Southampton, United Kingdom, 6 June 2019 — Contact lens manufacturer, CooperVision, recently hosted world renowned guest lecturer, Professor Lyndon Jones from the University of Waterloo in Canada, at its Birmingham event entitled ‘Changing Perspectives, Changing Lives’. The session aimed to help eye care professionals (ECPs) focus on the opportunity contact lenses offer in helping improve the lives of their patients.
Attended by 90 ECPs from across the country, guests had the chance to hear about the recent developments in myopia management, as well as the clinical considerations for using silicone hydrogel material in a daily disposable modality.
The UK event was part of CooperVision’s 2019 International Seminar Series where Professor Jones will tour a number of cities across Europe, including Munich, Warsaw, Stockholm, Prague, Budapest and Nice.
Commenting on its success, Director of Marketing and National Accounts at CooperVision, Mark Draper, said: “We were delighted to be able to bring one of the world leaders in contact lens research and education to UK practitioners. There was a high level of enthusiasm for both presentations on myopia management and clinical considerations pointing to silicone hydrogels as first choice for daily disposable wearers. The accompanying CET workshop on contact lens retention also achieved high levels of engagement.
“When it comes to silicone hydrogels, there is heightened awareness of peripheral oxygen requirements in lens wear and clinical evidence showing hydrogel lenses do not meet the requirement of 33 Dk/t in the periphery. This makes a compelling argument for silicone hydrogels as the first choice for even daily disposable wearer.
Reflecting on the recent developments in myopia management, Draper added: “Myopia management is such an exciting area for eye care practitioners, and will change the paradigm of how we deal with myopia in children. With the simplicity of a daily disposable contact lens practitioners can now offer an intervention to help slow myopia progression and reduce risk of future eye disease, whilst also providing the functional and emotional benefits contact lens bring anyway. Research has shown that if options to slow myopia exist, which they now do, then parents do expect their practitioner to discuss them.”
The event also featured a Q&A panel, alongside a discussion workshop worth three CET points on optimising contact lens aftercare.
“The issue of patients dropping out of contact lens wear is well known. Following up with new wearers in the first few days is vital. Longer term, many patients are left in the same lens materials they were first fitted with several years ago, these may have been fine at the time but lens technology has changed so much in recent years. Daily disposable silicone hydrogels give practitioners a perfect chance to offer something healthy and new that might better meet their patients’ needs for all day wear to help reduce this drop out”, Draper concluded.