LAS VEGAS—The aisles were crowded and the energy of both show attendees and exhibitors was positive during the recently completed Vision Expo West 2023, a four-day event which brought together thousands of members of the optical industry, offering the newest product offerings and launches, valuable education and learning opportunities, special events and gatherings—as well as some fun in the sun. Attendees had the opportunity to explore a wide variety of exhibitors, all enthusiastic to showcase the latest innovations in their respective fields, from high fashion to groundbreaking medical advancements and sophisticated new technologies.

Networking and education remained at the forefront as well, for both industry veterans and aspiring students. Vision Expo and The Vision Council, organizers of the conference and show, also fostered career advancement and business growth in the eyecare and eyewear sectors through special sessions and exhibit areas.

As VMAIL reported last Thursday, many exhibitors and attendees shared their observations about the show.

If you are just back from Vegas or were unable to attend Vision Expo West, the onsite Show Dailies are a great way to catch up on everything Expo. The full digital editions of the Show Dailies from September 28, 29 and 30 can be accessed here.






Click the image above to download a PDF of Latest News and Show Shots from Vision Expo West Day 1.

Click the image above to download a PDF of Latest News and Show Shots from Vision Expo West Day 2.

Click the image above to download a PDF of Latest News and Show Shots from Vision Expo West Day 3.





In VM’s Vision Expo West Show Daily, when asked why they chose to attend Vision Expo West this year, attendees offered a variety of responses, from wanting to see the newest frames, attending the educational courses, a desire to keep up with the latest technology, to looking for help with staffing solutions.

"We're here to buy frames, especially frames with Euro styling and lots of color, things that intrigue people," said Michelle Cantrell, optical manager, Precision Optometry, Rocklin, Calif.




WNBA Champion and Oakley athlete Diamond DeShields participated in a panel discussion to talk about her own eye health journey with keratoconus, followed by an autograph session at the Oakley booth.
  
Added Eduardo Alvarez, Distribucion Linea Optica, Panama, said, “I am a frame buyer for a distributor in Panama. I am looking for new frames and new opportunities, but also to visit companies I’ve worked for in the past and see former colleagues. I’ve been here before, but I still enjoy it.”

The Las Vegas Vision Expo West featured more than 400 exhibiting companies across several distinct neighborhoods—115 of which were exhibiting at Vision Expo for the first time. New Show Floor Avenues provided attendees with helpful navigational pathways. The avenues—Park Avenue, Union Ave, and Focus Ave—guided attendees seamlessly through the busy exhibit hall.

Chase Cutler of Neurolens said, “We came to Expo to let the industry see our latest technology, to show how we're bringing relief to patients, and to show how we can take the patient experience to the next level. Vision Expo is always a great show. You can sense the enthusiasm this year—it’s the most energy I’ve ever felt around the booth.”

"It's my third time here. This year I decided not to take any educational courses and instead concentrated on seeing technology. I'm looking at exam lane equipment, such as OCT scanners. With AI coming out, it will open up some interesting possibilities for using OCT for early detection and treatment of eye disease," said Dr. Neil Hodinsky, Lakeland Family Eyecare, St. Paul, Alberta, Canada.



Gathering for the Latinos En Optometry meetup on Friday afternoon are Dr. Diana Canto-Sims, co-founder of Latinos En Optometry; Dr. Howard Purcell, president and CEO of New England College of Optometry; Dr. Glenda Aleman, OK Love; and Lawrence Chavez, Everyday Contacts.



Jim Muniz of Digital Optometrics saw Vision Expo West as an opportunity to showcase his company’s latest remote eyecare offerings. “We are here to add awareness about remote eyecare to the industry,” he said. “Having people go through a demonstration of a remote eye exam is extremely important, because it’s really about the experience between the patient and the doctor. On day one of Vision Expo West, we were as busy or even busier than we were at Vision Expo East.”

In addition to exploring the latest in eyewear on the show floor, attendees were also treated to an entirely new program called EYEnovate, a content series highlighting groundbreaking technological innovations in the optical field. The Innovation Stage, the show’s main stage on the exhibit floor, also hosted panels featuring the industry’s most buzz-worthy topics, including a discussion about ChatGPT and the potential benefits and drawbacks of incorporating AI into your workflow.

VisionEd, the show’s world class education program, offered show goers more than 300 hours and more than 150 new courses of optometric and opticianry continuing education. A full range of clinical courses and business courses were also available for the taking.

OptiCon @ Vision Expo also returned to Vision Expo West with a full slate of educational sessions. New session topics included proper frame fitting and celebrity eyewear secrets and laser exploration.

“The number one reason I’m here is that my staff would like me to buy a visual field VR headset to replace my old model, catch up on new things, and of course for the education,” said Allen D. Hoek, OD, Ripon, Calif.

VM and VMAIL stories highlighted the sights and sounds of the busy Vision Expo West show.






Members of the optical industry gathered on Wednesday morning to take part in the Vision Expo West BusinessOutside Connection Hike down the Las Vegas Strip. The Vision Council partnered with BusinessOutside, a leadership consulting company, on the two-hour walk during which Jeff Poe and John Walborn of Sanitas Advisors facilitated a discussion between eyecare executives and innovators regarding the future of the industry, achieving greater business success, and leading a more intentional life.

