Globe Rupture Even with Safety Glasses
Topic: Safety Eyewear

In an article that appeared in The Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, authors reported that three months after routine cataract surgery, a patient was using his post-surgical eyeglasses on a tennis court. He fell directly on his face during a match. His globe ruptured. "Spectacle torsion is the suspected biomechanical process that led to the rupture."

Eyewear Market to Grow
Topic: Eyewear

In a report released today, the research firm GIA reported that despite "a temporary deceleration in growth in recent years primarily due to the recent economic recession, the global market for eyeglasses is expected to recover poise and gain steady momentum in the short to medium term period, to reach $95.66 billion by 2015. This projected growth in the market will be primarily driven by factors such as rise in refractive disorders, increase in the number of ageing individuals and growing awareness over the importance of eye protection."

Do Opticians and Optometrists Play Well Together?
Topic: Optical
That's the central question behind a surgey being conducted by the British online publication Optician. The website reports that its questions will "cover issues such as working hours, childcare arrangements, career progression and job satisfaction. Individual views are confidential and analysis of the results will be published in Optician. All those completing the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win £1,000 [about $2000]. Take part at opticianonline.net." We are not sure, however, if the website wants the opinions of Americans, but why not try?

A Hard Look at the Designer Sunwear Market
Topic: Sunglasses
In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, reporter Brett Arends asked the question, "Are designer sunglasses worth the price?" You will be surprised at what he has to say.

Convenience Big Factor with CL Customers, According to a Study
Topic: Contact Lenses
When you are dispensing contact lenses, you might want to remember this conclusion from a recent study about the Belgian market: "Convenience is very important in the contact lenses market and demand is high for disposable and silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The two-weekly and monthly disposable category, even with sales dampened by the economic downturn, has retained its position as the most important sector in this segment. Belgian consumers are price-minded and the fact that two-weekly and monthly disposable contact lenses are cheaper and can be worn longer is important for consumers" regardless of the drawbacks.

CL Supports Ocular Health
Topic: Contact Lenses
According to a report released by the North American Press Syndicate , a new contact lens, called 1-Day Acuvue TruEye, "was designed, developed and clinically researched versus the ultimate benchmark: the natural eye," says Colleen Riley, OD, VP, Professional Development and Medical Affairs, Vistakon, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. "The data suggest that it can help maintain ocular health with the near 'no lens' experience, and keeps the lens-wearing eye looking white and healthy, while also providing consistent comfort throughout the day."

New Way to Fix Myopia?
Using the research from the University of Houston College of Optometry and the  Vision Institute, located at the University of New South Wales, Australia, researchers reportedly have come up with a new way to control myopia. The announcement from Vision Cooperative Research Centre (Vision CRC) in Australia notes that "Professor Earl Smith from the University of Houston College of Optometry has demonstrated that if we move the central image onto the retina but leave the peripheral image behind the retina, the peripheral image can drive the eye to elongate, causing myopia to increase."

Court of Appeals Upholds Clariti Ruling
The U.S. Court of Appeals recently upheld a lower court's ruling that Clariti Eyewear did not violate two patents held by Aspex/Contour, according to a Clariti press release. The patents were for magnetic "clip-on" sunglasses.

Research Report on Germany's CL Market
Topic: Contact Lenses
Fast Market Research fnished a study of the German CL market concluding: "Two important trends influenced the market for contact lenses in Germany in 2009: towards convenience on the one hand and innovation on the other hand."

New Rules on Electronic Records
Topic: Optical
The US Department of Health has revised its rules governing how and when physicians and hospitals migrate to electronic records. While it has no immediate impact on opticians, it will eventually as health care professionals, Medicare, and Medicaid rely increasing on electronic records. See the article the from the New York Times about the new changes.

Video Gamers Beware
Topic: Optical
Twelve percent of Britain cannot see three-dimensional projections properly, according to The Eyecare Trust. Until recently, it has not been a problem, but with the recent push by video game producers and television manufacturers to sell their new 3D products, opticians and optomerists might start hearing an entiirely new complaint from patients.

Optician Fined for Coming Up Short
Topic: Optical
A British optician was fined 3000 pounds (about $6000) for failing to pay his workers minimum wage, according to a report from BBC.com.

CLs Better than IOLs for Kids/Poor Binocular Vision?
Topic: Optical

CLs can help some children, according to a report today from Contactlenses.co.uk: "Children who wear contact lenses instead of having primary intraocular lens (IOL) correction are less likely to have to undergo more than one surgical procedure to correct their unilateral congenital cataracts, a study has shown.

"Research published in the Archives of Ophthalmology details a study involving 114 infants with a unilateral congenital cataract."

 The site also noted that  many people suffer needlessly because of poor binocular vision, according to a study: "Those affected by regular headaches could be suffering from poor binocular vision, the Eye Care Trust has claimed.

"Some 12 per cent of people are affected by poor binocular vision, which means that the brain does not correctly process the images that are captured by the eyes."

Geeky Is Chic-y?
Topic: Eyewear
According to the writers of the Frisky blog, it's now chic to be a geek. They advise that young women put away their contacts and wear frames. Not news, but the site might help if you and a mom need help convincing an adolescent to wear her eyeglasses.

Sclera Lenses Help Keratoconus Patients
In helping two patients deal with the negative effects of keratoconus, even after corrective surgery, a Florida optomitist fit them with scleral contact lenses, according to the Florida Times Union. Keratoconus is the distortion of the cornea to the point that the patient told the Union-Times that he saw the world as if "looking at a kaleidoscope after swimming underwater for 12 hours."

Improve Your Video Game Skills
Topic: Eyewear
PCWorld reported yesterday, "Could special glasses improve how you game? That's the concept behind Gunnar Optiks' $99 MLG Legend glasses. Gunnar promises "reduced reaction time, improved accuracy, and increased visual endurance" when you game."

Marchon Making 3D Eyewear
Topic: Eyewear
Yahoo Finance reported: "Marchon Eyewear and RealD Inc., a leading provider of 3D technology for cinema, consumer electronics and professional applications, announced today that they have signed a global licensing agreement to use the RealD brand for sales of Marchon3D™ eyewear. Additionally, to provide consumers with the best in 3D eyewear technology and design, Marchon announced they have agreed to purchase the 3D assets from MicroVision Optical to launch its 3D company, Marchon3D. David Johnson will serve as President of Marchon3D."

Optician Saves Apprentice
Topic: Optical
The British newspaper The Daily Mirror reported that a "19-year-old [who was recently hired by an optician] was suffering headaches and dizzy spells, so staff trained a retinal camera that she normally uses on customers on her eyes - and spotted the potentially fatal condition: Papilloedema."

CL Manufacturer Gets Funding for Multifocal Lens Development
Topic: Contact Lenses
With $600,000 in private funding, WaveSource Inc. will continue its work on a line of custom-made multifocal contact lenses as well as eye examination "technology." Some of its lenses would be used to correct high-order aberrations as well. It also received $87,633 in financing from the Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Technology.

UV Absorbing CLs Not Enough
Topic: Contact Lenses
Acuvue recently came out with a warning that UV-absorbing contact lenses are  not substitutes for protective UV-absorbing eyewear such as UV-absorbing goggles or sunglasses because the CL's do not completely cover the eye and surrounding area.