By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 2:45 PM
Insect eyes are pretty amazing, and some new research shows that we might have more in common with them than we thought. According to the
National Eye Institute and
Phys.org, fossilized flies from 54 million years ago had eyes that captured light in the same way as human eyes do today, and this new discovery has potential to tell us a lot about the evolution of sight. Head over to
Phys.org to learn more about this research, which was originally published in
Nature.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 10:03 AM
Maria Briceno Martin, OD, vividly recalls the moment when she decided she would take the leap forward on her dream of practice ownership. It was August 2017, and her second daughter was just one year old. As she was feeding the baby on a Friday afternoon, Dr. Briceno Martin’s husband Greg poised the question if opening an office was still her plan. “I was happy and stable, and I had a great job,” Dr. Briceno Martin says of the position she’d held for the past decade with an OD/MD group. “It was an ideal experience but I always felt like something was missing.” By Monday morning, she was ready to have a conversation with her employers about her future plans. And six months later she opened Lakes Family Eye Care.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 10:03 AM
PINELLAS PARK, Fla.—There's a new way for patients to experience an augmented reality, virtual try-on experience via a new partnership between Transitions Optical and Facebook, using the Facebook camera. The first-of-its-kind social media experience allows users to see themselves in all 13 Transitions lens colors, including Transitions Signature lenses style colors and Transitions XTRActive style mirrors. Users can tap through the different Transitions lens colors, and switch between indoor and outdoor settings. Users can activate the Transitions Facebook Try-on by clicking on a link that is located on the Transitions Facebook Page or by scanning the QR code with their Facebook app (to find the QR code scanner, simply type “QR code” in the top of the Facebook search bar).
Read More
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 10:00 AM
Maria Briceno Martin, OD, vividly recalls the moment when she decided she would take the leap forward on her dream of practice ownership. It was August 2017, and her second daughter was just one year old. As she was feeding the baby on a Friday afternoon, Dr. Briceno Martin’s husband Greg poised the question if opening an office was still her plan. “I was happy and stable, and I had a great job,” Dr. Briceno Martin says of the position she’d held for the past decade with an OD/MD group. “It was an ideal experience but I always felt like something was missing.” By Monday morning, she was ready to have a conversation with her employers about her future plans. And six months later she opened Lakes Family Eye Care.
Read More
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:30 AM
NEW YORK—With the year 2020 on the horizon, ECPs are quickly approaching a period filled with new opportunities and challenges. An aging population, higher incidences of diseases that impact eye health and new areas of practice focus may herald an era of continued growth for the profession. Advances in telehealth, industry consolidation, the digital revolution and broad changes across retail in general are creating tough challenges. Consolidation—involving both big corporate players and private equity-backed groups—is seen by some as the most pressing issue facing the independent optometrist. In its cover topic this month,
VM looks at options the independent ODs are evaluating today.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:12 AM
OWA preps for Expo West events, SightMD makes N.Y. acquisition, Chinese tariffs to start this fall, plans underway for CL Health Week and EOA and actress Marsai Martin join forces on eye health for kids all topped this week’s
VMAIL news feed. Click on the headlines below to catch up on anything you might have missed.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:09 AM
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—
SightMD, a leading multi-specialty ophthalmology platform and a portfolio company of
Chicago Pacific Founders, said Wednesday it has formed a “strategic partnership” with
Westchester Eye Associates (WEA), a leading ophthalmology practice in Westchester County (New York state). The partnership expands SightMD's growing presence in Westchester, adding two locations and eight providers, and increases SightMD's footprint to 37 locations and more than 80 providers across the New York Tristate area. The partnership with WEA represents the 10th practice to join SightMD since it partnered with Chicago Pacific Founders in September 2018, according to the announcement.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:06 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Yesterday, the Trump administration set forth two sub-lists of tariff numbers included in the fourth tranche of China 301 tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 1, 2019 and Dec. 15, 2019. This means that Chinese-origin spectacle lenses, spectacle frames, sunglasses, reading glasses, eyeglasses, safety glasses, goggles and many low vision devices will be subject to an additional 10 percent tariff on those dates, according to an alert
The Vision Council sent to its members late yesterday.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:03 AM
NEW YORK—This year, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual Contact Lens Health Week will take place from Aug. 19 to 23. The theme for this year’s campaign is “Contact Lens Health Starts With You,” and is aimed to encourage ECPs to share healthy wear and care recommendations with their contact lens patients. Together with the
American Optometric Association, the CDC will promote Contact Lens Health Week through a variety of channels, including a Facebook live stream on Monday, Aug. 19, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:00 AM
DALLAS—
Essilor of America and 14-year-old actress Marsai Martin, best known for her role on the award-winning TV comedy show "Black-ish," are raising awareness about the urgent need for children across the nation to receive total vision care this back to school season.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:28 AM
NEW YORK—With the year 2020 on the horizon, eyecare professionals are quickly approaching a period filled with new opportunities and challenges. An aging population, higher incidences of diseases that impact eye health and new areas of practice focus are some of the things that may herald an era of continued growth for the profession. Yet, at the same time, advances in telehealth, industry consolidation, the digital revolution and broad changes across retail in general are creating tough challenges for independent practitioners. The challenge of consolidation—involving both big corporate players and private equity-backed groups—is seen by some in the optical industry as the most pressing issue facing the independent optometrist in the current operating environment.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:25 AM
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, was spotted wearing L.G.R model Suez at the gentlemen’s singles final of the 2019 Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:18 AM
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—VSP Optics, a division of
VSP Global, held its first-ever live UUniversity technical education event late last month in Sacramento, Calif., according to an announcement. More than 50 optometrists and opticians from all across Northern California attended the day-long event. The attendees were able to earn up to six ABO credits by participating in courses such as “The Science of Light-Reactive Lenses” and “Troubleshooting Lens Enhancements,” among others. Following upon this initial success, VSP Optics said it will take UUniversity Live to multiple cities across the country in its effort to create a unique opportunity for eyecare professionals who want to learn more about optics and/or how to simplify the dispensing process. The next UUniversity Live event is scheduled for Aug. 22 in San Francisco. For more information about this event, visit the registration site
here.