Centre for Ocular Research & Education

American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting Attendees to Compete in the World’s Ultimate Eye Science Game

In Partnership with the Centre for Ocular Research & Education, CORE Knowledge 3.0 to Debut in the Academy’s Exhibit Floor Booth

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, October 11, 2022—Many of the world’s preeminent ocular researchers, educators, clinicians, and executives will travel to San Diego later this month, taking part in the American Academy of Optometry’s centennial celebration and annual meeting. As part of the festivities, the Academy has partnered with the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) to host CORE Knowledge 3.0—the latest iteration of the world’s ultimate eye science game.

Available for game play within the Academy exhibit booth #537 during show hours, the immersive digital experience presents players with a range of rapid-fire, multiple choice questions covering a wide variety of basic and clinical ocular research topics. Points are added and deducted as participants race a two-minute clock, tapping their screens to correctly answer as many questions as possible before time runs out.

In addition to new and revised content developed by CORE, the Academy has provided a supplemental set of questions specific to the storied history of the association. Members of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) have also supplied new questions designed to challenge even the most confident participants.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Academy on this initiative—a fun and fitting way to look back on so many of its accomplishments over the past 100 years,” said Lyndon Jones, PhD, FCOptom, FAAO, FBCLA, director of CORE. “When CORE Knowledge 1.0 debuted at ARVO, it drew non-stop crowds, with players collectively answering nearly 15,000 questions over more than 1,100 games. With its completely refreshed design and upwards of 750 questions, we anticipate healthy competition in San Diego to become the champion.”

During the annual meeting, daily winners will receive prizes supplied by the Academy, as will the top three scorers overall during its three-day run. Live leaderboards will be prominently displayed in the Academy booth, helping fuel the competitive spirit of conference attendees from around the world.

Following the Academy annual meeting, the game will be made available for online play on laptops and mobile devices. Customized versions of CORE Knowledge are also available for license by manufacturers, educational institutions and ocular associations.

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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 approximately 50-person 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.

About the American Academy of Optometry Centennial Celebration
During this year’s annual meeting, the Academy will present a “Centennial Celebration” in recognition of its past 100 years. Highlights include “Let’s Dance and Deal”, on Friday, October 28, beginning at 9 p.m. This celebratory party is an opportunity for attendees to mingle with friends, dance through the decades, and enjoy casino games. Other events include the unveiling of an exhibit honoring the legacy and leadership of past and current Fellows and a dynamic 64-foot-long timeline and video sharing the Academy’s growth and evolution through the years. All events will be at the San Diego Convention Center.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA, McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.545.1815

New Contact Lens Update Focuses on Myopia: Latest Evidence and Best Practices

WATERLOO, Ontario, September 6, 2022—The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has published Issue 67 of Contact Lens Update, which focuses on the most recent evidence and best practices in the management of myopia. The new edition and all past issues are available for free at ContactLensUpdate.com.

“The prevalence of myopia, along with its associated pathology, continues to increase globally,” said CORE Head of Clinical Research Jill Woods. “This issue of Contact Lens Update presents the latest evidence that clinicians must be aware of in order to manage myopia appropriately.”

Mark Bullimore, renowned scientist and adjunct professor at the University of Houston, provides the opening editorial. He shares insights pertaining to myopia prevalence, its role in visual impairment, and options available to slow its progression. Paul Chamberlain, senior director of Research Programs at CooperVision, and Noel Brennan, research fellow at Johnson & Johnson Vision, add supporting commentary.

The feature article from Debbie Jones, clinical professor at the School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of Waterloo, highlights key findings from the longest continuous myopia control soft contact lens study involving children. Her overview demonstrates that a safe and effective myopia management treatment is readily available.

James Loughman, professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Technological University Dublin and director of the Centre for Eye Research Ireland, shares his paper presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology’s 2022 Annual Meeting. This meta-analysis generated childhood refractive centile curves for Asian and Western populations to facilitate evidence-based myopia control. Over 35,000 refraction measurements from eight large population-based studies were included.

Kate and Paul Gifford, prominent clinical scientists and co-founders of Myopia Profile, share a valuable infographic on myopia management. It’s a resource to which practitioners can easily refer when communicating with parents of children who have myopia, using their Discuss, Describe, and Prescribe model.

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 quickly sign up for email receipt of future issues.

