer waste.
"Prior to the launch of Bausch + Lomb's recycling programs, contact lens wearers, eye doctors and consumers did not have a dedicated way to properly recycle contact lens, eye care and lens care materials in the United States," said Amy Butler, Vice
Alcon has reported its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022. For the third quarter of 2022, sales were $2.1 billion, an increase of 2% on a reported basis and 9% on a constant currency basis, as compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alcon reported diluted earnings per share of $0.23 and core diluted earnings per share of $0.50.
“Our third quarter results reflect the continued strong operational performance of the business in an extremely challenging macroeconomic environment," said David J. Endicott, Alcon's
counties, with the goal of providing 20,000 screenings over the first year.
Sight For Kids is one of the longest running programs of its kind and provides teachers with training to deliver eye health education, perform visual acuity tests, and screen for common eye conditions.
Students identified with potential vision impairment or eye ailments are referred to healthcare providers for further evaluation, at no cost to the family. To date, 200,000 teachers have been trained and more than 500,000 pairs of free eyeglasses have been provided to underserved children.
“It is incredible to think back on the past 20 years and all the people who have come together, both in the communities Lions serve and across our organizations, to give more than 42 million children the gift of healthy sight and the societal inclusion that comes along with it,” said Dr. Jung-Yul Choi, Chairperson, Lions Clubs International Foundation. “Hearing the stories from around the world about how Sight For Kids is changing lives is inspirational, and I cannot wait to see the impact the program can have over the next 20 years, and beyond.”
President, Global Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, Bausch + Lomb. "The ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care recycling programs are providing a solution to this concern and together are making significant strides in ensuring more and more of these non-biodegradable materials do not end up in our environment and instead become a variety of postconsumer products."
The ONE by ONE Recycling program has collected more than 58 million used contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since the program's launch in November 2016. The Biotrue Eye Care Recycling program, which launched in April 2021, has collected more than 320,000 eye drop single dose units, lens cases, lens solution caps and Biotrue Hydration Boost Lubricant Eye drops multi-dose bottles.
Chief Executive Officer. "Demand for our products was robust, and we saw particularly strong growth in our international markets.” Mr. Endicott continued, “We have built a solid foundation and our business fundamentals are strong. Our positive results demonstrate that our investments in transformation, infrastructure and innovation continue to pay off. We are pleased with our margin expansion and operating leverage, despite the headwinds of a strong US dollar. Looking forward, we will continue to focus on advancing our innovation engine, driving commercial execution and creating long-term shareholder value."
Mojo Vision has announced that it has developed a potential consumer implementation of Alexa Shopping List on its Mojo Lens prototype. It is the first major third-party consumer application on a smart contact lens. The Alexa Shopping List test integration shows how Mojo Vision’s eyes-up, hands-free technology could work with Amazon’s Alexa voice AI and Alexa Shopping List feature. The use case envisions an experience in which someone can access their shopping list at the grocery or other retail store.
Specialty contact lens innovator Daddi Fadel, DOptom, FSLS, FBCLA, FAAO, FIACLE, has joined the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) in September 2022. Dr. Fadel is one of the world’s best known designers and fitters of scleral lenses for irregular cornea and orthokeratology lenses for myopia control. Her appointment as a clinical scientist will advance CORE’s growing specialty contact lens initiatives.
“For the past two decades, Daddi has built a stellar reputation as a pioneer in modern lens design. Her immense technical expertise, deep clinical experience, and enthusiasm for sharing knowledge among her peers make her an ideal match for our specialty segment work. We’re excited about what this new collaboration will create,” said Dr. Lyndon Jones, CORE’s director. Dr. Fadel is a frequent lecturer at international symposia, a NCLE-approved course instructor, and has authored multiple peer-reviewed papers. Her books include “Scleral Lens Issues and Complications: Their Recognition, Etiology, and
In the test integration, a user can ask Alexa to add items to an Alexa Shopping List before or during a trip to the store. The Alexa Shopping List feature would appear as one of the applications on Mojo Lens, and the user could access their list in their frame of view, while walking down store aisles. Using just their eyes, the shopper could read and scroll through the list, checking off items as they add them to their shopping cart. If another household member adds items to Alexa Shopping List, the list immediately updates on Mojo Lens. Mojo Vision received implementation and development support from Amazon to make this test demonstration of Alexa Shopping List for Mojo Lens possible.
Management” and “Clinical Guide for Scleral Lens Success,” co-written with Dr. Melissa Barnett. She is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contact Lens Research & Science. She is the founder and head of the European School of Scleral Lenses, founder and past president of Accademia Italiana Lenti Sclerali, and co-founder and president of the Euro & Austral-Asia Scleral Lens Academy. Dr. Fadel serves on boards of the International Forum for Scleral Lens Research and of the International Congress of Scleral Contact and advisory boards for the GP Lens Institute and the International Keratoconus Academy, and holds multiple other specialty association leadership roles.
The Vision Council announced the appointment of two new subcommittee chairs, including Dr. Gregory Williby, Sr. Principal Scientist, Presbyopia Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson Vision, as the SC7 (Contact Lenses) Sub-Committee Chair and Daniel A. Lahousse, Quality Assurance Director, FGX International, as the SC3 (Frames) Sub-Committee Chair.
The Vision Council and volunteer members have produced and contributed to multiple standards and communications.
ANSI Z80 ASC for Ophthalmic Optics develops and maintains American National Standards within its scope and develops U.S. positions at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The Z80 Committee, established in 1956, is a U.S. national standards developer accredited by ANSI. The current chair is Dr. Carl Tubbs of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The committee, made up of 21 voting organizations and more
The world of specialty lens fitters will meet again in Las Vegas at the end of January in presence. Topics at the 4-day conference will focus on the successful management of ocular conditions and therapeutic approaches with advanced specialty contact lenses through interactive educational platforms, including expert panel discussions, breakout sessions and clinical workshops. With a packed lecture program, the upcoming edition of the GSLS will once again take place in Las Vegas at the Horseshoe Hotel (formerly Bally's). Several parallel sessions will cover topics such as scleral lenses, orthokeratology, myopia management, custom soft lenses and much more.
than 200 participants, meets twice a year. There are seven subcommittees that operate under the Z80 committee. Serving as the new SC7 (Contact Lenses) Sub-Committee Chair, Dr. Williby brings 18 years of team management in contact lens research and product development, optical metrology, optical engineering, and regulated verification and validation activities. Dr. Williby studied optical sciences at the University of Arizona and joined Johnson & Johnson Vision in Jacksonville, Florida in 2004. Dr. Williby has been an active member of the Z80 committee since 2015 and represents ANSI US position at ISO TC172/SC7/WG9. The newly appointed SC3 (Frames) Sub-Committee Chair, Daniel A. Lahousse, has been an active member of ASC Z80 for over five years and is also a technical expert representing ANSI for various ISO TC172/SC7 working groups. He has worked in optical frames, sunglasses, and reader products for 14 years and oversees the global quality programs at FGX international Inc., involving regulatory compliance as well as product testing and inspection.
New members of the program committee are Ashley Wallace-Tucker, OD and Dr. Wallace-Tucker. They complete the program committee together with Jason Nichols, OD MPH PhD (GSLS chair), Karen DeLoss, OD (vice chair), Pat Caroline, Lynette Johns, OD, and Eef van der Worp, BSc, PhD.
As an extension to the winter event, the GSLS is also going virtual again this year. Focusing on the successful treatment of eye disease and vision correction with advanced specialty contact lenses, this digital event offers the opportunity to keep up to date on best practices and new techniques through interactive online lectures. This free program is a complement to the live event.
WEBINARS, CONFERENCES & TRADE FAIRS 2023
(due to the corona crisis, please check via the websites whether the event takes place)
GSLS
https://na.eventscloud.com/website/35541/home
EFCLIN
EAOO
BCLA
According to VPN provider Surfshark, Denmark has the best digital quality of life in the world. The country achieved
Eyewear is still reliant on store-based retailing, with store-based retail accounting for 87%
of eyewear sales globally in 2021. Within store-based retail, optical shops is by far the leading channel for eyewear.
Source:EuromonitorInternational
in 2021 on the company’s Digital Quality of Life Index, taking first place among the 110 nations it compared. South Korea and Finland follow in a joint second place at 0.76 points. With Singapore in rank four, the top eight consists of two Scandinavian and two Asian nations as well as the U.S., Israel, France and Switzerland.
Source:Statista
Vision Expo West brought together thousands of members of the industry in Las Vegas for four days of business and education. The show featured more than
across several neighborhoods and offered continuing education as well as engaging programming.
Source: Vision Expo West
Source:VisionExpoWest
Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/27873/ share-investing-planning-to-invest-in-cryptocurrencies-us-gcs/
As a market-leading solution provider for optical metrology, TRIOPTICS has many years of experience in the inspection of intraocular lenses (IOLs). As their demand increases, so do patient expectations of the implants. This has led to an increasing number of premium lenses being offered, with a focus on accelerated R&D. Efficient testing with high accuracy ensures that the required high quality standards are met. Optimized IOL development and production can be achieved with an integrated analysis that puts not only individual steps but entire workflows to the test. TRIOPTICS offers a complete package for this, from a free workflow analysis to consulting for the best possible metrology and process for new and innovative IOL samples. www.trioptics.com / sales@trioptics.com
The API (Application Programming Interface) is available as an option for all MENTOR® software from Lambda-X. It turns any instrument into an extremely versatile and fully customizable tool. Remote instrument configuration, template management, product automation or data collection are some of the many possibilities the API opens up with our new-comer, TEMPO-MENTOR®.
