Author: Sarah Guthrie

Contact Lens Update Issue 81 Offers Guidance from Top Researchers & Clinicians

WATERLOO, Ontario, December 18, 2024—In response to widespread demand from eye care professionals to better understand myopia progression and intervention, the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has themed Issue 81 of Contact Lens Update as “The Science of Myopia Control: What Every ECP Should Know.” The bi-monthly publication is available at no charge by visiting ContactLensUpdate.com.

“We are in the midst of a global myopia epidemic and public health crisis. Its prevalence continues to increase, with an estimated 50% of the world’s population projected to become myopic by the year 2050. High myopia is associated with the risk of serious ocular health problems which can lead to vision loss, such as retinal detachment, myopic maculopathy, and glaucoma,” said Jill Woods, Head of Clinical Research at CORE.

“It is crucial for practitioners to be aware of the latest scientific findings to ensure their patients are given the highest standard of care. Intervention to slow myopia’s progression is particularly important for children, preventing them from becoming highly myopic as they age.”

Debbie Jones, Clinical Professor and Lead Clinical Scientist at CORE, School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of Waterloo, recaps the September 2024 International Myopia Conference in the issue’s editorial. Her highlights include ways of identifying people at risk of developing myopia, barriers to increasing the amount of time spent outdoors, and new potential treatments such as coloured light therapies, pharmaceutical treatment using a caffeine derivative, and optical films for spectacle lenses.

The feature article is written by Vishakha Thakrar, an optometrist and owner of a specialty contact lens practice in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. She outlines the findings of a systematic review investigating the intervention-dependent rebound effect that may occur after stopping myopia control treatment. The review presents studies that examined a range of optical, pharmaceutical, and low-level red light therapies, including spectacles and soft contact lenses designed for myopia control and orthokeratology.

The conference highlight is contributed by Lisa Ostrin, Associate Professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry, Texas, United States. The abstract summarizes a presentation from the 2024 International Myopia Conference describing the safety profile of an instrument used for low-level red light therapy. The work compares the emitted irradiance level to criteria established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to determine the class of laser, instrument group, and maximum permitted exposure time.

Optometrist Oliver Woo, founder and chief clinical director of his eponymously named orthokeratology and myopia management clinic in Sydney, Australia, presents the issue’s clinical insight column. The case report details a young patient’s journey through different therapies to manage her myopia, with Dr. Woo delving into why it is important to customize the replacement frequency of orthokeratology lenses to each patient.

Published six times per year, Contact Lens Update provides a global platform for unbiased clinical insights based in current research. Since 2011, each issue has provided dependable and up-to-date ocular health information for more than 60,000 leading eye care professionals.

In addition to a complete archive of back issues, ContactLensUpdate.com offers a resource library that provides no-cost professional tools, patient resources, images and video. It also houses complimentary technical training videos produced by International Association of Contact Lens Educators, plus an industry glossary. Industry professionals can access the latest issue directly from ContactLensUpdate.com or sign up for email receipt[MM1] [SW2]  of feature issues on the website.

The publication receives support from the educational arms of  CooperVision and Johnson & Johnson Vision.

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About the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE)
The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) was established in 1988 at the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science. Over the next three decades, the organization evolved from a three-person operation into a thriving hub of basic and applied research, collaborating with sponsors, agencies and academia on advanced biosciences, clinical research and education. Its uncompromising independence and results of the highest quality have been at the heart of many of the most prominent advances in eye health. Today, its team serves a range of ophthalmic sectors, including medical devices, ocular pharmaceuticals, digital technology and others, with a focus on the anterior segment. For more information, please visit core.uwaterloo.ca.

MEDIA CONTACT
Lyndon Jones, Director, CORE
+1.519.888.4065 or lwjones@uwaterloo.ca

Presenter: Harbir Sian
October 21st, 2020 at 8pm

Beginning Sunday, April 29, join the Centre for Ocular Research & Education at ARVO 2018 as we unveil CORE Knowledge. Match wits against your colleagues in Honolulu and around the world, putting your ocular knowledge to the test in a rapid-fire, fun-for-all quiz game.

Make sure to stop by CORE booth #1316 for your chance to play and win!

Etty Bitton

Dr. Bitton completed her Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo (1988), followed by a Master’s in Physiological Optics (1994) from the Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada) in the area of tear film clinical physiology and its relevance in patients exhibiting dry eye. She presently holds the rank of Associate professor, she is the Director of the Externship Program as well as the Director of the Dry Eye Clinic which was established in 2012. In 2015, Dr. Bitton was invited by the Tear Film Ocular Society (TFOS) to participate in the TFOSDEWSII, a global initiate to redefine dry eye, on the Communication and Education Sub-committee, She represents this organization as one of two Ambassadors for Canada.

In 2017 Dr Bitton received the Lester B. Janoff Memorial Award from the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) for excellence in teaching, clinical work and publication as well as the Dr. Mae Booth-Jones Award for Mentorship and Education, from Women in Optometry Theia Awards.

Dr. Bitton is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the British Contact Lens Association as well as a member of several regional and international professional organizations. Her research interests include tear film evaluation, dry eye and its effect on contact lens wear.