The publication receives support from the educational arms of Alcon, 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 approximately 50-person 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 CONTACTS
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA, McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.545.1815

CORE Scientists Develop Low-Cost 3D Bio-Printing Method for Ophthalmic Drug Delivery Research

WATERLOO, Ontario, August 22, 2022—An ingenious development from the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has unlocked a path to faster, inexpensive eye model creation for use in ophthalmic drug research. Using a commercially available masked stereolithography printer (mSLA) retrofitted with humidity and temperature controls, plus a new gelatin-based ink formulation, a team of scientists 3D bio-printed an in vitro eye model in under three hours.

The resulting “eye” included aqueous, vitreous, and blood chambers, a blood outlet/inlet, aqueous and vitreous outlets, and a 500μm-thick cornea—absent any artificial support structures. Phosphate-buffered saline was used as an aqueous and vitreous humor mimic in the corresponding drug delivery study, which measured contact lens-delivered dye transfer in each chamber and channel.

A summary of the novel methodology, Developing a Novel In Vitro Eye Model Using 3D Bioprinting for Drug Delivery Studies (Phan C, Wulff D, Garg P, Jones L), is now published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, an ARVO journal.

“3D bio-printing is still in its nascent stages because it’s slow, not scalable for large-scale projects, and extremely expensive. This severely limits its use for high-throughput applications in many academic and research settings,” said Chau-Minh Phan, research assistant professor at CORE. “Our work shows the promise of an alternative approach, with much faster layer-based printing at a significantly lower cost. We believe this is a starting point for developing enhanced 3D eye models to test drug release kinetics of various devices and formulations.”

The team’s future work will focus on adding diffusion barriers to better simulate drug diffusion through ocular tissues, experimenting with co-polymer inks to extend each model’s lifespan, and fine-tuning physiological dimensions.

This latest innovation follows CORE’s creation of other sophisticated eye models in recent years for ocular testing, virtual and augmented reality applications validation, and clinical education. Its OcuBlink affiliate operates autonomously, while using CORE staffing, counsel, and laboratories.

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About the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE)
The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) – formerly known as the Centre for Contact Lens Research – 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 approximately 50-person 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:
Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA
McDougall Communications for CORE
mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.434.2150

Specialty Contact Lens Innovator Daddi Fadel Joins CORE

WATERLOO, Ontario, August 1, 2022—Specialty contact lens innovator Daddi Fadel, DOptom, FSLS, FBCLA, FAAO, FIACLE, will join the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) in September 2022. Dr. Fadel is one of the world’s best known designers and fitters of scleral lenses for irregular cornea and orthokeratology lenses for myopia control. Her appointment as a clinical scientist will advance CORE’s rapidly growing specialty contact lens initiatives.

“For the past two decades, Daddi has built a stellar reputation as a pioneer in modern lens design. Her immense technical expertise, deep clinical experience, and enthusiasm for sharing knowledge among her peers make her an ideal match for our specialty segment work. We’re excited about what this new collaboration will create,” said Dr. Lyndon Jones, CORE’s director.

Dr. Fadel is a frequent lecturer at international symposia, a NCLE-approved course instructor, and has authored multiple peer-reviewed papers. Her books include “Scleral Lens Issues and Complications: Their Recognition, Etiology, and Management” and “Clinical Guide for Scleral Lens Success,” co-written with Dr. Melissa Barnett. She is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contact Lens Research & Science.

She is the founder and head of the European School of Scleral Lenses, founder and past president of Accademia Italiana Lenti Sclerali, and co-founder and president of the Euro & Austral-Asia Scleral Lens Academy. Dr. Fadel serves on boards of the International Forum for Scleral Lens Research and of the International Congress of Scleral Contact and advisory boards for the GP Lens Institute and the International Keratoconus Academy, and holds multiple other specialty association leadership roles.

Dr. Fadel is currently in private practice in Italy. She will relocate to CORE’s facility at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in the coming months.

CORE’s specialty contact lens-related work spans a range of program areas, including design optimization for orthokeratology, scleral lens physiological performance, and the impact of scleral lenses on ocular surface disease and dry eye management.

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About the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE)

The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) – formerly known as the Centre for Contact Lens Research – 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 approximately 50-person 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 CONTACTS:
Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA
McDougall Communications for CORE
mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.434.2150

CORE Publishes Resource on Neuropathic Ocular Pain; Says Increased Understanding Essential to Patient Care

WATERLOO, Ontario, July 6, 2022—In response to fast-emerging clinical interest about neuropathic ocular pain, the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) is taking action to create more understanding of the issue among the global eye care community.