The API allows production and QA management to set, edit and control system parameters of all the instruments in just a few clicks. To build an integral shop floor control system, management can create, edit and lock measurement templates for the entire network of Lambda-X instruments used on-site as well as in distant locations.
The API opens the doors to the automation of measurements by controlling the sequence of operations, such as:
• taking an optical reference,
• ordering the robotic arm to place the lens into the instrument,
• measuring the IOL,
• signaling measurement completion.
The API allows the retrieval of all measurement data from the database of the instrument in real time, as well as the transmission and processing of the data in the customer’s applications (lens registration, QA conformity, trend analysis, ERP, etc.).
Know more about the possibilities for your installation:
The need to measure the properties of ophthalmic lenses arises not only from the international standard or out of simple curiosity, but also from the desire to improve the lens quality and to enable better vision for the patient.
Optocraft offers dedicated turn-key solutions for measurement of refractive data and image quality, in less than a second. Advanced systems are available, adapted to the constraints and needs in daily lens production, offering a temperature controlled, clean open-top cuvette. Surface shape measurement of semi-finished lenses is possible within less than 20 sec. Additional information on tool offset and tool wear can be obtained and used for predictive maintenance. Furthermore, inline measurement modules with flexible hard- and software interfaces can be integrated directly into production lines for a fast identification of faulty lenses.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you! sales@optocraft.de / www.optocraft.de/en/shsophthalmic
One study showed that wearing reusable contact lenses increases the risk to develop Acanthamoeba keratitis. Researches at Aston University have confirmed the effectiveness of the 20-20-20 screen rule for helping with digital eye strain. A CORE study indicates that a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids significantly improves symptoms in people who suffer from severe dry eye disease. Scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation have developed a contact lens that can capture and detect exosomes. A smartphone app measures users’ blink characteristics and determines maximum blink interval to help diagnose DED. A large pool data analysis indicates that cholesterol and diabetes drugs may lessen risk of AMD.
By Rebekka NurkanovicResearchers from University College London (UCL) and Moorfields conducted a study that showed that people who wear reusable contact lenses are nearly four times as likely as those wearing daily disposables to develop a rare sightthreatening eye infection.
The case control study, published in the journal Ophthalmology, identifies multiple factors that increase the risk of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a corneal infection, including reusing lenses or wearing them overnight or in the shower.
Lead author, Professor John Dart (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) said that while AK is still rare, an increase has been seen in the UK and Europe in recent years. Therefore it is important to know how to minimize the risk.
For the study, the researchers recruited over 200 patients of Moorfields Eye Hospital who completed a survey, including 83 people with AK, and compared them with a control group of 122 participants who came to eyecare clinics with other conditions. People who wore reusable soft contact lenses had 3.8 times the odds of developing AK, compared to people who wore daily
disposable lenses. Showering while wearing lenses increased the odds of AK by 3.3 times, while wearing lenses overnight increased the odds by 3.9 times. Among daily disposable wearers, reusing their lenses increased their infection risk. Having had a recent contact lens check with a health professional reduced the risk.
With further analysis, the researchers estimated that 30-62% of cases in the UK, and potentially in many other countries,
A research group, led by Professor Akira Murakami and Associate Professor Takenori Inomata of the Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, has developed a smartphone application called DryEyeRhythm. According to Inomata the app leverages the cameras in smartphones to measure users’ blink characteristics and determine maximum blink interval (MBI), a substitute for tear film breakup time, an important diagnostic criterion of DED. The app also administers Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaires.
To validate the usefulness of the app, the research team conducted a prospective, cross-sectional, observational, singlecenter study. The results have been published in the journal The Ocular Surface.
For their study, the team recruited 82 patients, aged 20 years or older, who visited the ophthalmology outpatient clinic at the Juntendo University Hospital between July 2020 and May 2021. The participants completed the Japanese version of the OSDI questionnaire (J-OSDI) and underwent examinations for MBI, both via the app and via other analysis techniques.
Previously published research suggests that drugs to lower cholesterol, control diabetes, and dampen down inflammation may help to lessen the risk of developing age related macular degeneration (AMD), but these findings were partly contradictory and based on small numbers of participants. In a bid to get round these issues, researchers pooled the results of 14 population-based and hospital-based studies, involving 38,694 people from France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Russia and the UK. The studies were part of the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) consortium, a collaborative pan European network, the principal aim of which is to develop and analyze large pooled datasets to further the understanding of eye disease and sight loss.
The participants were all over the age of 50 and taking at least one of the following types of drug to: lower cholesterol, including statins; control diabetes, including insulin; to dampen down inflammation, excluding steroids; and Levodopa, used to treat movement disorders caused by neurodegenerative disease. The prevalence of AMD ranged
could be prevented if people switched from reusable to daily disposable lenses.
The research team states that public pools and coastal authorities could help reduce this risk by advising against swimming in contact lenses and that information on lens safety and risk avoidance should be included in contact lens packaging.
DOI 10.1016/j.ophtha.2022.08.002
Source: University College London
The study revealed that the J-OSDI collected with DryEyeRhythm showed good internal consistency. Moreover, the app-based questionnaire and MBI yielded significantly higher discriminant validity. The app also showed good positive and negative predictive values, with 91.3% and 69.1%, respectively. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, a measure of clinical sensitivity and specificity, for the concurrent use of the app-based J-OSDI and MBI was also high, with a value of 0.910. These results demonstrate that the app is a reliable, valid, and moreover non-invasive, instrument for assessing DED. The researchers think that non-contact and non-invasive DED diagnostic assistance, like the kind provided by DryEyeRhythm, could help facilitate the early diagnosis and treatment of patients. The research team plans to further validate its results by conducting a multi-institutional collaborative study in the future. They are also planning to obtain medical device approval and insurance reimbursement for the smartphone application. DOI 10.1016/j.jtos.2022.04.005
Source: Juntendo University Research Promotion Center
from 12% to 64.5% across the included studies while the prevalence of advanced (late) AMD ranged from 0.5% to 35.5%. The pooled data analysis showed that drugs to lower cholesterol or control diabetes were associated with, respectively, 15% and 22% lower prevalence of any type of AMD, after accounting for potentially influential factors. No such associations were found for any of the other types of drug or for advanced AMD, in particular, although there were only a relatively small number of such cases, note the researchers. They caution that further longitudinal data are needed to confirm their findings, which are inherently limited by using cross-sectional data only and cannot infer causality. But the findings point to a likely key role for metabolic processes in the development of AMD, which may offer potential new avenues for treatment and have implications for public health messaging, they suggest. The data analysis was published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Source: BMJ
DOI 10.1136/bjo-2022-321985
The 20-20-20 rule recommends taking a break of at least 20 seconds, every 20 minutes, to look at least 20 feet away to help ease some of the symptoms of prolonged computer use. Recently, its effectiveness has been confirmed by scientists at Aston University’s College of Health and Life Sciences.
It’s estimated that at least half of people using computers in their regular work have some form of digital eye strain, resulting in eye surface problems including irritation and dryness, or vision issues such as headaches or blurred vision. Humans normally blink around 15 times each minute. When staring at screens, this number decreases generally to half that rate or less. That can lead to dry, irritated, and tired eyes, but twenty seconds focusing elsewhere is long enough for the eyes to relax enough to reduce the strain.
The researchers set up their study with the help of 29 participants who suffer from symptoms of eye strain. Special software downloaded onto the participants’ own laptop computers used the built-in laptop camera both to check if a user was sitting at the screen and to monitor their gaze direction every few seconds. After 20 minutes of continuous screen viewing, the program flashed up a message, asking users to rest for 20 seconds while looking at any distant target around 20 feet away,
A study conducted by the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) indicates that a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids ingested as a dietary supplement significantly improves symptoms in people who suffer from severe dry eye disease. This was the first clinical trial to demonstrate the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and γ-linoleic acid in such a population. The study appeared in Optometry and Vision Science, the peer review journal of the American Academy of Optometry.
such as out of the window or across a room. The message couldn’t be removed until the task was performed correctly, as measured by the app.
Participants’ digital eye strain symptoms were measured before and after two weeks of using the reminders, and one week after completing the study. Results showed a marked decrease in symptoms including dryness, sensitivity and discomfort. Professor James Wolffsohn, Professor of Optometry at Aston University, who led the research in collaboration with the University of Valencia, Spain, said the access control on the software meant that the scientists could be sure that participants really had looked away every 20 minutes and reports a consequent improvement in the symptoms of the group as a whole. Researchers noted that after the study, the participants’ eye symptoms returned to what they had been before the intervention. Longer term studies to see whether it is possible to teach eyelid muscle memory impulses to blink more often during digital viewing are planned. The article ‘The effects of breaks on digital eye strain, dry eye and binocular vision: Testing the 20-20-20 rule’ was published in the journal Contact Lens and Anterior Eye.
