Catch up with what Optometry Times shared this week:

Ring-IT facilitates eye drop adherence in visually impaired patients, study suggests

By Lynda Charters

A novel tactile 3-dimensional bottle ring adaptor, Ring-IT, developed to improve the identification and dosing frequency of eye drops for low-vision patients, was found to be efficacious in this patient population, according to first author Praveena K Gupta, PhD. She is associate professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston.

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AOA 2024: Fitting multifocal contact lenses like a pro

By Kurt Moody, OD, FAAO; Shane Kannarr, OD; Emily Kaiser Maharjan, Assistant Managing Editor; and Jordana Joy, Associate Editor

Kurt Moody, OD, FAAO, Director of Professional Education for Johnson and Johnson Vision, and Shane Kannarr, OD, of Kannarr Eye Care discuss their approach to fitting soft multifocal contact lenses at the 2024 AOA meeting in Nashville, Tennesse. They emphasize the importance of accurate refraction, using a red-green balance, determining ocular dominance with the sensory method, and selecting the appropriate add based on age norms.

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Tear evaporation plays role in dry eye disease

By Mile Brujic, OD, FAAO

Dry eye is a common disease. National statistics suggest that anywhere from 5% to 15% of the general population has some form of dry eye disease. These are simply estimates; it is very likely that the incidence of dry eye is greatly underestimated.

Of those living with dry eye, approximately 9 in 10 are experiencing evaporative dry eye. If not addressed, excessive tear evaporation may lead to worsening of the condition. It can trigger a cycle of inflammation and ocular surface damage that is not only painful but expensive; the annual cost of dry eye to the US economy was estimated at approximately $55 billion.

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AOA 2024: New wave thinking on wavefront guided contact lenses

By Clark Y. Chang, OD, MSA, MSc, FAAO, and Jordana Joy, Associate Editor

The art of scleral lens fitting is coupled with a patient's patience as they neuro-adapt, according to Clark Chang, OD, MSA, MSc, FAAO. He outlines techniques and tips for fitting scleral lenses to a variety of patients in his AOA Optometry's Meeting talk on wavefront guided contact lenses.

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To retina and beyond: What lies beneath

By Jim Williamson, OD, FAAO, FORS

The retina plays the leading role when clinicians are viewing optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. However, the choroid is often left out of the credits—a baffling oversight since this structure receives up to 85% of ophthalmic artery flow vs a measly 5% for the star of the show. So why the disparity?

The choroid’s main responsibility is to supply nutrients and oxygen to the outer retina, where the highly metabolically active photoreceptors lie, and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This is no small task. When compared with the macula, only the kidney receives more blood flow per unit weight. With this in mind, this structure demands our attention.

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