News Blinks — November 18, 2016

 News Blinks — November 18, 2016

Here’s a quick look at some industry news you may have missed this week. 

  • Investigators at University College Cork have reportedly found a drug from a contraceptive pill can be used to slow or stop the advancement of Retinitis Pigmentosa.
  • A new study from the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil has found the Zika virus can cause severe damage to the retina in infants.
  • A researcher from the University of Missouri School of Medicine recently presented a study showing patients were 2.5 to 4 times less likely to develop cystoid macular edema when their intraocular eye pressure (IOP) was adjusted after cataract surgery using a tonometer.
  • And researchers at the University of Missouri are reportedly developing a new inexpensive and portable corneal storage system to help solve the global shortage of corneas for transplants.
  • Dr. Stephen McLeod, professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at UC San Francisco, has been appointed editor-in-chief of Ophthalmology, the official journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
  • Fight for Sight and the Thomas Pocklington Trust have partnered to fund research to help improve the diagnosis for patients with brain disorders, which can often cause visual impairment.
  • And Fight for Sight is also teaming up with the Birdshot Uveitis Society to provide grants to researchers in London and Birmingham, U.K., to pioneer studies that could lead to better treatments for birdshot uveitis. 
  • Researchers from Quingdou University of Science and Technology in China have reportedly found microscopic magnetic crystals may be a new option in the future for drug delivery in the body.
  • Lonza’s RAFT™ 3D Cell Culture System is being used to develop corneal models for research to address the current gaps in limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) treatment.
  • ReVision Optics, Inc. has raised $32 million in an equity financing, which will help support expansion of commercialization in the U.S. of the company's Raindrop® Near Vision Inlay for the surgical correction of presbyopia.
  • Bayer and the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) are reportedly teaming up to present the two-day Asia-Pacific Preceptorship Exchange Programme (APEX) to help ophthalmologists share information and best practices regarding the management of retinal diseases.
  • Optotek Medical has received CE mark approval for its OptoSLT Nano, reportedly making it the first selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) machine approved for primary or secondary treatment of raised intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma (see press release below).
  • Gobierno Del Principado de Asturias in Spain has been named a finalist for the HIMSS-Elsevier Digital Healthcare Award for Outstanding ICT Innovation for its tele-ophthalmology service.
  • Canon India Pvt. Ltd. completed four successful years of its flagship CSR initiative "Adopt a Village," which focuses on making an impact in the areas of education, environment and eye care.
  • Global apparel manufacturer and exporter Sae-A Trading Co., Ltd. recently led its fourth medical mission since 2012 to Northern Haiti to provide free medical care to more than 3,0000 local residents, including eye care.
  • June Phyllis Baker, an author in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., has published a new children's book, See-more's Big Adventure, reportedly about a young squirrel who learns how glasses can help him after a visit to his eye doctor.
  • The latest entry into the smart glasses market is coming via Snapchat, who will reportedly be selling them through vending machines. The first such machine, called a Snap Bot, reportedly launched last week in Venice, Calif. And here’s a first look at Snapchat’s new smart glasses.
  • And not to be left out, Apple is reportedly exploring its own digital glasses product.
  • New research from the University of Michigan says teaching kids the basics of medical insurance and preventive care could benefit their long-term health.
  • And for spectacle wearers looking for a love connection, there's now SPEX — reportedly a dating app designed for people who wear glasses.
Click here to read the full press release

Source: Various

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