DOI 10.1016/j.clae.2022.101744
Source: Aston University
The prospective, randomized, double-masked parallel group study assessed daily use of a supplement containing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (1200 mg eicosapentaenoic acid, 300 mg docosahexaenoic acid, 150 mg γ-linoleic acid) or the placebo (coconut and olive oil) for three months. Participants with baseline Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores >52 demonstrated a substantial improvement in symptoms with the treatment at the study’s conclusion, averaging a 20.8 point reduction. That compared to a 7.8 point reduction in the similarly-symptomatic placebo group.
Alison Ng, PhD, MCOptom, FAAO, CORE clinical scientist and the paper’s first author reported that the study participants were far more symptomatic than in other published trials involving omega-3 supplementation, allowing for additional analysis. The group’s findings suggest that even the most severe sufferers can benefit from a meaningful improvement in symptoms with omega-3 and -6 supplementation.
The paper’s authors recommend that future studies examine the effects of early dietary supplementation with omega-3 and -6 fatty acids in patients presenting with mild-to-moderate dry eye disease to understand potential benefits. They also recommend further research among highly symptomatic participants.
DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000001826
Quelle: CORE, University of Waterloo
Scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a contact lens that can capture and detect exosomes, nanometer-sized vesicles found in bodily secretions which have the potential for being diagnostic cancer biomarkers. The lens was designed with microchambers bound to antibodies that can capture exosomes found in tears. Exosomes are formed within most cells and secreted into many bodily fluids, such as plasma, saliva, urine, and tears. Some surface proteins on exosomes are increased in response to cancer. The antibody- conjugated signaling microchamber contact lens (ACSM-CL) that was developed by TIBI can be stained for detection with nanoparticle-tagged specific antibodies for selective visualization. According to the researchers, this offers a potential platform for cancer pre-screening and a supportive diagnostic tool that is easy, rapid, sensitive, cost-effective, and non-invasive.
The ACSM-CL was tested against exosomes secreted into supernatants from ten different tissue and cancer cell lines. The ability to capture and detect exosomes was validated by the spectroscopic shifts observed in all the test samples, in comparison with the negative controls. Similar results were obtained when the ACSM-CL was tested against ten different tear samples collected from volunteers. In final experiments, exosomes in supernatants collected from three different cell lines with different surface marker expressions were tested against the ACSM-CL, along with different combinations of marker-specific detection antibodies. The resultant patterns of detection and non-detection of exosomes from the three different cell lines were as expected, thus validating the ACSM-CL’s ability to accurately capture and detect exosomes with different surface markers. The results were published in Advanced Functional Materials.
DOI 10.1002/adfm.202206620
Source: Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
www.schneider-om.com
Where the highest surface accuracy and quality meets unrivaled productivity. The compact and fully featured UPC 100 Vision is optimized for highly dynamic diamond turning of specialty contact lenses, IOLs and mold inserts.
Complex freeform Silicone Hydrogel and GP surfaces for OrthoK, Scleral and Keratoconus designs with control for myopia, astigmatism and presbyopia, can be easily produced ‘polish-free’.
The UPC nano is the most economic and compact machine, with on-board freeform capabilities and an optional laser engraver, for manufacturing high-quality specialty contact lenses ready for polishing with minimal lens production costs.
Both machines can be easily automated with the SCHNEIDER automation options.
After a two-year break, "The Summit of Specialty Contacts" took place in Sorrento/Italy from 14 to 16 October. The program covered various topics related to speciality lenses such as scleral lenses and corneal contact lenses. But also hybrid lenses and custom soft contact lenses were discussed as well as diseases of the anterior segment of the eye, which is relevant for the fitting of contact lenses. This also includes the symptomatology of dry eye.
By Silke Sage
An entire conference day was dedicated to myopia control and ortho-k. Here, attention was also drawn to the secondary diseases associated with high myopia. In addition to expert lectures, there were also some presentations by sponsors. This conference is the only one in Europe to exclusively focus on topics related to the fitting of specialty lenses and to bring together internationally renowned opinion leaders in this field. This conference is organized and managed by Daddi Fadel, DOptom, FSLS, FBCLA. She is a contact lens designer, a pioneer of modern lens designs, and a specialist in contact lenses. She has 20 years experience in optometry and specialty contact lenses. Dr. Fadel is internationally recognized as a key opinion leader,
who has several peer-reviewed publications in the area of specialty contact lenses and is a speaker in national and international symposia. Also in charge is Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA USA, who as vice chair is also responsible for the lecture program. Dr. Barnett is a principal optometrist at the University of California, Davis Eye Center in Sacramento and Davis, California. She is an internationally recognized key opinion leader, specializing in dry eye disease and specialty contact lenses. She lectures and publishes extensively on topics including dry eye, anterior segment disease, contact lenses and creating a healthy balance between work and home life for women in optometry.
The three days of the conference were characterised by top-class lectures, lively discussions and the exchange and networking among colleagues. We would like to present one lecture, it shows the particularities of handling visual acuity in road traffic when using ortho-k in the European setting.
Sebastian Marx's (Managing Director, Clinical Researcher and Head of the Jenvis Research Test Laboratory) lecture was entitled: Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity of ortho-k vs. LASIK patients with regard to the legal requirements for driving licence in Germany.
When ortho-k lenses are fitted in children and adolescents for myopia management, the question arises at the latest when they reach their 18th birthday: Exactly what prescription is used as the basis for the measurement in the driver's licence vision test?
If the test is taken shortly after removing the ortho-k lenses, the visual acuity is perfect. In the evening, this might no longer be the case. This poses a dilemma that not only affects optometrists in Germany, but optometrists all over Europe. Third parties are already asking the question: And what if the ortho-k user has not worn his lenses for a few days and the visual acuity drops?
Are glasses then necessary? And if so, in what prescription? This leads to discussions with ophthalmologists. Marx presented various studies that basically deal with the topic. Another study examined which visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were measured during night-time driving – and thus enlarged pupils – in ortho-k users (8 hours after taking off the lenses), in LASIK
patients and a control group. The surprising result: the visual acuity values for ortho-k and LASIK were almost identical.
Although the programme included an extraordinary range of high-level speakers and the location was considered more than attractive, the number of visitors was certainly smaller than the organisers would have hoped. A parallel event in Italy may have drawn away some potential participants. Some experts also see the possibility of consuming training courses, seminars and lectures online as possible reasons. But for those who were there, not only was a unique programme offered, there were also many opportunities for exchange among experts in the field of specialty lenses. n
Much attention in our specialty lens field is on the fitting process, the indication range – but a large part of the success, and failure, of specialty lenses relies on contact lens solutions, hygiene and handling. Lens care with soft specialty lenses is at least as important, but most likely even more important, than with standard lenses, as specialty lenses are often used to manage compromised corneas – posing extra risks – and some lens modalities may pose more challenges. We have dealt with orthokeratology and scleral lenses in the past two editions. Now: what are the special considerations when dealing with specialty soft lenses versus standard commercial soft lenses, and can we simply copy/paste the rules and regulations of the latter for this category?
By Eef van der WorpThe soft specialty lens group consists of lenses that are custommade because of lens design or lens prescription requirements (lenses with higher or lower sagittal heights, for instance, and/ or lenses with high or low prescriptions) or that have an outof-standard parameter range. What they have in common is that these lenses are typically lathe-cut and are by default thicker than molded lenses, sometimes 3x times thicker than disposable lenses, which will have a negative effect on the Dk/t values even when they are made of silicone hydrogel materials. Apart from thickness, the single biggest disadvantage is that they are not as ‘disposable’ as their commercial counterparts are; typically, monthly replacement is the max, 3-month replacement is not uncommon, and daily disposable does not exist within this group. In addition, the lathe-cutting process is regarded by some as less optimal, as the smoothness of the surface may be slightly reduced. But whether this has clinical consequences for the patient cannot be backed up by the literature.
So, the potential lower Dk/t of the lathe-cut lenses is basically the first consideration, apart from the reduced ‘disposability’. The highest-Dk materials should be used to counter this factor as much as possible. Typically, in clinical practice oxygen only really becomes an issue in extremely thick lenses (high prescriptions or artificially thick custom-made lenses such as for keratoconus indications or to mask corneal irregularities). Especially for lenses with high-plus prescriptions, critical levels could be reached in the center of the cornea.
But the fact that soft specialty lenses by default fall into the reusable category is actually a much more important consideration, which makes lens care and hygiene of much higher importance. Many of these reusable lenses fall into the ‘monthly replacement’ category, but replacement up to three months is not unlikely either. Daily disposables, as they are naturally replaced every day, do not need the cleaning/disinfection cycle and do not require lens cases, and the potential exposure to tap water and external microbes is lower with this lens modality.