“While most practitioners commonly treat physiological pain, which stems from structural damage or stimuli, they’re often less confident in their abilities to diagnose and address neuropathic ocular pain, which results from nerve signal deficiency or nerve damage,” said Alex Hui, OD, PhD, FAAO, head of BioSciences for CORE. “Greater awareness, understanding, and consideration of neuropathic pain as part of the diagnosis and differential diagnosis process, plus familiarity with options to help patients navigate the challenge, is essential for evolved care.”

In primary eye care settings, neuropathic corneal pain is most commonly observed in patients experiencing dry eye, having herpetic corneal infection, and following kerato-refractive or cataract surgery. While the TFOS DEWS and DEWS II reports have elevated the issue, there is still widespread misinterpretation of neuropathic pain as physiological discomfort.

As part of its efforts to educate practitioners, CORE has dedicated Issue 66 of Contact Lens Update to the issue. The bi-monthly publication is available at no charge by visiting ContactLensUpdate.com.

Anat Galor, staff physician at the Miami VA and associate professor of Ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, along with recent medical school graduate, Sneh Patel, contribute the editorial. The authors provide a systematic overview of neuropathic pain and its manifestation in the eye. A comprehensive summary of the state of the art in respect to the diagnoses and treatment of ocular neuropathic pain rounds off the editorial.

Jessica Steen, assistant professor at Nova Southeastern Univiersity College of Optometry, provides the feature article that highlights a retrospective case-series assessing post-LASIK neuropathic pain. These findings demonstrate the importance of careful patient selection, assessment of risk factors and post-operative evaluation in preventing the development of neuropathic corneal pain in those who undergo LASIK.

Prism Eye Institute’s Richard Maharaj shares his expertise in the form of a clinical insight. A comprehensive case-report outlines the evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of a patient with mild dry-eye and post-LASIK neuropathic pain. Maharaj demonstrates how a thorough assessment, multimodal treatment algorithm, and collaboration between eye care practitioners and other health care providers, results in greatly improved quality of life in those affected by neuropathic ocular pain.

The conference highlight is shared by Pedram Hamrah, interim chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Professor of Ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine. This poster demonstrates the similarity in morphological changes of the corneal nerves in symptomatic and intolerant contact lens wearers, and those with neuropathic corneal pain. The findings from this study suggest a neurosensory component to contact lens discomfort.

The publication receives support from the educational arms of Alcon, Cooper Vision, and Johnson & Johnson Vision.

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MEDIA CONTACTS
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA, McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.545.1815

CORE Study Shows Importance of Rub and Rinse Regimen for Coronavirus Removal from Contact Lens Materials

New Research Published in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye;
Illustrates Differences Between Oxidative and Non-Oxidative Lens Care Systems

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, June 9, 2022—A new study conducted by the University of Waterloo Department of Chemical Engineering and the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has determined that human coronaviruses can easily be removed from contact lens surfaces, although regimen matters depending on the type of lens care solution. Most notably, rub and rinse steps are crucial for non-oxidative systems, while products containing hydrogen peroxide and povidone-iodine removed contaminants through soaking alone.

The impact of a rub and rinse regimen on removal of human coronaviruses from contemporary contact lens materials (Nogueira C, et al) is in press from Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, the peer review journal of the British Contact Lens Association.

While an ocular pathway has not been demonstrated to be a primary route of entry for SARS-CoV-2, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness about physical virus transmission via hands and fingers. However, there has been limited data regarding the attachment of viruses, particularly coronaviruses, across lens materials and the ability of contemporary contact lens care products to inactivate such.

To assess attachment bonds, researchers selected two seasonal human coronaviruses, HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43 as surrogates for SARS-CoV-2, allowing for less pathogenicity while being in the same virus family with similar structures. Eight soft contact lens materials (including silicone hydrogels and hydrogels) and four RGP contact lens base materials (with and without a hydrophilic coating) were contaminated then soaked in a phosphate-buffered saline. Although viral particles were recovered when the lenses were removed from the passive saline soak, no detectable virus remained when the lenses were subjected to a single rinse, double rinse, or rub-and-rinse treatments.

Since a simple saline rinse step alone removed both virus types from all materials, two representative soft lens materials (one hydrogel and one silicone hydrogel) were chosen to evaluate care system efficacy for elimination of HCoV-229E. Investigators selected four representative contact lens care products (two oxidative and two non-oxidative). Both oxidative disinfection systems reduced the number of infectious viral particles that adhered to each material below the limit of quantification through soaking alone. The non-oxidative disinfection systems required a rub and rinse step to do the same.

