InfantSEE to Support 2024 Call for National Pediatric Eye Health and Vision Mobilization

ST. LOUIS—InfantSEE, a program that provides no-cost, comprehensive eye and vision health assessments for infants, will contribute and collaborate with the American Optometric Association (AOA) in their upcoming campaign focused on pediatric eye health. The program is concluding the year with 170,000 assessments since the initiative’s inception in 2005. Managed by Optometry Cares—The AOA Foundation and backed from the beginning by longtime AOA visionary supporter Johnson and Johnson Vision, InfantSEE is a public health program designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care to improve a child’s quality of life.

The National Average for Gross Revenue at ECP Locations Increased for the Week of Nov. 27–Dec. 3, Jobson’s Latest Practice Performance Tracker Shows

NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations increased last week, Nov. 27–Dec. 3, when compared with the previous week at a rate of 45 index points. That places gross revenue at a level 6 index points above where it was at this point in time (Week 49) when compared with last year (2022), 11 points above the same period in 2021, 9 points above 2020, and 14 points above 2019, according to Jobson’s most recent Practice Performance Tracker.

Microsoft’s Seeing AI App Launches on Android, Expanding Access to More Blind and Low Vision Users

REDMOND, Wash.—As part of the ongoing celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on Dec. 3, Microsoft has launched the newest version of its Seeing AI app on Android devices via the Google Play Store, sharing new app features and support in additional languages. The free app, designed for and with the blind and low vision community, uses the latest advances in AI at Microsoft to narrate the world from mobile devices.

VM Explores Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Vision Care Continues Its DE&I Evolution

NEW YORK—The embrace of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) this year has continued to expand among many businesses, large and small, public and private. In health care, too, and vision care in particular, DE&I has continued its evolution. 2023 has been a dramatic year, one of accomplishment, for DEI awareness, widening new ways that diverse populations and people of color are represented (or introduced) to the potentials of the vision care profession as well as ways for retailers, professional offices and related product companies to address patients in new ways.

New Study Reveals How AI Can Help Detect Diabetic Retinopathy in Children and Young Adults

As Diabetes Awareness month comes to a close, the promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the role it can play in helping doctors to detect and diagnose diabetic retinopathy—a common complication of diabetes that can lead to blindness—is front and center. A recent study by eyecare nonprofit Orbis International has found that AI can accurately detect diabetic retinopathy in children and young adults, an important breakthrough that can mean the difference between healthy sight and irreversible vision loss for youngsters with diabetes. The peer-reviewed study, shows that Orbis’ e-learning platform Cybersight AI can be an effective tool to support medical staff who are often overburdened with patient caseloads, especially in low-resource settings.