Professor James Wolffsohn, from Aston University in Birmingham (UK) and one of the founding fathers of the BCLA CLEAR papers, looked at how the risk of infection can be reduced in soft lens wear by identifying and differentiating non-modifiable from modifiable risk factors. In the first category, male sex and country (presence of Acanthamoeba due to water storage and legal requirements) were mentioned, while poor handwashing, overnight wear, improper use of solution (such as topping off), expired lens care products, extending lens use beyond the replacement interval, inadequate case cleaning, failure to rub and rinse lenses, use of tap water/water sports and online purchasing were mentioned as factors that are potentially modifiable.
As discussed in the previous episode on lens safety in orthokeratology, overnight wear and extended wear of any type of contact lens poses a well-documented higher risk of corneal infections and should be discouraged and avoided where possible. See ‘bandage lens’ section below, as that is not always possible in some eye conditions.
The problem with Acanthamoeba corneal infection is that it is almost solely a contact lens-related condition. It even has been called ‘a preventable disease’. The biggest concern is exposure to tap water, where the microorganism can reside. Acanthamoeba is not a virus, not a bacterium, not even a yeast or a fungus, but a free-living parasite, which may be hard to disinfect. Exclusion of all tap water from any contact lens care regimen is warranted. Special ‘no water’ stickers are available now from various professional associations around the globe.
The exclusion of tap water from the contact lens care regimen includes rigid corneal lens wear (where for a long time it was customary to rinse with tap water), and it also includes the lens case: no rinsing or cleaning of the lens case should involve tap
water. Even after handwashing, it is important to thoroughly dry the hands with a clean towel before handling the lenses.
Experts in the field are very clear about one thing: the lens case in general has proven to be a significant source of contamination. Replacing the lens case regularly, ideally every month, is advised, and contact lens cases should be cleaned regularly. At the very least, all solutions should be discarded from cases daily and the cases should be air dried (as should the lens basket in hydrogen peroxide cases).
Mark Willcox, lead author of the CLEAR paper on disinfection, found in his studies that using lens cases that are different from the ones recommended by the solution manufacturer is a risk for more microbes growing in cases, with a potential increase in the risk of MK or inflammation during lens wear. The use of novelty lens cases (eg, ‘fun’ lens cases) that can be purchased in many countries should be discouraged, as they have not been evaluated for compatibility with disinfecting solutions and may be used for prolonged times.
The choice of disinfecting solution may depend on how frequently the lenses are worn. For standard lenses, multipurpose solutions provide good disinfection against most microbes that are associated with infections or inflammation. The primary criteria for the stand-alone test are a reduction not less than 99.9% (or 3.0 logs) for bacteria and a reduction not less than 90% for molds and yeasts within the soaking period recommended by the manufacturer. Note that other microorganisms (viruses and parasites such as Acanthamoeba) are not part of this criteria.
Hydrogen peroxide- or iodine-based solutions have shown superior disinfection efficacy over multipurpose solutions, which may be especially applicable for soft specialty lenses. For that reason, oxidizing disinfection systems are a common and popular solution for different types of specialty lenses, as these lenses pose an extra risk either because of reduced oxygen transmissibility or the underlying condition of the eye, making the eye more vulnerable, and these lenses may be on a longer (eg, 3-month) replacement cycle. Keep in mind, though, that as these solutions are neutralized after use, occasional wearers should be reminded to re-disinfect their lenses before wear. In-office disinfection of both gas permeable (scleral and corneal) and hybrid and soft lenses should involve 3% peroxide exposure in a non-neutralizing case for at least three hours before neutralization (for soft and hybrid lenses) or dry storage (for rigid corneal lenses and scleral lenses) per the American Academy of Optometry and the American Optometric Association recommendation, in conjunction with the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA) and the GP Lens Institute (GPLI) in the US.
The use of iodine-based solutions in the contact lens field is relatively new, but seems to have high potential. Future directions may include coated antimicrobial contact lenses that can reduce the incidence of corneal infiltrative events during lens wear, silver-impregnated barrel contact lens storage cases and ultraviolet-C devices that have proven to have antimicrobial activity against microorganisms related to contact lens wearrelated adverse events.
Bandage soft lenses as a subgroup of specialty lenses are a very different subcategory. In many cases, commercial disposable (molded) lenses are used unless the shape of the eye is excessively different (either flat, such as after a corneal transplant, or steep, such as in severe keratoconus or after corneal cross-linking). The standard molded lenses typically have good oxygen delivery, especially in the silicone hydrogel category. However, almost by default, bandage lenses are used for eyes with compromised corneas. Extra care regarding safety should be exercised. A complicating factor may be that frequently disposing the lenses is not always possible in these patients and daily disposables are not always an option – and sometimes, extended wear of the bandage lens is warranted (to promote epithelial healing, for instance) despite the known risks.
In summary, it appears that for starters most rules and regulations for standard reusable soft lens wear can be copied/pasted into the specialty soft lens arena. But extra emphasis on safety seems warranted, as more challenging oxygen delivery and the potential presence of underlying pathology may make the eye more vulnerable. Because soft specialty lenses by default fall into the reusable category and they are sometimes worn for (much) longer periods of time before replacement compared to standard commercial lenses, it is of the utmost importance to emphasize good lens hygiene and care, where more rigorous care-systems may be advised.
Although rare, serious conditions have been reported in general contact lens wear for which – oh the irony – specialty lenses are needed to heal the condition and to restore vision. Lens care with those specialty lenses is at least as important, but most likely even more important, than with standard lenses, as the specialty lenses are often used for compromised corneas – posing extra risks – and some lens modalities may pose more challenges, such as the need to wear the lenses overnight or increased oxygen barriers. To keep all these specialty lens options as safe as possible, ECPs and patients should work together to prevent buildup of debris, growth of microorganisms and adverse events.
This was the last ‘episode’ of this trilogy on specialty lens safety. Safety considerations in scleral lens wear and in orthokeratology were covered in the previous two editions of GlobalCONTACT this calendar year. n
Parts of this publication appeared in a Contact Lens Spectrum article (April 2022) that summarized a 2022 Global Specialty Lens Symposium session devoted to contact lens safety featuring Mark Bullimore, Melissa Barnett, Gloria Chiu and Pauline Cho.
References:
1 Willcox M, Keir N, Maseedupally V, Masoudi S, McDermott A, Mobeen R, Purslow C, Santodomingo-Rubido J, Tavazzi S, Zeri F, Jones L. CLEAR - Contact lens wettability, cleaning, disinfection and interactions with tears. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2021 Apr;44(2):157-191.
2 Carnt N, Hoffman JJ MBBS, Verma S, Hau S, Radford CF, Minassian DC, Dart JKG. Acanthamoeba keratitis: confirmation of the UK outbreak and a prospective case-control study identifying contributing risk factors. Br J Ophthalmol. 2018 Dec;102(12):1621-1628.
3 Willcox M. From Research to Practice: Do Specialty Soft Contact Lenses Need Different Care? Softspecialedition.com Winter 2022.
4 Sindt C, Bennett E, Szczotka-Flynn L, Sclafani L, Barnett M; American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies, and The American Optometric Association (AOA) Contact Lens and Cornea Section. Technical Report: Guidelines for Handling of Multipatient Contact Lenses in the Clinical Setting. Optom Vis Sci. 2020 Aug;97(8):544-548.
5 Kalaiselvan P, Konda N, Pampi N, Vaddavalli PK, Sharma S, Stapleton F, Kumar N, Willcox MDP, Dutta D. Effect of Antimicrobial Contact Lenses on Corneal Infiltrative Events: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2021 Jun 1;10(7):32.
6 Datta A, Willcox MDP, Stapleton F. In vivo efficacy of silver-impregnated barrel contact lens storage cases. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2021 Aug;44(4):101357.
7 Dumpati S, Naroo SA, Shah S, Dutta D. Antimicrobial Efficacy of an Ultraviolet-C Device against Microorganisms Related to Contact Lens Adverse Events. Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 May 21;11(5):699. doi: 10.3390/ antibiotics11050699.
Eef van der Worp, BOptom, PhD, FAAO, FIACLE, FBCLA, FSLS is an educator and researcher. He received his optometry degree from the Hogeschool van Utrecht in the Netherlands (NL) and has served as a head of the contact lens department at the school for over eight years. He received his PhD from the University of Maastricht (NL) in 2008. He is a fellow of the AAO, IACLE, BCLA and the SLS. He is currently adjunct Professor at the University of Montreal University College of Optometry (CA) and adjunct assistant Professor at Pacific University College of Optometry (Oregon, USA). He lectures extensively worldwide and is a guest lecturer at a number of Universities in the US and Europe.
Photo presentation: Students present their findings
Leah Nickel, Floriana Marku (HFAK, Cologne, Germany)
A prominent, centrally located blood vessel can be seen within the iris structure (image 1). In addition, a distinctive limbal vascular arcade can be seen (image 2).