“Our results indicated that human coronaviruses bind quite loosely to contact lens materials, which should provide peace of mind for the eye care community and wearers, as long as proper care occurs,” said Lyndon Jones, PhD, DSc, FCOptom, a paper co-author and CORE’s director. “Practitioners and manufacturers need to continue emphasizing the importance of following disinfection regimens, especially ensuring that a rub and rise step occurs prior to overnight disinfection when using non-oxidative systems.”

The complete paper and supplementary data are available at no cost from Contact Lens and Anterior eye at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clae.2022.101719. The study was funded by Ophtecs Corp.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA, McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.545.1815

McDougall Communications & CORE Honored for Mask-Associated Dry Eye Work

Rochester, N.Y., May 23, 2022—For the third time in five years, McDougall Communications and the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) have received the global public relations industry’s top campaign honor—a Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award. The latest recognition resulted from efforts to raise awareness among medical professionals and consumers about increases in dry eye symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as identifying steps to alleviate the discomfort.

The 18-month program is credited with drawing widespread attention to a new condition called MADE, or mask-associated dry eye. This initiative spurred more than 2,500 mainstream news reports on six continents, plus broad coverage by ophthalmic industry journalists. Eye care practitioners worldwide rapidly took note and adopted CORE’s guidance, providing much-appreciated patient relief.

A CORE-bylined feature story written as part of the program was also awarded a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation, which are given to the industry’s best tactics.

Since 1944, the Anvil Awards have been presented to organizations that successfully address challenging issues with exemplary professional skill, creativity, and resourcefulness. They are often referred to as the Oscars of the public relations profession, owing to their stringent judging process and candidates from around the world.

McDougall Communications has been awarded multiple Anvils in recent years, spanning a range of clients, programs, and categories. For its work with CORE, the firm received the Silver Anvil in 2018 for a launch of the organization’s new brand, followed by a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation in 2019 for digital innovation. In 2021, the McDougall and CORE received two additional Silver Anvils plus an Award of Excellence for spearheading a worldwide crisis response to COVID-19 misinformation about contact lens wear.

Other 2022 Anvil honorees included St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Delta Airlines, UPS, Royal Caribbean Group, and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office for communications central to its prosecution of Derek Chauvin. The awards were presented on May 19 during a ceremony at Manhattan’s Edison Ballroom.

“It’s a privilege to partner with CORE on some of the timeliest issues in ocular health, helping eye care practitioners and the public gain access to reliable, accurate, and relevant information that affects vision. Congratulations to that incredible team of researchers, clinicians, and educators—and to all of this year’s Anvil winners” said Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA, the firm’s president.

The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) was established in 1988 at the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science. Its basic and applied research collaborations with sponsors, agencies, and academia on advanced biosciences, clinical research and education have been at the heart of prominent eye health advances. The 50-person CORE 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.

McDougall Communications (mcdougallpr.com), founded in 2011, assists clients across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific meet their business objectives through a range of communications services, including strategic planning, media and influencer relations, reputation and crisis counsel, and social media management. It is the most senior standalone public relations and reputation management firm in Upstate New York and its groundbreaking work regularly shapes global communications advancements.

New Contact Lens Update Focuses on Specialty Rigid Lens Developments

WATERLOO, Ontario, May 2, 2022—The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has published Issue 65 of Contact Lens Update, which focuses on the potential benefits of specialty rigid lenses (sclerals and orthokeratology) for the management of complicated cases. The latest edition and all past issues are available for free at ContactLensUpdate.com.

“Eye care practitioners are very comfortable fitting soft contact lenses, yet only about 1 in 10 fits involve rigid specialty lenses. In some cases of severe dry eye, diseased corneas, or post-trauma care, rigid lenses can attain vision or other performance levels that soft lenses simply cannot provide,” said CORE Director Lyndon Jones. “This issue of Contact Lens Update zeroes in on these situations where specialty rigid lenses can prove invaluable for certain patients.”

Maria Walker, assistant professor at the College of Optometry at the University of Houston, writes the opening editorial. She provides a comprehensive review of the potential scleral and orthokeratology (ortho-k) lens use in patients with dry eye and what makes an ideal (and less than ideal) patient for both lens types.

The feature article from Daddi Fadel, a private practitioner and specialty lens fitter from Italy, discusses key findings from a paper investigating the impact of a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based surface treatment on scleral lens comfort in patients with dry eyes. Her insights will help clinicians understand potential benefits that coatings may provide and optimal prescribing situations.

Boris Severinsky, chief of the Specialty Lens Service at the Emory University School of Medicine, recaps his poster presented at a recent American Academy of Optometry meeting. His study shows the benefits of fitting therapeutic scleral lenses to manage ocular surface disease and how valuable they can be in the rehabilitation of patients with a variety of ocular surface complications.

