(L to R) Beth Barstow, Ph.D., Michael Epp, manager of professional education for Envision, Michael Monteferrante, president and CEO, Envision.
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GLENDALE, Ariz.—The 12th annual Envision Conference, presented by Envision, is now underway at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa. Mark Humayun, MD, PhD—the co-inventor of the Argus II and 2015 recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation—provided the keynote on July 27, discussing the genesis of the Argus II and the importance of innovation in addressing vision loss. Argus II is the world’s first FDA-approved retinal prosthesis designed to restore functional sight to those with complete retinal blindness.

The Opening Plenary Session included the presentation of the annual Envision Oculus Award to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in acknowledgement of its low vision rehabilitation graduate certificate program in occupational therapy. The Oculus award honors an individual(s) or organization whose career or program has had a national or international impact for people who are blind or low vision through professional collaboration, advocacy, research or education.


Mark Humayun, MD, PhD was the keynote speaker for the conference.
“I’m honored to accept this award,” said Beth Barstow, PhD, OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTA, an associate professor and a primary instructor in the program, who accepted the award on behalf of UAB. “Envision has been a key collaborator in clinical education and research for occupational therapy and advancing the field for the care of people with vision loss.”

In addition, the conference agenda included a session by Florida-based optometrist/vision scientist, Ava Bittner, OD, PhD, who led an Envision-sponsored research team project to study the efficacy of telerehabilitation—the process of treating remote patients using video chat technology. Her team received $10,000 in project funding from a research proposal competition held at the 2015 Envision Conference.

Envision Conference 2017 continues through July 29, more information can be found here.