Slit lamp (Haag-Streit BQ 900, Koeniz, Schweiz)
Photo 1: Diffuse illumination, 16 x magnification
Photo 2: Regredient illumination, 25 x magnification
The proband (27 years, female, no contact lens wearer) reports an untreated infection of the anterior segment of the eye (2012), which could possibly correspond to uveitis anterior. On routine slit-lamp examination, the subject has a prominent blood vessel in the nasal iris structure, as well as a nasally prominent limbal vascular arcade. The clearly visible blood vessel in conjunction with the unusually pronounced limbal vascular arcade allows
conclusions to be drawn that this could be a consequence of the healed uveitis. Close examination of the iris blood vessel reveals that it runs parallel to the radial iris structure. Its course suggests a congenital blood vessel visible within the iris structure, which is bright here. With the regredient illumination and a higher magnification, reversing blood vessels of the limbal vascular arcade could be observed. The limbal vascular arcade in the test person can therefore be classified as physiological, i.e. normal. In addition, a dull tissue structure can be seen on the cornea in the limbal vascular arcade. The small, dull area can be identified as a so-called pannus. The pannus may have developed as a result of the infection.
On the nasal conjunctiva, a microcyst (image 1), which has been present since infancy, can also be seen. Regular checks ensure that this does not change in size, shape and form.
The limbal vascular arcade is checked by an ophthalmologist at regular intervals. At the first sign of re-infection, the test person immediately visits an ophthalmologist, as the cornea can react more sensitively. When fitting contact lenses, especially soft contact lenses, it is very important to observe and classify the limbal vascular arcade, as this allows changes to be detected more quickly.
“Know your quality” shows where you stand when it comes to producing lenses at consistent standard. This is not only true when the level of manufacturing quality is already high but significantly more important when not.
Optocraft has been developing and manufacturing metrology solutions for optics spanning a wide variety of markets and applications: From high-precision immersion objective lenses for microscopy, over laser systems for eye surgery to optical instruments that are sent into space on a satellite to improve our global understanding of weather and climate. And of course, for the measurement of the quality of contact and intra ocular lenses to enable a better vision for the patient in all circumstances.
From a metrology perspective, the contact lens market is quite diverse. Measurement equipment has to deal with a wide variety of lenses: classic RGPs, sclerals, soft spheric, toric or multifocal lenses as well as smart lenses. With the multitude of different designs, a considerable number of parameters have to be taken into consideration: material, refractive power, geometry, etc. And especially when it comes to soft contact lenses, a well-controlled measurement environment is needed. As a result, special demands are placed on the capabilities of the metrology solution chosen.
Depending on the size and the structure of the lens manufacturing company, quality control processes are set up and implemented quite differently, again imposing different requirements on the metrology hard- and software. Documentation is a big topic on its own, where a dedicated but still easily adaptable software is
needed, that also guides the operator and facilitates measurement procedures for the different lens types. Additionally, process automation plays an increasingly important role, and the need for inline metrology solutions that can be flexibly interfaced and integrated into the production line.
Traditional metrology like classical lensmetres and shadowgraphs can no longer cope with this ever-expanding list of requirements. Hence, the need for advanced metrology systems. With more than 20 years of experience in wavefront metrology, Optocraft’s team continues to passionately develop new multifunctional and simple to operate instruments for the ophthalmic lens market.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Let’s put our heads together. n
“The relationship and cooperation with Optocraft have driven major developments in our metrology understanding and of its potential. Coupled with high quality metrology systems available from Optocraft, this is helping us realise a new era of contact lens measurement.”
Global Technical Innovation Group, Coopervision
Since 2002, orthokeratological contact lenses have been fitted in Central Europe according to modern standards. The procedure dates back to the early 1960s when George Jesson introduced his "Orthofocus", which was intended to flatten the corneal geometry with deliberately flat-fitting PMMA lenses. However, this method did not catch on. It was not until the development of multicurve, reverse contact lens geometries that orthokeratology achieved a breakthrough at the turn of the millennium. By
The initial spark was a congress of the companies Contopharma AG and Techno-Lens SA in Lausanne in 2000, where Patrick Caroline, professor at the Pacific University of Optometry in Portland (Oregon), presented orthokeratology with reverse geometries in lectures and seminars. The topic met with great interest among the audience. Employees of TechnoLens SA took up this enthusiasm and, under the direction of Bruno Fantony, Philippe Seira and Wolfgang Laubenbacher, developed their own designs and fitting strategies. The goal was to enable orthokeratology, which had been largely unknown until then, with familiar procedures for form-stable lens fitting. In 2001 the first own ortho-k lens designs were fitted and in 2002 the Techno-Lens "sleep&see" (later renamed "sleeplens") ortho-k concept, was introduced to the market. The following year brought an immense boom for orthokeratology. The interest in this methodology was huge and orthokeratology was the main topic at all optometric events.
However, the initial euphoria was dampened in the following years. Many critical voices were raised about "corneal reshaping" and the question of long-term tolerability and possible negative influence on the integrity of the cornea arose. Corresponding long-term results could of course not yet be demonstrated. In addition, the reference to the positive experiences over decades with the wearing of flat adapted stable lenses was not convincing for everyone.
Orthokeratology was still associated with "flattening" the cornea with dimensionally stable lenses. But modern
Wolfgang Laubenbacherprocedures gently change the corneal geometry through the hydrostatic forces of the tear film. In order to make the adjustments as safe as possible, only highly gas-permeable materials were used by the manufacturers and a maximum wearing time of one year was specified.
It took several years for orthokeratology to become established. In Germany, there was great interest in the methodology, but there was also a lot of skepticism. It was often heard after training courses that people now knew how it worked, but they were not going to use it. In other countries, first and foremost The Netherlands, orthokeratology was not seen as a problem maker but as a problem solver, causing the case numbers there to rise sharply.
In order to make the adjustments as safe as possible, only highly gas-permeable materials were used by the manufacturers and a maximum wearing time of one year was specified. This was the first time that a regular replacement interval was introduced for dimensionally stable lenses, as was already customary for soft lenses. The use of so-called subscription systems for the payment of lenses and services was also introduced for rigid lenses.
From 2008, the fitting figures increased significantly again. Orthokeratology was accepted. This methodology had now found a solid basis and the skeptical voices became quieter. New designs, especially toric ortho-k lenses, and a growing body of experience expanded the fitting options.
Myopia management has become an important topic in optometry in recent years and the high efficiency of ortho-k is one of the reasons why sales figures have risen sharply especially in these last few years. Above all, the great advantage of ortho-k is that, in contrast to all other myopia management measures, no additional visual aids need to be worn. The myopia is no longer consciously perceived and its increase is also inhibited. Techlens has fitted ortho-k lenses to children in its own contact lens practice from the very beginning. The positive influence on the inhibition of myopia development can be confirmed in our own practice.
Despite all the positive developments, the orthokeratology procedure is still largely unknown to the end customer, even after 20 years. Satisfied ortho-k lens wearers are looked at incredulously when they report that they only wear contact lenses for sleep and no longer need glasses. The industry is being asked to advertise the procedure. For a broad advertising campaign there are however still too few fitters who dedicate themselves intensively to orthokeratology. The risk that a myopic patient approached by advertising will come to a practitioner who does not recommend ortho-k is too great and thus a prospective customer would be lost. Effective advertising lies mainly in direct communication by the fitter and the use of referral marketing by satisfied customers.
Based on available figures on sales of ophthalmic optical products and a market survey conducted by Techlens in 2019, a figure of approximately 15,000 ortho-k lens wearers in
Germany emerges. Relative to the population of around 82 million, this is a vanishingly small share of 0.018%. The proportion in Switzerland and Austria is certainly much higher, since the proportion of all contact lens wearers in the population is also much higher here than in Germany. The Netherlands is the world leader. Here the proportion in relation to the population is more than ten times the German level. To be successful, it makes perfect sense to occupy and promote market niches. In retrospect, this strategy has also been extremely successful for Techlens from an economic point of view.
With this extremely low market penetration, after 20 years, can we even speak of success? The figures and the level of awareness say no, but contact lens practitioners who proactively offer this procedure are very successful. They have established a unique selling point in their regional environment and distinguish themselves as highly competent specialists. Ortho-k lens wearers, like almost all RGP wearers, are extremely loyal customers with whom they maintain regular contact. Sales of contact lenses have been at a stagnant level for years. Although orthokeratology is a niche product, it has generated annual double-digit percentage growth rates. n
Intuition – or gut feeling – does exist, not many would dispute that. But not much research has been done on the topic, and it can hardly be considered an ‘evidence-based’ arena. Gerd Gigerenzer (director emeritus of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy, both in Berlin, Germany) has investigated the matter, and he advises: if the material is too overwhelming to digest by the human mind (like buying a house, for instance), or if you have little time to make a decision: then go by your gut feeling. By
Eef van der WorpIn his recent book ‘Gut Feelings,’ Gigerenzer, as a psychologist and behavioural expert, reveals the secrets of fast and effective decision-making. He explains that, in an uncertain world, sometimes we have to learn to ignore too much information and rely on our brain’s ‘shortcut’. By explaining how intuition works and analysing the techniques that people use to make good decisions – whether it’s in personnel selection or heart surgery – Gigerenzer shows in his book why gut thinking can change your mental behaviour.
