| | | | | AMO plans to market capsular tension ring
| | | Santa Ana, CA-Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) Inc. has secured distribution rights for a capsular tension ring, manufactured by OPHTEC BV, that is said to ensure capsular bag stability.
| | | Refractive surgery groups join forces for education
| | | San Francisco-Two groups of doctors interested in promoting education among refractive surgeons have decided to join forces.
| | | Schepens Institute honors late Rep. Moakley
| | | Boston-The Schepens Eye Research Institute will honor the memory of the late Rep. John Joseph Moakley (D-MA) with a new endowed chair called the Moakley Scholar in Aging Eye Research.
| | | Medicare carrier to cover TTT, FV in California
| | | Mountain View, CA-California's Medicare Part B carrier will begin to cover transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) and feeder vessel (FV) laser protocols to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
| | | Company offers program for credit-card payments
| | | Dallas-TransFirst Health Services is offering credit card transaction processing for more than 8,000 members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA).
| | | Transition begins after Pfizer-Pharmacia merger
| | | New York-Pfizer Inc. will invest $400 million to expand its New Jersey facilities and potentially add 1,300 jobs, but plans to close five research and development sites around the world-including two in the United States- and other former Pharmacia Corp. offices as it begins the difficult logistical transition of its $57 billion takeover.
| | | VISX buys technology for WaveScan line
| | | Santa Clara, CA-VISX has acquired technology, patents, and other assets in a $5.9- million deal with 20/10 Perfect Vision Optische Gerate GmbH.
| | | Management changes for Presby successor
| | | Dallas-Ronald A. Schachar, MD, the founder and chairman of Presby Corp., has resigned as director, officer, and employee of the company, which is now known as Refocus Group Inc. Dr. Schachar's resignation occurred as the medical device company moved to expand its board of directors.
| | | Issue of malpractice jury awards best resolved state by state
| | | By
Robert A. Nozar
| | | If ophthalmologists and other physicians are looking to the nation's capital for assistance in dealing with the jury awards that far exceed actual economic losses by plaintiffs, one doctor believes it is a colossal waste of time.
| | | HLA-B27-associated anterior uveitis a common presentation
| | | By
Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., MD, PhD, MPH
| | | Editor's Note: Anterior uveitis is the most common type of intraocular inflammation. Among patients with inflammation localized primarily to the anterior chamber, 50% or more are HLA-B27 positive. Inaddition, a number of these patients with HLA-B27-associated anterior uveitis have, or will develop, an associated systemicdisorder such as ankylosing spondylitis,reactive arthritis (formerly known asReiter's syndrome), inflammatory bowel disease, or psoriatic arthritis.
| | | More patients can try presbyopia reversal
| | | The FDA will allow an increase in the number of clinical trial patients eligible to be treated for presbyopia with SurgiLight's OptiVision system.
| | | FDA expands Intracorneal lens trial
| | | The FDA has approved the expansion of the clinical trial of Anamed Inc.'s Perma-Vision intracorneal lens for the correction of hyperopia up to +6 D.
| | | Implantable telescope enters pivotal trial for AMD patients
| | | By
Nancy Groves
| | | Saratoga, CA-A pivotal trial has begun with the implantable miniature telescope (IMT) (VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc., Saratoga, CA), a low vision IOL for patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), following a successful phase I trial. In that trial, most patients gained three or more lines of near or distance visual acuity and improved their ability to perform daily activities.
| | | Eyetech sales force to offer Pfizer's latanoprost
| | | New York-Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s sales force will help sell Pfizer Inc.'s once-daily latanoprost ophthalmic solution (Xalatan) to U.S. ophthalmologists.
