Having survived another cold and blustery winter, I say bring on Spring – though right now I’m guessing that many of your customers are dreading the arrival of those warm dry breezes that bring with them all nature of grasses and pollens. Ah, allergy season! In this issue one of our CPD articles, written by David Stephensen, puts forward strategies you can implement to help the ‘walking wounded’ manage their debilitating ocular surface disease.
Our second educational article also draws on nature. Written by Dr. Osbert Chan, it discusses bio-inspiration concepts that led to the development of breakthrough hypergel contact lens materials. It seems these new lenses really do work like the eye, matching the cornea’s water content and mimicking the function of the lipid layer of the tear film to retain moisture.
This issue, our ophthalmology editor is Dr. Michael Lawless, who presents current research on technologies he has no doubt will improve refractive outcomes achievable from cataract surgery. As digital devices are increasingly ubiquitous in every aspect of modern life, we explore the technology behind Zeiss’s new Digital Lens, developed to help the eye focus more easily. In doing so, the makers of this lens hope to reduce red, dry and irritated eyes, blurred vision and eye fatigue. Additionally, they hope it may reduce back, neck and shoulder pain as well as headaches. As someone who spends many hours of the day in front of a device of one type or another, I can only hope.
Next month the Australian College of Optometry will host its fifth annual conference in Melbourne. Among a long list of preeminent speakers are Professor Robyn Guymer, Associate Professor Jamie Craig and New Zealand’s Dr. Peter Hadden. I was particularly interested to see that Professor Gordon Wallace, from University of Wollongong, will speak at the conference on 3D printed eyewear. Interested because, as it happens, this is the topic of our lead story for this issue. Though it’s hard to imagine, you can now print your own frames using a desktop printer – in fact an optom in the Netherlands is doing just that for his customers, while here in Australia a company is bringing in frames to order produced on a more sophisticated version of the technology. The question is, how much of an impact will 3D printed eyewear have on the market?
Some in this profession live and breathe eye care. For others ocular health is just one aspect of their busy and varied lives. Melanie Kell spoke to members of the public about the quirky and adventurous activities they get involved with in an effort to fund raise so that The Fred Hollows Foundation can deliver eye health to people in need. And we draw your attention to World Sight Day – what can you do to contribute to this global campaign which aims to raise AU$1million this October to fight preventable blindness?
Enjoy!
Editor,
Mark Cushway
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column]