Intuition is not the same as impulsiveness. Donald Trump has often been called an intuitive leader, but according to Gigenrenzer in the Dutch national newspaper ‘Volkskrant’, he is not; it’s more impulse in his case. Furthermore, intuition is not the same as instinct either: instinct is something we are born with, like a baby has the instinct to find its mother’s breast to feed. Intuition is based on experience. In the case of the newborn, no previous knowledge is required. Intuition is an unconscious feeling that you develop based on the
experience of years. You know what you need to do but cannot necessarily explain why. Some artists and creative people know that feeling all too well. It’s a form of unconscious intelligence, Gigenrenzer teaches. The biggest question, and part of his research, is when to use, trust and apply intuition – and when not to.
A good example in our field may be myopia management, which is a complex matter. I am personally sometimes pushed back and forth on the topic: yes, there is an urgency for sure, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, and we do need to keep things in perspective (there are other eye diseases too, how much attention do these get?). The latter is more my rational side speaking, the first is more my ‘gut’. And if we broaden this topic a bit, soft specialty lenses, for me, are a modality for which we have hardly explored the potential – perhaps particularly in the myopia arena but not limited to that alone. On the one hand, we can do something about the huge dropout rates we see in the soft lens arena, and on the other hand, we can improve quality of life in many patients who simply ‘surrender’ to the option they have been given – which may not necessarily be the optimal solution. And tapping into the potential that optical front-surface profiles can provide, if they are applied on an individual basis rather than as a commodity … the outcome regarding more complex cases such as presbyopia and improving individual myopia management may surprise us.
If intuition is based on experience, it is an unconscious feeling that you develop based on the experience of years – like a doctor who ‘feels’ that something is wrong, although the tests show differently. Call it indeed unconscious intelligence. Well, I have done my homework in the last 10 years or so on the mentioned topics myopia and soft specialty lenses. I am convinced that there is something there. ‘Let’s get comfortable customizing’ is the adage for our industry, if you ask me. Let’s trust our gut feeling on this. A shortcut from gut to lathe-cut (and beyond). n
- Gerd Gigerenzer - Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the UnconsciousISBN: 0143113763
- Wieteke van Zeil – Uit de Onderbuik - Volkskrant July 19th 2022
Eef van der Worp, BOptom, PhD, FAAO, FIACLE, FBCLA, FSLS is an educator and researcher. He received his optometry degree from the Hogeschool van Utrecht in the Netherlands (NL) and has served as a head of the contact lens department at the school for over eight years. He received his PhD from the University of Maastricht (NL) in 2008. He is a fellow of the AAO, IACLE, BCLA and the SLS. He is currently adjunct Professor at the University of Montreal University College of Optometry (CA) and adjunct assistant Professor at Pacific University College of Optometry (Oregon, USA). He lectures extensively worldwide and is a guest lecturer at a number of Universities in the US and Europe.
“INTUITION IS AN UNCONSCIOUS FEELING THAT YOU DEVELOP BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS”
Research publications on flat lenses have increased in recent years. To further the maturation process in the field, Professor Uriel Levy, Director of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)'s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and Co-Founder/CTO of HU’s portfolio company TriEye, together with postdoc student Dr. Jacob Engelberg, has established a standard method to compare flat-lens technologies and designs. The Israeli researchers published their findings in Nature Photonics.[1] Levy took the time to explain features of flat lenses and his standardization method in a conversation with GobalCONTACT. By
Rebekka NurkanovicFlat lenses have no curvature. Features like tiny holes, lines or circles break the beams of light, which is called diffraction. The earliest version of that technology can be found in the Fresnel lens, developed in the 19 th century for lighthouses. These early flat lenses were not nearly as perfectly flat as today, but they were very thin compared to classical lenses and while the manufacturing was primitive, some of the physical concepts still used today were already in place.
In the 1980’s, the development of modern diffractive lenses took up steam. Typically, the flat lenses of that era were wavelength scale features with a height of maybe one two microns, which were able to focus a relatively large beam of light into a spot. Since then, the field has evolved considerably.
Over the last few years, a new type of flat lens, the metalens, has emerged, alongside diffractive lenses. The two types of flat lenses are very similar but differ in their specific phase profiles. The metalens has nano-features with features like posts that can be 100 or 200 nanometers in diameter. “These nano-features spread all over the aperture of the lens and based on the specific design, can acquire the phase that is needed to focus. It is an efficient binary structure, either existing or non-existing”, says Levy. “A diffractive lens is typically not binary and its features are microscale. It is a little bit more difficult to make than a metalens, because you need several fabrication steps and have to align between each step. From a manufacturing point of view, the binary structure of the metalens is an advantage compared to the diffractive lens.”
A main issue with flat lenses that still needs solving is chromatic aberration, where the designed wavelength is focused exactly as desired but other wavelengths are focused at a different focal plane, causing a blurred vision, which can pose a severe problem, depending on the illumination source. With the sun or a broadband light source in a room, it would be highly problematic, whereas with a laser light for illumination, the wavelengths and the color are predefined and the chromatic aberration is less of an issue. For some applications, like contact lenses or spectacle lenses, this is very important, which is why a lot of the effort in academia and industry is focused towards
developing lenses with reduced chromatic aberration. And there are additional challenging aberrations like spherical aberration and coma.
One main advantage of flat lenses is that they are very thin. According to Levy, the revolution is that they can be manufactured in a clean room with seamless compatible tools similar to those used for the production of electronic chips. He notes that since the feature sizes in a flat lens are typically larger than that of a modern chip, the tools do not have to be of the same high-end quality and cost as for chips, though. Another technique that is
being explored resembles imprint lithography. There, some kind of template is used to replicate many metalenses.
There are still no flat spectacle lenses on the market yet with the biggest obstacle being the unresolved issue of chromatic aberration. For a fully flat refractive lens, not only the problems of aberration but also of cheap mass manufacturing would have to be solved. R&D activities regarding ophthalmic flat lenses are especially aimed at providing glasses to people with high diopters, for whom even semi flat lenses would be a great improvement. For Uriel Levy, the ophthalmic field is only one area of interest. He and his team are aiming for a more general use of metalenses, e.g. in virtual reality, augmented reality, or cell phones. The weight reducing aspect might make them attractive for imaging systems in aerospace and drones as well. Levy’s current research in the area of metalenses is focused on improving them, adding more features and trying to understand how different design methods would affect the performance. n
[1] Engelberg, J., Levy, U. Standardizing flat lens characterization. Nat. Photon. 16, 171–173 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41566-022-00963-7.
Blindness is a hard fate. The difficulty of orienting oneself in space makes the affected person dependent on other people. Only in a society with a social commitment is it at all possible for the visually impaired person to survive. The difficult participation in the events of his environment, but especially in education or culture, makes the blind person descend socially. Also, only specially equipped jobs are suitable for him, if they are missing, a life in poverty looms. Only charity and the acceptance of others towards his suffering make a certain quality of life possible.
By Hans-Walter RothThe causes of blindness are manifold. The decisive factor for the affected person is when, that is, at what point in life, the blindness occurs. A person who is already blind at birth usually shows a pronounced development of the other sensory faculties, such as hearing; he skillfully uses sound for his
orientation. In addition, the sense of smell, but especially the sense of touch are disproportionately well developed in those born blind, learning for example Braille is therefore usually much more difficult for a person becoming blind later in life.
A great help was brought by writing systems for the blind, they now allowed the blind to participate in the world of literature. The best known is the writing system of Louis Braille, which has since become accepted worldwide. Braille lived from 1806 to 1852.
After a one-sided perforating eye injury in the workshop of his father, a saddler, he developed sympathetic ophthalmia (a granulomatous uveitis), which was uncontrollable at the time, and led to the loss of the remaining second eye. Now completely without eyesight, the intelligent young man worked on a writing system for the blind.
Although it was not the first of its time, it became generally accepted due to its simple structure and the fact that it was easier to learn; today it is the standard worldwide. He took a sheet of paper, pierced it according to a certain pattern with a needle and then felt the elevations on the back. He arranged 2 x 3 such points in a vertical rectangle. In his system, for example, the letter “A” is assigned to the upper left corner, the letter “B” is marked by two elevations below each other on the left. A total of 64 different characters could be represented in this way.
With this six-dot system, Braille succeeded not only in depicting all the letters of the alphabet, but also numbers and punctuation
marks. Even musical notes could be made palpable with one finger using his method. This rather simple illustration from the 19th century shows blind people, one of them playing the piano. The notes are scanned with the right hand and the keys are struck with the left.
The system was revolutionary. On the one hand, Braille managed with only six dots, and on the other hand, he was able to arrange them on an area of only a few millimeters. If you take a closer look at Braille, you will be reminded of today's digital system. Here, too, letters, numbers and characters are broken down into impulses, which, just like Braille's writing system, are based on only a single dot.
