UPFRONT Just as Insight went to print, THE SPECTACLE SITE was acquired by EyeQ OptometristsNational Optical Care (NOC). The purchase now sees EyeQ-NOC expand its practice network to 46 locations, with another expected to join in May. The Spectacle Site acquisition comprises five practices in Victoria: Croydon North, Croydon Central, Rowville, Healesville, and Seymour, as well as Specialeyes in Canberra. The Spectacle Site’s Boronia location was not included in the deal due to a different ownership structure and will continue to operate as an independent site.
IN OTHER NEWS, the Australian College of Optometry (ACO) is joining Optometry Australia’s call for a $1 million investment into a collaborative eyecare pilot to reduce ‘drop out’ from routine intravitreal injections. The ACO believes a joint approach between optometrists and ophthalmologists will improve eyecare equity. The ACO said international evidence shows optometrists can administer intravitreal injections safely. But the current regulatory environment doesn't allow this locally. The proposed pilot would look at making best possible use of optometry in the care pathway, but would involve ophthalmology oversight and, most likely, a medical doctor injecting.
FINALLY, Adelaide's Nova Eye Medical says it has navigated time-consuming and complex dialogue with the US FDA to pave a clear approval pathway for its pioneering 2RT laser system for selected intermediate age-related macular degeneration patients. Melbourne’s Professor Robyn Guymer will now run a study to build on findings in the seminal LEAD trial. “2RT addresses the disease in its earlier stages. No other device or pharmaceutical does this. The LEAD study was very encouraging but was not conclusive. I look forward to starting this work, providing additional information to the FDA and then a successful study outcome," Guymer said.
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11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreative.com.au Publisher Christine Clancy
n
WEIRD
A 53-year-old French man who went to hospital with an itchy eye was shocked to discover the source of irritation was “more than a dozen mobile, translucent larvae” around the cornea and conjunctiva. The man told doctors he had been gardening near a farm the same day when he felt something entering his eye, according to a report in New England Journal of Medicine. n
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WONDERFUL
The colour blind are being helped to see exhibits in a new light thanks to an Australian-first technology partnership. Visitors to the University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing who have deuteranopia are being loaned visionaltering glasses that block specific light wavelengths to create signals that are better calculated by the brain and allow wearers to perceive colour better. n
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QUOTE
WACKY
A new study has revealed people who live with blindness can remember speech and language better than sighted people. “It’s interesting that people who are blind only showed an advantage with verbal memory,” author A/Prof Marina Bedny, of Johns Hopkins University, said. “Blind people may use language like a mental tool to remember information.”
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