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| | | | | | | Temperature key to incidence of thermal burns during phaco
| | | By
Lynda Charters
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| | The Legacy phacoemulsification system with AdvanTec (Alcon) runs cooler compared with the Sovereign phacoemulsification system with WhiteStar (Advanced Medical Optics) under all experimental conditions in air, according to Kevin M. Miller, MD.
| | | Time of day, patient assessments help in dry eye diagnosis
| | | By
Ed Edelson
| | | Fort Lauderdale, FL-When assessing a patient with dry eye, clinicians should keep the time of day in mind, said Carolyn G. Begley, OD, MS.
| | | Correction of laser calibration errors key to visual outcomes
| | | By
Cheryl Guttman
| | | Orlando-Adjustment for energy delivery calibration errors represents the single most important step excimer laser manufacturers can take toward achieving improved visual outcomes in eyes undergoing corneal ablative refractive surgery, said Jack T. Holladay, MD, MSEE, FACS, at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons.
| | | Topical, systemic approaches target dry eye syndrome
| | | By
Lynda Charters
| | | Fort Lauderdale, FL-New innovative approaches for treating dry eye have been emerging that researchers hope will alleviate symptoms for the enormous number of patients affected by this disease.
| | | Capsular tension rings address zonular abnormalities during cataract surgery
| | | By
Cheryl Guttman
| | | Great Neck, NY-Capsular tension rings can be a valuable adjunct in patients with unstable or absent zonules who are undergoing cataract surgery, and they may have additional application for the management of late IOL decentration that is secondary to capsular phimosis, said Kenneth J. Rosenthal, MD, FACS.
| | | Surgical correction of presbyopia in its infancy
| | | By
Julia Talsma
| | | San Francisco-With the presbyopic population reaching 51% (141 million) in the United States, the interest in surgical correction of presbyopia will likely take off as the baby boomers look for alternatives to glasses, according to Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, who delivered the Binkhorst Lecture during the opening session of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.
| | | Chance of phaco wound burn dramatically decreases
| | | By
Lynda Charters
| | | Salt Lake City-New instrumentation makes it virtually impossible to cause a wound burn during microphacoemulsification in human cadaver eyes.
| | | Accommodation a final frontier in cataract surgery
| | | By
Lynda Charters
| | | Heidelberg, Germany-The accommodative power of a new accommodative IOL is about 1 D compared with that of a monofocal IOL that provided pseudoaccommodation of about 0.5 D, according to Gangolf Sauder, MD, and Jost Jonas, MD.
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| | | | | | | Software continues to manage electronic records
| | | By
Robert Forstag
| | | Austin, TX-The VersaSuite software system (Universal Software Solutions Inc.) provides a total practice management solution to ophthalmology practices of any size or scope, said Darius Samani, PhD, MBA, and CEO of Universal. He first designed VersaSuite in 1997. There has been a major release of the program every year since then.
| | | Acrylic loading forceps prevents damage to lens surface
| | | By
Robert Forstag
| | | A loading forceps (American Surgical Instruments Corp. [ASICO]) is designed to set an IOL in the cartridge easilyand rapidly and without damaging the lens surface. The device, the Akahoshi Acrylic Loading Forceps AE-4253, was designed by Takayuki Akahoshi, MD, director of the Mitsui Memorial Hospital in Tokyo, Japan.
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| | | | Moxifloxacin gains FDA approval
| | | By
Lynda Charters
| | | Dallas-Moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution (Vigamox 0.5%, Alcon Laboratories) was approved by the FDA on April 16 for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis, following a 6-month review of the drug.
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| | | | LASIK viable option for refractive correction in post-RK eyes
| | | By
Cheryl Guttman
| | | San Francisco-LASIK is a safe, effective, and accurate treatment for correcting ametropia in post-radial keratotomy (RK) eyes, reported Stephen M. Weinstock, MD, at the annual meeting ofthe American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery here.
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| The Game of Life
| | | By
Jennifer Hanni
| | | Hunting for Larry W. Kreider, MD, ophthalmologist, is more than just a sport. Since he began hunting with his father and grandfather at 12 years old, he has made memories and learned lessons that he will never forget.
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| | | | Medical liability reform, fair reimbursement top agenda
| | | By
Susanne Medeiros
| | | This year's Advocacy Day marked the largest turnout in the history of the event. Almost 200 ophthalmologists from around the nation left their practices and headed to Capitol Hill in early April to discuss with their senators the need for medical liability reform and fair reimbursement. Among those hoping to make a difference was James Felch, MD.
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