This illustration appeared in a magazine from the middle of the century before last, the so-called Hellerblatt. Today one would call it a magazine for the distribution of charitable knowledge, already at that time it reported in detail about the fate of blind people and their writing. In 1840, an issue of the Hellermagazin cost ten pennies when purchased at a newsstand; if you wanted to receive it by mail, you had to pay two pennies more. Unfortunately, today there is hardly any interest in its still highly topical reports, in an antiquarian bookshop in Salzburg it was recently offered at a price of just three euros for collectors. n
It was not until it became possible to wear small glass bowls on a fluid cushion directly on the eye that it was feasible to create a homogeneous retinal image, for example in the case of corneal scars. For compensation with small glass bowls, however, it was necessary to largely adapt the inner surface of the glass sheet to the anterior surface of the cornea. Air bubbles in the tear film caused mechanical as well as optical irritation, at the same time they acted like foreign bodies and lead to stray light. In order to achieve the most accurate possible template for the manufacture of such contact lenses, a special sensitive casting technique was required. The conjunctiva, cornea and sclera had to be precisely molded. Initially, plaster was used for this purpose, but it caused massive irritation to the eye. Only the use of plastic-based impression materials, developed for dentists, led to a useful result, although not all plastics proved to be compatible with the eye.
In the laboratory, the cast was carefully covered with plaster so that a copy of the anterior eye contour was created. This was now used as a mold for the inner surface or base of the contact lens. For this purpose, the molds were covered with a glass melt, after cooling the edges were reduced to the desired lens diameter and the refraction, if necessary, was ground into the front surface of the lens.
The decisive breakthrough in contact optics came when PMMA became the first transparent plastic on the market.
Towards the end of the 17th century, it was already known that optical errors of the eye, caused for example by irregularities of the cornea, could be compensated for by holding the head in a water-filled glass sphere. Technically, this could be done, but in practice it could hardly be sustained for any length of time. Nevertheless, the principle of the contact lens is ultimately based on this basic idea, which originated with Leonardo da Vinci. By Hans-Walter Roth
Now it was enough to heat the mold and press a PMMA disk over it. After cooling, this could then be easily reworked on the lathe. For decades, this method was a leader in the treatment of irregular corneal anterior surfaces, and countless keratoconus patients or accident victims were saved from blindness. Today, computer-controlled corneal topography allows corneal astigmatism to be detected with high precision and the optimal base curve of the contact lens to be calculated from this.
This small box with different sized molds comes from the company Müller-Welt in Stuttgart, Germany. Not all of them are still preserved; one or the other may have broken during the procedure. The box belonged to the workplace of a leading Stuttgart ophthalmologist from the pre-war period, his descendants now donated it to the collection on the history of the eye and vision. n
Dr. Hans-Walter Roth, Ophthalmologist and Director of the Contact Lens Research Institute in Ulm, Germany, is the author of numerous publications and books on the physiology of the contact lens and the history of eyesight. He is a city councilor of the city of Ulm, specializing in education, social affairs, art and culture. He is also the founder of the Ulm Hospital for the Poor..
In 2004, Keith Parker and I opened Advanced Vision Technologies (AVT). At that time, the economy was going through a very bad recession and as a result, it was impossible for a new business starting up to get a loan. We immediately reached out to Erik and Pam at Larsen Equipment to get refurbished equipment to use in our Laboratory. As AVT’s business grew, we invested in many different pieces of new equipment from Larsen Equipment and this helped us grow into one of the Premiere Labs in the United States. Our success is due in part to Erik and his Team with their state-of-the-art equipment and maintenance of their products. AVT is forever grateful for Larsen Equipment’s support of AVT. It is great to know AVT is working with Industry leaders with the Larsen Equipment and their Team!
Janine Bungo, VicePresidentI have known Erik Larsen since 1992. Since then I have used just about every piece of equipment his company has built. My experience with Erik and the Larsen team has been one of great appreciation as they have always helped me in my needs of fully understanding equipment used to manufacture quality contact lenses. Erik has also been able to engineer any part needed for me even it was a custom part.
Erik (Larsen Equipment) has been and still is a pioneer in the contact lens and optical industry, and I am thankful to him for his support over the years.
Randy Mingoy Quality Manager Advanced Vision Technologies
There can be a lot of moving parts when it comes to managing operations, so it is key to have reliable precision equipment that assists in overall efficiency. Larsen Equipment delivers just that! I have been utilizing Larsen manufacturing equipment for over 15+ years and have yet to run into an issue they could not resolve. I am a satisfied owner of bladder polishers, edge roller’s and auto-blockers etc. Each one of these units greatly assists in the reduction of rejects and manufacturing waste. Their ability to customize and retrofit specific tools certainly sets them apart from the competition. Larsen stands behind their equipment with a knowledgeable staff that provides exceptional service. Simply put, we are a better laboratory because of our relationship with the folks at Larsen.
Jordan Gobel Director of Operations/ConsultantAdvanced Vision Technologies
PRESIDENT: KEITH PARKER
I have had the pleasure of working with Erik since the beginning of Larsen Equipment. The first piece of equipment, a 6 spindle horizontal arm polisher revolutionized our production of GP contact lenses. Through the years, I watched his business grow as he and his team listened to our Industry needs and developed now numerous products not only simplifying many tasks of manufacturing but improving the consistency of quality in our finished products. Innovation has been an ongoing experience of our Company only made possible through the innovation of necessary equipment developed and made available by the Larsen team.
Larsen Equipment is a family owned business hosting a team of willing Staff all having the attitude of serving their Customer’s needs. As a Customer, we are made to feel like we have a friend in the business helping us develop a more efficient process allowing our Company to deliver better products for our Customers.
Our success of AVT simply could not have been possible without the help, assistance and dedication of Larsen Equipment. I will be forever grateful for my opportunity to work with Erik and his very capable Staff.
Keith Parker President
What will the future look like? In a complex world with multi-layered challenges, it is sometimes difficult to see the big picture clearly. In its most recent research, the innovation network Future Meeting Space (FMS) has developed three future scenarios for business events post-COVID that give the future of events a face.
By Matthias SchultzeThe study titled “Changing Ecosystems – Future Scenarios for Business Events in the Age of Borderless Communication” illustrates how events will change due to different influencing factors and enables us to see for each of the three scenarios how change will impact venues, event formats and technologies. Let’s take a look.
In the "tried and trusted – renaissance of the real" scenario we envisage a world where we return to the familiar with in-person
meetings remaining the be-all and end-all. In this environment, central, large event venues dominate, designed to accommodate as many attendees as possible. Spaces feature classic layouts but also special club-like areas as well as personal work and recreation spaces.
Event formats are similarly conventional with a high degree of structure. This means presenting content in classic presentations and interactive formats or creative workshops only used very selectively for specific target groups and topics. Importantly, networking opportunities and meeting others
become the focus of events, as personal interaction is the highest priority for attendees.
From a tech perspective, the “tried and trusted” scenario results in events that require less equipment, simply because they are run purely on-site as opposed to digital or hybrid set-ups. Digital tools are only used if they enhance the physical experience and support face-to-face exchange.
The “diverse and flexible – the global community" scenario is the exact opposite of the return to the familiar approach.
Flexibility regarding time and space rules and events are no longer bound to one place as digital attendance is easily possible. Worldwide co-operations between venues emerge and multi-site events supported by technology become a mass phenomenon. Smaller venues in city centers, which are not necessarily dedicated event spaces, are favored.
When people attend events in person, they make a very deliberate decision to do so. Meeting others face-to-face is their highest priority then as networking and socializing is very limited in the digital space. In general, providing purely informative content at both physical and hybrid events
decreases while attendees are enabled to make their own topic-related experiences. New modular workshop formats are developed that can be customized by attendees. As people thus create their own personal event, the degree of participation in the preparation and planning of events is high, which results in innovative concepts.
To enable virtual and in-person attendance, virtual communication platforms and digital tools are integral parts of many events. Hybrid events become standard and to support interaction between physical and virtual attendees, the availability of smart surfaces in venues becomes key. VR/AR technologies are used to support virtual attendance. As attending events is increasingly linked with private trips in order to make the most of travel and justify the effort involved, apps that support getting to know the given destination are on the rise.
In the “green and aware – the net zero society” scenario sustainability is the guiding principle of all actions. Existing buildings are chosen as venues and utilizing venues to the maximum is key, with large event venues also serving as educational facilities or temporary workspaces. In general, attendees expect event venues to be authentic and sustainable throughout. To create climate-neutral buildings, both the building technology and other infrastructure elements need to be renewed and designed to meet sustainable standards. “Green events” is the central marketing strategy for venues. While conventional speaker presentations largely disappear, new formats which integrate the natural environment are in
demand, including moving events in the open air. The overall guideline for event formats is to reduce things to the essential. Improvisation and developing innovative solutions together with attendees come to the fore. In fact, event organizers increasingly only provide the platform, without stipulating a fixed program.
Investment in new technologies and digital tools rises, with the aim of creating new solutions for sustainable and ecological resource management. Green technologies that enable a more sustainable economy are key. Also, as people pay increasing attention to their mental and physical health, systems for integrated health management play a role when planning and running events. Cognitive environments that can be adapted to specific user needs become a megatrend, and for the purposes of their health and well-being, attendees also accept the use of new technologies such as tracking systems. n
Matthias Schultze, Managing Director, GCB German Convention Bureau. Since 2010, Matthias Schultze has been responsible for Germany's national and international positioning and marketing as a leading meetings and conventions destination at the GCB German Convention Bureau with offices in Frankfurt, New York and Beijing. Together with partners from business and science, he has initiated various projects that examine the potential of digitization and provide impetus for the future of business events - including the innovation network "Future Meeting Space" and the hybrid, spatially distributed congress "BOCOM". (Foto: GCB/Michael Pasternack)
Cyber hygiene – these are simple security principles that every organization should know and implement to keep all sensitive data under control and protect it from theft or attack. Worldwide, the costs caused by cybercrime are growing. If the business of cybercrime were measured as a gross domestic product, it would be the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China. Cybercrime is a profitable business, with relatively low risks compared to other forms of crime. By DriveLock
Not only is the number of cyber attacks continuously increasing, but attackers are also becoming more and more tricky. They specifically exploit the human factor, which often becomes a gateway. IT security must adapt to changing hybrid working models and the increase in human error. It must keep pace with attack methods, distributed workplaces and infrastructures, and at the same time not interfere with daily work.
