By Mark Tosh
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 11:30 AM
A few weeks ago, I sent an email to people across the optical community asking if they could share a “good news” story. The idea was to collect these positive narratives and put them into a VMAIL Weekend feature. I called it a search for the “silver lining,” basing this on the assumption that there really is “good” sprinkled around and within the dark clouds of the coronavirus pandemic. Sure enough, the responses I received were great. Darren Horndasch, president and chief executive of Wisconsin Vision, had a great story about a surprise birthday party organized and kept secret by the management team and ownership at the optical retailer. Truly evidence that people enjoy doing good things for others.
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By Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 11:14 AM
By now, we're all used to temperature screenings and mask mandates that help keep us and those around us safe from COVID-19. But at Helsinki Airport in Finland, a team of
dogs trained to sniff out COVID-19 are screening travelers as well. Head over to
Fast Company to learn more about how the dogs can do it, and if it might catch on.
By Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 6:30 AM
“Refer your patients to me for specialty care, and I will send them back to you for primary care and glasses,” said almost no optometrist ever. Unlike the symbiotic relationship between dentists and orthodontists, optometrists historically have not developed referral and co-management networks effectively for specialty eye care service. The ‘do-it-all’ approach adopted by most eye care professionals (ECPs) stems from concerns about losing patients or being seen as not clinically adept. In essence, co-management networks in optometry have seldom been used.
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By Andrew Karp
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 1:50 PM
With millions of people worldwide who are blind or suffering from sight-robbing diseases, and millions more expected to lose their vision over the next few years, a growing number of private companies and research institutes are working to develop bionic eyes, artificial vision systems and advanced visual prostheses. One of the newest projects is being undertaken by
Illinois Institute of Technology. Researchers there were recently awarded $2.5 million by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund the first year of a three-year project which involves clinical trials of a first-of-its-kind wireless visual prosthesis system which aims to provide some limited vision to people with profound blindness.
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By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:51 PM
This week's bright spot for the team at
Insight Opticians in D.C.? This adorable little girl who wore her sunglasses for school picture day, of course.
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:10 PM
If you desperately
miss flying, you're not alone. All around the world, it seems that people are longing for the experience of a flight so badly that airlines are rolling out scenic flights to nowhere: flights that land exactly where they started. In Australia, Quantas Airlines offered a scenic seven-hour flight over the country. It takes off and lands in Sydney, tickets ranged from around $500 to $2,700, and it sold out in minutes. Head over to
The Cut to learn more about scenic flights, and why they're suddenly all the rage.
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 10:00 AM
NEW YORK—For the third week in a row, optical sales experienced a decline on the national level. This past week’s substantial decreases in optical sales can be attributed to the Labor Day holiday, which was the first day of the most recent week for which metrics were tracked (Sept. 7-Sept. 13). All service/product categories were down by index points in the mid-teens, ranging from minus 14 index points for contact lenses to minus 17 index points for frame units and lens pairs. Overall ECP gross revenues and overall eye exams/refractions declined 16 index points, This follows declines of index points of only the single digits for the past couple of weeks.
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By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 5:00 AM
Stefano Scauzillo, the owner of Essedue Sunglasses and Italian factory Essequadro Srl spoke with
20/20 Europe about their evolving focus on responsible, sustainable approaches in product development and production. They revealed that the focus of their collection next season will be eco-friendly planning. “Essedue's FW '20 collection will be a completely Limited Edition, and it will be a collection with new models. The concept that we will inaugurate will respond to the new mission of the Essequadro company, based on an eco-friendly, green-living approach,” Scauzillo told
20/20 Europe. They also talked about some of the immediate challenges they faced while Italy was on lockdown during the pandemic.
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By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:00 AM
Breakfast is often described as the most important meal of the day. It jump-starts your metabolism, helping you to burn calories throughout the day, and it also gives you the energy needed to focus on tasks at work or at school. And with many schools preparing to welcome students back, it’s apt that September has been designated Better Breakfast Month. A healthy breakfast has been linked to better memory and concentration, and a reduced risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and being overweight. A heart-healthy breakfast can also yield many benefits for eyesight.
By Staff
Friday, September 18, 2020 7:00 AM
Every time I think of driving at night, I hear the song “Blinded by the Light” in my head. In truth, either too much light or too little is challenging when driving at night. Too much light from the shock of intense glare inducing bright blue LED headlight lamps is blinding. Moreover, too little light is bad because we need light to see, and twilight and nighttime illumination levels reduce illumination levels making it hard to see. Aging eyes experience age-induced eye changes that reduce light transmission to the retina while increasing scatter, blur and glare. With age, the pupil loses its ability to dilate to the same degree as a young eye. Therefore, less light reaches the retina of an aged eye.
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By Staff
Friday, September 18, 2020 12:21 AM
CHICAGO—A range of leading independent eyewear brands have joined forces to launch
The Suites at Midwest Best described by its organizer as "a socially distant optical experience," and a cooperative kick-off to the autumn eyewear season to be held Oct. 2 to 4 in Rosemont, Ill.
By Staff
Friday, September 18, 2020 12:00 AM
Did you follow the optical news this week? Take VM’s News Quiz to see how much you know. This week's quiz takes a look at a product collaboration between Facebook and EssilorLuxottica, VSP creates a new executive slot and why wearing glasses may cut your risk of catching the virus. Click
here to take the quiz for the week of September 13. VM's News Quiz is published every Saturday as part of
VMAIL Weekend.
By Andrew Karp
Thursday, September 17, 2020 1:47 PM
With millions of people worldwide who are blind or suffering from sight-robbing diseases, and millions more expected to lose their vision over the next few years, a growing number of private companies and research institutes are working to develop bionic eyes, artificial vision systems and advanced visual prostheses. One of the newest projects is being undertaken by
Illinois Institute of Technology. Researchers there were recently awarded $2.5 million by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund the first year of a three-year project which involves clinical trials of a first-of-its-kind wireless visual prosthesis system which aims to provide some limited vision to people with profound blindness.