Richard Maharaj

Dr. Richard Maharaj is the Clinic Director at eyeLABS Optometry and Center for Ocular Surface Disease and Senior Optometrist at York-Finch Ophthalmology, Toronto. Dr. Maharaj is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is a Clinical Adjunct Faculty at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He continues to develop new techniques and devices for non-surgical clinical care of the meibomian glands and ocular surface. He is an international speaker on primary management of eye diseases, a published author on ocular surface disease, current Board Editor for Journal of Dry Eye Disease, Chief Learning Officer of MyDryEye.ca and Chair for the Canadian Association of Optometry’s Section for ocular surface diseases.

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Carolyn Ren

Dr. Ren is a professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo (UW) and holds the Canada Research Chair in Droplet Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technology at UW. She is directing Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory focusing on advancing fundamental knowledge of microfluidics and developing Lab-on-a-Chip technologies which have significant impact on a wide range of applications. Examples of her research applications span from material synthesis, to protein separation, single cell analysis and water quality sensing. Dr. Ren has received several awards from the engineering and research community, including: being recognized as one of 20 leading innovators in Women of Innovation, appointment as Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, and an Early Research Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.

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Heather Sheardown

Heather Sheardown is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering  at McMaster University, with a cross appointment to the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine. She also has an adjunct appointment with the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery and has published more than 140 peer reviewed papers on this subject. She is currently the Scientific Director of C20/20, an ORF funded incubator aimed at the commercialization of ophthalmic biotechnologies. Sheardown was previously the Scientific Director of the 20/20 NSERC Ophthalmic Materials Research Network which brought together 12 researchers and more than 10 companies aimed at the early stage development of novel materials based treatments for ophthalmic conditions. Sheardown is the Associate Director of Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (BEAM), a McMaster partnership with the Fraunhofer IZI which partners with companies for incubation and commercialization of cell based therapies, diagnostics and biomaterials. She holds 18 patents or provisional patents and is currently the Chief Scientific Officer of 20/20 OptimEyes, a McMaster based spin out focused on developing and commercializing a micelle based technology developed in her laboratory. She runs a large and vibrant research group with more than 10 post doctoral fellows, and graduate students.

c2020hub.ca

Carolyn Ren

Dr. Ren is a professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo (UW) and holds the Canada Research Chair in Droplet Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technology at UW. She is directing Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory focusing on advancing fundamental knowledge of microfluidics and developing Lab-on-a-Chip technologies which have significant impact on a wide range of applications. Examples of her research applications span from material synthesis, to protein separation, single cell analysis and water quality sensing. Dr. Ren has received several awards from the engineering and research community, including: being recognized as one of 20 leading innovators in Women of Innovation, appointment as Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, and an Early Research Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.

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Paul J. Murphy 

The Murphy Lab for Experimental Optometry undertakes laboratory and clinically studies in a multi-disciplinary environment to investigate the interactions between the anterior ocular surface, eyelids and tear film. More specifically, our research looks at how the tear film, the exposed surface of the eye, the sensory nerves in the cornea, and the eyelids interact in both normal and abnormal circumstances – in the normal healthy eye, and when affected by contact lens wear and ocular surface disease. We also look at anterior segment anatomy to investigate the action of the lids on the eye, and the normal variation in ocular surface shape. The lab develops new instruments and methods of investigation to address these large questions, with the ultimate goal of understanding how best to help patients who experience discomfort when wearing contact lenses or as a result of problems with their tear film quality or quantity. We collaborate nationally and internationally with fellow researchers, and with industrial partners.

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Ben Thompson

Ben’s research is concerned with visual cortex plasticity and development. He uses psychophysics, brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to investigate the basic mechanisms underlying visual cortex plasticity and to develop new treatments for brain-based visual disorders such as amblyopia. Ben is also a member of a team developing a new technique for the assessment of vision in children. Ben has expertise in clinical trials, amblyopia, visual development, motion perception and visual-motor integration.

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When it’s not practical to measure contact lens performance in vivo, what is the best way to simulate the ocular environment? While we can extrapolate results to predict in vivo lens performance, conventional in vitro methods are limited by conditions too far removed from the human eye.

While Chau-Minh Phan and Hendrik Walther were not the first to try to come up with a better in vitro system to test contact lens deposition and drug delivery, their tenacious approach in developing various iterations of the OcuFlow has produced a remarkable, patented device capable of simulating key aspects of the natural blink.

In addition to incorporating a range of motion representative of the lid’s vertical “blink” movement, the device is also able to take into consideration the intermittent air exposure that occurs between blinks and the potential to tailor and mimic fluid volume and flow of the natural tear film. Additionally, adjustable amounts of test solutions (i.e. artificial tears, protein and lipid solutions) can be released separately via separate sources, flow-through solution can be collected for in vitro analysis, and blink rate and extent of mechanical rubbing can be programmed.

Today, CORE Clinical and CORE BioSciences seamlessly integrate clinical observations with insights grounded in basic biosciences.
Our interdisciplinary team has the expertise and the drive to investigate multiple angles of a research question, building on insights to design multi-faceted solutions and facilitate the development of new biomaterials and technology.

In addition to sharing research results, training graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and offering continuing education, CORE Education leverages the intellectual capital of the CORE research team to pinpoint research findings of interest to clinical practitioners and develop effective and engaging educational tools designed to keep them up-to-date and facilitate patient communication.

The CORE team has the expertise, technology and regulatory framework to support fundamental and clinical research focusing on pharmaceuticals, biomaterials (including contact lenses), ocular physiology and imaging.