There are ways for companies to implement security measures that do not inconvenience users or make them feel restricted in their freedom.
If not, then here is a brief explanation: By cyber hygiene we mean simple security principles that every IT department must know and implement. The main goal is to keep all sensitive data under control and protect it from theft or attack. Cyber hygiene deliberately includes the association with personal hygiene, where we take precautions to maintain our health. Thus, if a person neglects hygiene, he or she can catch an infection. If a company neglects IT hygiene, it can lead to data breaches and infection with malware.
Like personal hygiene, cyber hygiene starts with basic measures that contribute to good health. Although people like to attribute cyber hygiene to the IT department, it is a whole-business organizational task. It affects everyone. For example, the IT department can set password policies, but users must also set strong passwords and keep them secret.
The principles of cyber hygiene are not new, but they are easily forgotten in everyday life. Simple rules make it easier to follow the hygiene protocols regularly and completely.
We carry out hygiene measures regularly – at the very least when we are exposed to a significant threat. Thus, many of these measures are actually basic cyber security measures. We focus here on what needs to be regularly checked and adhered to:
1. Patch regularly
Every time malware develops further or a new vulnerability becomes known, software manufacturers respond with system and software updates. A regular patch helps to reduce your attack surface.
2. Inventory your hardware and software
A prerequisite of cyber hygiene is that you as a company know what you have in your inventory. Before you can adequately protect your attack surface, you need to identify all the assets within it. The basics of patch management include a complete inventory of all hardware and software assets across the corporate network. A vulnerability management solution continuously assesses risks from vulnerabilities and becomes a daily routine through automation.
3. The least privilege is better than maximum rights
Say goodbye to the idea of trusting everyone in the company, even if you know them well. "Never trust, always verify" is the maxim of zero trust, which applies to data, devices and users. An HR employee needs different access rights to contracts, for example, than an IT employee. Give users the minimal access they need and minimize the potential points of attack on your data.
4. Encrypt sensitive data
Use data encryption. If all else fails and your firewalls and access protocols are breached, or your laptop is stolen, encryption means that any important data you have stored is useless to the attackers. Basic cyber hygiene means encrypting your files and data before sharing them via
removable media or, in the case of computers and laptops, the entire hard drive. The same applies to the encryption of removable media.
5. Strengthen the login with multi-factor authentication
Implementing two-factor authentication more rigorously verifies that the right person is granted access. And the more personal you make the authentication, the more secure your network. Thumbprint ID and facial recognition create even more security.
6. Security when working remotely
Employees who work from home and use their personal computers (and also those who use a company-owned device) should adopt basic cyber hygiene practices. These include:
• Anti-virus protection
Employees should have antivirus and anti-malware software for use on their private computers. While this does not provide fail-safe protection, it does prevent many low-level attacks. Application control with application whitelisting is a necessary addition, preventing the execution of programs not detected by the virus scanner.
• Security Awareness
Employees should be regularly educated on cyber security best practices and procedures. This includes raising awareness of the need to be vigilant when receiving emails and checking the authenticity of the sender's address.
• Home network security
Employees working in a home office should ensure that their home Wi-Fi is protected by a secure password.
• Use a VPN
Virtual private networks provide another layer of protection for home internet use. While they cannot prevent cyberattacks on their own, they can provide a useful barrier against cyberattacks. There are some basic cyber security strategies that companies can adopt. n
This article was first published on the DriveLock blog.
DriveLock SE is one of the leading international specialists for cloudbased endpoint and data security with offices and representations in Germany, Australia, Singapore, the Middle East, and in the USA. Their mission is to protect companies' data, devices and systems. To achieve this, DriveLock utilizes state-of-the-art technologies, experienced security experts and solutions based on the zero trust model. In today's security architectures, zero trust means a paradigm shift according to the maxim "never trust, always verify". This way, data can even be reliably protected in modern business models. www.drivelock.com
LAMBDA-X S.A. Avenue Robert Schuman 102 B-1400 Nivelles Belgium
Phone: +32 67 79 40 80
Fax: +32 67 55 27 91
info@lambda-x.com
www.lambda-x.com
Instruments
Optimec Systems Limited
Unit B3, The Haysfield Spring Lane North Malvern, WR14 1GF United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1684 607006
www.optimecsystems.com info@optimecsystems.com
Instruments
Sterling Ultra Precision Division of AMETEK Precitech Inc. 8600 Somerset Drive, Largo Florida, 33773 USA
Phone: +1 727 538 6110 fadi.achkouti@ametek.com
Europe: +49 98 3797 8238 andreas.kuchler@ametek.com
www.sterlingint.com
Machinery & Tools
Larsen Equipment Design
1117 N.W. 52nd Street Seattle, WA 98107 USA
Phone: +1 206 789 5121
Fax: +1 206 789 7756
erik@larsenequipment.com www.larsenequipment.com
Machinery and Tools
OPTOCRAFT GmbH
Am Weichselgarten 7 D-91058 Erlangen Germany
Phone: +49 9131 691500
Fax: +49 9131 691511
sales@optocraft.de www.optocraft.de
Instruments
V-Optics SAS 2, rue du travail 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden France
Phone: +33 (0) 3 67 10 28 60
info@v-optics.fr www.v-optics.fr
Instruments
MisupcoTM Inc. 1378 Osceola Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55105 USA
MisupcoTM Inc. 1378 Osceola Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55105 USA
Phone: +1 651 353 8632
Phone: +1 651 353 8632
Fax: +1 651 698 0719
Fax: +1 651 698 0719
www.misupco.com
mikef@misupco.com
mikef@misupco.com
www.misupco.com
Blocking Wax
SCHNEIDER GmbH & Co. KG Biegenstrasse 8 –12 35112 Fronhausen Germany
Phone: +49 (64 26)96 96-0
SCHNEIDER GmbH & Co. KG Biegenstrasse 8 –12 35112 Fronhausen Germany
Phone: +49 (64 26) 96 96-0
Fax: +49 (64 26) 96 96-100
Fax: +49 (64 26) 96 96-100
info@schneider-om.com
info@schneider-om.com
www.schneider-om.com
www.schneider-om.com
Machinery and Tools
Eyepress Fachmedien GmbH
Saarner Str. 151 D-45479 Mülheim an der Ruhr
Phone: +49(0)208-306683-00
Fax: +49(0)208-306683-99
www.global-cl.com
info@global-cl.com
Media Service
The Website and the Magazine: The complete communication system for the contact lens industry. The magazine, 2,500 copies, is distributed to contact lens laboratories, wholesalers and other organizations active in the contact lens and IOL industry.
The website www.g lobal-cl.com is free for all industry related professionals
PUBLISHERS ADDRESS
Eyepress Fachmedien GmbH
Saarner Str. 151, D-45479 Mülheim a. d. Ruhr
Tel.: +49-208-306683-00 Fax: +49-208-306683-99
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Petros Sioutis
E-mail: p.sioutis@eyepress.de
PUBLISHER
Silke Sage, Efstathios Efthimiadis, Petros Sioutis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Dipl.-Ing (FH) Silke Sage
E-mail: silke@global-cl.com
EDITOR
Britta Laupichler
E-mail: britta@mafo-optics.com
TRANSLATIONS
John Saniter, Bopfingen, Germany
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Wim Aalbers, Erik Larsen, Eef van der Worp
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Room 319, Building 2, Nr. 1, Northbank 1292, Nr. 15 Jianguo Eastroad, Beijing 100024 (Chaoyang), P.R. China
Mrs. Jian Wang
Tel.: +86-10-8537-6529
Email: j enny wan g_f ocus@126.com
Skype: jennywang611
ADVERTISEMENT RATES
Price list No. 11, valid from January 01, 2022
Publication Schedule
3 issues 2022: March, July, November
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The publisher takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. Please note also that photographs submitted for use in GlobalCONTACT cannot be returned. The publisher's written permission is required for any reproduction, translation or recording of material published in GlobalCONTACT, including extracts of such material. Permission will normally be given, subject to the usual acknowledgement. Copies made of published items must be limited in number and for personal use only.
PHOTO CREDITS
P.8: f11photo, P.12: apinan, P.14: Girasole75, P.18: Davizro Photography, P.24: REDPIXEL, P.26: VectorMine, P.28: Stéphane Bidouze, vrx123, P.31: paul, P.34: supamotion, P.38: Mrak /stock.adobe.com /unsplash.com /istockphoto.com