(L to R) Swing Fore Sight participants enjoy a great day out on the greens as part of Prevent Blindness’ fund-raising golf tournament.  Participants included Gabriele Dimiziani, EssilorLuxottica; Larry Norton, Luxottica Retail; Prevent Blindness board of directors member Alan Gunner, AEG Vision; and Past Prevent Blindness board of directors chair Richard Sanchez, Visibility Management.

Zeiss’ Chad Miles (l) and Wayne Caulder were ready to meet customers on a busy first day at the Show.










EssilorLuxottica’s Ludo Ladreyt, Sherianne James and Fabrizio Uguzzoni were all ready to showcase the new look and specially curated space of the company’s booth.

Brad and Bryan Manning, who both live with Stargardt disease, made a special appearance at the L’Amy America booth to talk about their mission to cure blindness through their luxury clothing company. (L to R) Brad, L’Amy’s Steve Rappoport, Bryan and L’Amy’s Kathryn Chambers at the company’s booth.



(L to R) Handling the crowds lining up to see the Elton John Eyewear collection are Leisa Yetter-Brown, Rocket Entertainment, Eyewear Design’s Steve Horowitz and Andrea Gluck, and Elton John Eyewear’s Gretchen Oldt.










Keynote speaker Rebecca Alexander, who has been losing both her vision and hearing due to Usher syndrome (type 3), shared her inspiring story of facing challenges and providing encouragement to others as part of the OptiCon general session. Blair Wong, ABOM, NCLEC, conducted the interview.

(L to R) Nate Schomas, Brant Southwell and Pierre Bertrand of Neurolens welcomed guests at the company's Wednesday night party to launch its new N3 diagnostic device and VR headset.

A packed room filled with optometrists and media listened to a panel of three prominent ODs discussing the benefits of the new Neurolens N3 diagnostic device at the Neurolens launch party Wednesday night. (L to R) The panel included Dr. Amanda Nanasy, Dr. Paul Karpecki, Dr. Brenda Montecalvo and moderator Dr. Howard Purcell.










Accounts, guests and executives celebrate Safilo’s kate spade new york at the Wynn.

The Treehouse Eyes Provider Summit concluded with a reception at Liftoff in Area 15 of Las Vegas. (L to R) The Treehouse Eyes team included, front row: Gary Gerber, OD, Michelle Carrasquillo, Jamie Cassidy, Angela Prass, and Yesenia Garcia. Back row: Kyle Bigos, David Turk, Chandler Pessah and Matt Oerding.

Members of the 2023 “class” of Vision Monday’s Most Influential Women in Optical posed for a group photo at the gala luncheon held at The Venetian. here yesterday.










The VM MIW luncheon’s keynote speaker, Dr. Simone Ahuja, a best-selling author, Harvard Business Review contributor and business school advisor, spoke about innovation and "intrepreneurship."

Formula 1 motorsport racing legend Sebastien Bourdais (l) was on hand to sign autographs at the Shamir booth as Shamir’s Phil Pasit cheered him on.

InflammX Therapeutics took home the first ever Ocular Horizons award on Friday afternoon as the EYEnovate program came to an end. The company won for their presentation made by CEO Brian Levy, OD, MSc, titled Novel Platform Technology Targeting the Pathological NLRP3 Inflammasome in Retinal /Kidney Disease. InflammX Therapeutics’ Brian Levy, OD, second from right, with the EYEnovate judges (l to r) Susy Yu, OD, Ashley Mills and James Rosin.










Kristin Siddall (c), Advanced Family Eyecare, Lavista, Neb., accepted the ABO-NCLE Patient Choice Award. Looking on were Carri Rivera, Bausch + Lomb Specialty Vision Instruments (l) and Curt Duff, Tinder Krauss Tinder.

Showing off Safilo’s new open-concept booth are Alessandro Tropeano, Vittorio Verdun, Elisabeth Morikawa, Roberto Genovese and Paolo Bizzotto.

The Contact Lens Institute—in partnership with The Vision Council—presented a sneak peek of its forthcoming report, The Culture Calculation: Data-Backed Behaviors for Contact Lens Success. (L to R) The presenting panel included Lisa Hornick, Stanford Ranch Optometry; Charissa Lee, OD, Johnson & Johnson Vision; Sabrina Gaan, Eyes on Plainville; Alysse Henkel, The Vision Council; and Shelby Brogdon, McFarland Eye Care.









Coburn Technologies’ Alex Incera (l) and Wayne Labrecque show off the company’s CrystalChrome, the breakthrough photochromic system for optical labs.

Thursday’s industry-led panel discussed the rapidly-evolving artificial intelligence landscape, including the benefits of integrating AI into your workflow and ways to improve patient outcomes. (L to R) The panel featured Amanda Lee, OD, Vision Source; Easy Anyama, American Optometric Student Association; Harbir Sian, OD, Clarity Eyecare and The 20/20 Podcast; Ukti Vora, OD, "The Nerdy Optometrist" Podcast; and panel moderator, Alan Glazier, OD, FluoreSCENE Media/ODs on Facebook.

Guest speaker Shannon McKain addressed attendees at the Optical Women’s Association Connection Series luncheon on Thursday. McKain outlined her five-step “RALLY Mentality” plan to help anyone define and defeat perceived limitations, whether self-imposed or the result of circumstances.