The World Council of Optometry (WCO), in collaboration with CooperVision welcomed more than 1,700 registrants representing 123 countries to its February 16 virtual event, “Myopia Management: Advancing the Global Standard of Care.”  The virtual event featured experts sharing their insights on the global standard of care and how they have made myopia management an integral part of their work. The event, which also features patient insights, is now available on demand at https://myopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info/multimedia-resources/.

WCO President-elect Dr. Sandra Block said, “We know that optometrists worldwide are extremely busy with their practices and lives, limiting their time for watching webinars.  To help support them, the World Council of Optometry is pleased to now offer the “Advancing the Global Standard of Care” virtual event videos on demand so eye care professionals can learn the latest about myopia management as the standard of care when it is convenient for them.”

The WCO “Myopia Management: Advancing the Global Standard of Care”  presentations now available on demand explore the myopia epidemic through real stories told by patients and leading eye care professionals including: 

Prof. Seang-Mei Saw, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FAMS is the Distinguished Wallace Foulds Professor at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and Co-Chair (Biomedical) of the NUS Institutional Review Board. Prof. Saw is internationally recognized as one of the leading researchers in the myopia field and has made major observations and key discoveries in the field of the epidemiology of myopia, characterizing the environmental, genetic, and anatomical predictors of myopia in children and adults in Singapore and worldwide.

Dr. Kai-yip Choi is a Research Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Optometry. He obtained his BSc and PhD degrees in Optometry in 2014 and 2021 respectively from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has been providing optometric clinical care in the university clinic since 2014.

Dr. Foo Li Lian is a consultant ophthalmologist with the Myopia Service and Refractive Department, Singapore National Eye Centre, and Myopia Centre of Excellence. Subspecializing in the field of myopia focusing on childhood myopia control as well as refractive and cataract surgeries, Dr. Foo aims to create the next generation of treatment modalities that can halt the relentless march of myopia.

Indie Grewal, BSc (Hons) MCOptom DipTp (IP) Prof Cert Glau FBDO FBCLA is a qualified dispensing optician and optometrist with more than three decades of experience within the optical industry.  As well as participating in contact lens clinical trials, he has a special interest in myopia management and multifocal contact lens fitting.

Jessica Haynes, OD, FAAO, FORS, Dipl ABO practices as consulting faculty in the Southern College of Optometry Advanced Care Ocular Disease clinic and as a full-time associate optometrist at Charles Retina Institute. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the Optometric Retina Society and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.

Yasmin Whayeb, BSc (Hons) MCOptom is an optometrist and PhD student at Aston University, Birmingham, UK. Her research interests include the progression and management of myopia in children, and the choroidal response to optical myopia intervention methods.

Kyle Klute, OD, owns and practices at Good Life Eyecare, a multilocation practice in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, certified by the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry, and an editor for the Journal of Medical Optometry.

Visit the World Council of Optometry myopia management website, which features the standard of care resolution, pledge signup page, and multimedia resources center with searchable and sortable practical tools and information for optometrists at https://myopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info/.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Myopia Profile, a clinical myopia management information center for eye care professionals (ECPs), announced its launch of Myopia Action Month to channel myopia awareness into action. Taking place across September this year, the inaugural event will bring four-weeks of global education, industry collaboration, and encouragement to ECPs to empower them to take effective action against the disease. The global initiative is sponsored by founding partners CooperVision, EssilorLuxottica, and Johnson & Johnson Vision.

“In the past few years, we have witnessed huge growth in myopia management research awareness, industry innovations, and education, and yet we continue to see reports of single vision corrections being predominantly prescribed to children with myopia,” said Dr. Paul Gifford, director at Myopia Profile. “Our mission is to accelerate the uptake of myopia management in clinical practice. We saw the need for something more—a new strategy to empower myopia awareness into myopia action.”

Myopia Action Month will focus on supporting ECPs in building their clinical capacity with community support and accountability through an ambitious instructional program. Educational materials and resources will be accessible through Myopia Profile’s unique and extensive digital ecosystem.

“For each week of the event, in partnership with event sponsors, we will feature new video resources, themed action plans, and specific educational and practical materials to support ECPs at any level to grow their myopia action plans and management strategies,” said Dr. Kate Gifford, director at Myopia Profile. “We are also launching challenges, online courses, downloads and more to make the month engaging, inspiring and most of all empowering for ECPs to take myopia action.”

Visit myopiaprofile.com for more information on Myopia Action Month.

Click HERE for the full press release.

CooperVision has accelerated North American delivery times by more than 50% of all Biofinity® toric multifocal contact lenses for U.S. and Canadian customers after transitioning the manufacturing to its New York production facility in late 2022. All trial lenses and six-packs of the made-to-order lenses now originate from CooperVision’s technologically advanced facility in Scottsville, N.Y., reaching Canadian customers in 10 to 15 days, on average.

“CooperVision’s made-to-order advantage enables us to offer highly customized contact lenses in very little time,” said Brian Filan, Director of Marketing, Canada. “By moving Biofinity® toric multifocal production from the U.K. to the U.S. for our North American customers, we make and deliver these sophisticated lenses to our customers and their patients even faster—with most orders shipping in just a few days.”

Biofinity® toric multifocal orders for other markets continue to be manufactured at CooperVision’s U.K. facility.

Click HERE for the full press release.