Mara Giribaldi with AOI prize winner, orthoptist Annie Harrison from Dr Catherine Dunlop’s Ophthalmology Surgery in Newcastle, and orthoptist Shelley Rivett from Visionary Eye Specialists in Hurstville who received the Highly Commended AOI Prize.
The annual Art of Ocular Imaging Conference (AOI) recently returned to Sydney, attracting a capacity audience. The conference offered high calibre presentations and interactive masterclasses designed to upskill, enhance, and complement clinical practical knowledge for eye care professionals interested in ocular imaging.
Held at the University of Technology Sydney, AOI was the vision of senior orthoptist Mara Giribaldi for many years before coming to fruition in 2023 with the assistance of her orthoptic colleague Dr Christopher Hodge.
“It was my long-term passion to hold a conference that highlights the importance of learning about ocular disease and the finer skills needed in ocular imaging; that enables delegates to develop confidence and competence in applying the skills; and enables them to learn about emerging technologies in the assessment of eye diseases,” Ms Giribaldi told mivision.
The CPD program provided attendees, which comprised of a range of eye care professionals from orthoptics, optometry, ophthalmology, ophthalmic assisting, and nursing, with the latest imaging modalities used to assess structures anywhere from the front to the back of the eye.
Content focussed on developing clinicians’ understanding of the subtleties of disease diagnoses through the application of imaging. Case-based examples were used to further explain the application of varied imaging modalities.
INTERACTIVE MASTERCLASSES POPULAR
Popular among delegates were the interactive masterclasses, which focussed on Heidelberg Engineering’s Anterion and ZEISS’s optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A). These small group masterclasses enabled attendees to develop their knowledge and skills on a particular device and learn how to use it to its fullest potential. Furthermore, they learnt how to apply this acquired knowledge into their everyday clinical practice.
The masterclasses followed two sessions with eight speakers presenting on ‘Imaging in disease’ and ‘Imaging in practice’.
The speakers covered topics including OCT interpretation, imaging in central serous chorioretinopathy, the posterior pole in high myopia, meibography for dry eye, glaucoma, the intricacies and practical tips for imaging in paediatrics, and the emerging roles of telemedicine and artificial intelligence in imaging.
2024 ART OF OCULAR IMAGING PRIZE
Another highlight of the conference was the presentation of the 2024 Art of Ocular Imaging Prize for the best submitted image, which was awarded to orthoptist Annie Harrison. Her ultra-widefield retinal photograph of melanoma associated retinopathy, showing perivascular atrophy following resolution of phlebitis, was taken on the Optos P200DTx. Due to an overwhelming number of submissions to the competition, the judges also awarded a Highly Commended prize, which was won by orthoptist Shelley Rivett whose photo, taken on the Haag- Streit BI900 imaging set, was of a limbal dermoid on a three-year-old child.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Ms Giribaldi and Dr Hodge said they were delighted with the positive feedback received from the post-conference survey. Most attendees said the conference met their learning objectives, that the knowledge gained was highly applicable in their clinical practice, and that they were very satisfied with the quality of the conference content and masterclasses, rating them as “very high quality”.
“The thirst for more in the area of ocular imaging was evident,” Ms Giribaldi said. “Respondents were seeking more masterclasses covering different devices and technologies, more time for workshops, as well as confirming that the full day conference format is to continue as the preferred option, possibly with the addition of an online component.
“It is exciting that my dream has come to fruition and that AOI has now become an annual event. We look forward to providing more Art of Ocular Imaging events into the future,” she added.
Ms Giribaldi expressed appreciation for the “generous support” of Heidelberg Engineering, ZEISS and Optos. “Thank you also to mivision ophthalmic journal and its co-founder Todd Tai for the support of AOI and for presenting all speakers with an ‘Anatomy of the eye’ poster,” she said.
For further information about future AOI events or to provide feedback, contact mara@artofocularimaging.com.au.