Melanie Frogozo, a private practitioner in San Antonio, Texas, provides an extensive case report complemented by stunning images. She summarizes the use of a scleral contact lens to manage a challenging patient with an extensive persistent epithelial defect (PED) due to neurotrophic keratitis. Her review of the fitting procedure offers a fascinating read of how valuable scleral lenses can be in very complex cases.

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

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MEDIA CONTACTS
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA, McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.545.1815

CORE Expands Specialty Contact Lens Expertise with Appointment of Dr. Rosa Yang

WATERLOO, Ontario, April 19, 2022—The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has appointed Rosa Yang, OD, FAAO, as a clinical research associate, a move that supports the growing use of specialty contact lenses worldwide. Dr. Yang also serves as a clinical instructor at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry & Vision Science and is a practicing optometrist in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Rosa’s work on improving the clinical efficacy of specialty lenses through optimized design and auxiliary technologies—especially for myopia control and visual rehabilitation—is a natural fit with CORE’s growing work in these sectors,” said Dr. Lyndon Jones, CORE’s director.

Dr. Yang’s cornea and contact lens residency at the University of Waterloo focused on managing patients who exhibited corneal ectasia and severe dry eye with specialty contact lenses, as well as myopia control therapies that included orthokeratology. At the 2020 Global Specialty Lens Symposium, she was lead author on the first place poster in the clinical category, Special Considerations in Managing a Patient with Penetrating Trauma Using Gas Permeable Contact Lens.

She is a past recipient of the American Academy of Optometry Sheldon Wechsler Contact Lens Residency Award, recognizing talented optometric residents who demonstrate a passion and commitment to practice, research, and education.

“As specialty lenses become more embedded in mainstream clinical practice, CORE is committed to maintaining our leadership in fundamental and clinical research, in addition to the development of professional educational materials,” said Dr. Jones. “We’re enthusiastic about Dr. Yang enriching our specialty capacity—an important area for CORE that will grow even stronger in the coming months.”

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA
McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.434.2150

Students Around the Globe Use OcuBall’s Polymer-Based Eye Model to Gain ‘Real Feel’ Practice of Foreign Body Removal

Ocuball Eliminates Odor and BioHazards

WATERLOO, Ontario, April 8, 2022—Optometry educators and students in five countries are now using a novel eye model to replace traditional animal-based methods for foreign body removal. OcuBlink, Inc., has shipped its polymer-based eye model, OcuBall, to nearly a dozen colleges and universities in Australia, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United States and United Kingdom.

OcuBall feels like a human eye and simulates a realistic response to embedded foreign bodies, similar to those found in clinical environments. It replaces animal-based methods in optometry training environments while eliminating safety concerns related to handling, disposal and storage of biological tissue.

“There is an immediate ‘wow’ factor when students begin using OcuBalls in our didactic labs,” said Navjit K. Sanghera, OD, FAAO, ocular disease curriculum coordinator and associate professor of optometry at the Illinois College of Optometry, who has been using OcuBalls for three years. “Second year students find the realistic feel helpful in gaining confidence and experience removing foreign bodies. The eyeballs have become a wonderful addition to our curriculum.”

OcuBall comes premade with metal steel particles inserted on the surface of the eye to provide a realistic, safe and inexpensive clinical scenario for the practice of foreign body removal. Over time, the metal pieces can rust and form a typical rust ring, just as they do in the human eye. Use in educational settings helps optometry students practice and gain confidence in the removal of materials from the eye.

Made of a biocompatible polymer-based material, OcuBall eliminates concerns of cross-contamination and biological waste. OcuBall can be stored in saline for several weeks without spoilage and has no odor.

OcuBlink began as an initiative of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) and now operates as an affiliate, utilizing CORE’s staffing, counsel and laboratories. In the fall of 2018, OcuBlink was accepted into Velocity, Canada’s most productive startup incubator. Last year, OcuBlink, Inc., announced its development of a life-like in-vitro eye model that reduces dependence on animal testing to understand the science of the eye.

For more information, visit OcuBlink.com.

Download Images and Video

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About OcuBlink Inc.
OcuBlink develops sophisticated in vitro eye models for ophthalmic companies to accelerate research and development of products for the eye. These include devices for studying anterior and posterior eye disease and contact lens offerings, and its platforms have already been the subject of six conference abstracts and seven papers highlighting the technology. OcuBlink is affiliated with the Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE), based at the School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit OcuBlink.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA
McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838 | mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.434.2150