Essilor gives new direction to innovation by Rokesh Adikesavan November 08, 2011

Launches ‘Optifog’ coating – The new technology against fog

7^th November 2011, Chennai: Optifog, an innovative anti-fogging coating has been launched in the Indian market by Essilor, the leading spectacle lens manufacturer. Market leader Essilor known for having revolutionized the Indian ophthalmic industry with its products announced ‘Optifog’ coating as its latest offering with a unique feature that prevents eyeglasses from fogging up.

Optifog coated lenses are a breakthrough product with a special hydrophilic lens coating which gets activated with a special Essilor Anti fog solution that keeps the lens from fogging up and provides clear vision. This Optifog coated lens is meant for people living in places with humidity, fog prone professions and sports and other such indoor & outdoor activities.

According to research 75% of spectacle wearers would welcome an anti fog solution for improved comfort and vision for their daily life. The number of spectacle wearers afflicted with a fogging problem is estimated at 1,5 billion worldwide – so this is truly a much awaited innovation.

The launch of Optifog continues Essilor’s long tradition of innovation which lies at the heart of it’s strategy.

These lenses are available across the country with all leading opticians.

About Essilor

Essilor India is a 100% subsidiary of Essilor International. The Company through its excellent services, quality products and a wide network of distributors and franchise labs has been able to revolutionize the Indian ophthalmic lens market and cause a shift from the predominant glass lenses to the safer and more superior plastic lenses. Essilor Lenses- Varilux® range of Progressive Lenses, Crizal® Hard Multicoated Lenses and Titus™ Hard Coated Lenses are available across the country with all leading opticians.

Technology in action

With every passing year, the Technology Practice of the Year Award attracts entries showing the very latest cutting edge instrumentation in practices up and down the land. If the award was judged simply on the amount and quality of instrumentation, then selecting a winner from the entries would be almost impossible. Instead, our judges rely not only on descriptions of what technology is in use, but also on evidence, either in the form of testimonials or case studies, of its use, and any novel or individual way in which the technology may be employed for the greater good.
This year, judges were unanimous in choosing Zeidan Eyecare Centre in Tamworth as the winner. As well as incorporating a wide range of the latest technology, the practice showed evidence of how it benefits patients and improves management by linking with other professionals. It is also able to use the equipment to offer seminars and workshops to help teach and train other practitioners.
Pedigree
Chaaban Zeidan moved to the UK from the Lebanon aged 17 and went on to study optometry in the 1970s, eventually setting up the eponymous eye centre in the shadow of Tamworth Castle. He is no stranger to awards, having already received 16 previous national awards in business, customer service and 'innovation and technology'. Zeidan is also known to many for introducing in the early 1990s a novel method of screening children for vision problems, as one of the original proponents of the ChromaGen contact lens to aid with colour perception. A postgraduate Diploma in Ocular Therapeutics and Independent Prescriber qualifications then followed. Alongside clinical posts at Birmingham Focus and hospital optometry departments in Tamworth and Litchfield, Zeidan has also found time for teaching and training responsibilities at Nottingham College and Healthtalk UK. Perhaps it is not surprising then to find that the Zeidan Eyecare Centre has boasted didactic as well as clinical services over recent years.
Eyecare Centre
The practice boasts the very latest in technology, with each of the three consulting rooms containing slit-lamp imaging systems, retinal cameras and the latest Humphrey VFAs. As Zeidan explains 'at the core of our technology is our semi-paperless computerised record system' which is designed to fully integrate data from each of the rooms. Topography is also undertaken, both for contact lens fitting, and for corneal health assessments and pre- and post-laser treatment monitoring. Zeidan also describes 'a proud moment' when the Optovue iVue SD OCT was installed, allowing retinal cross-sections to be imaged to aid diagnosis and also importantly to help patients understand their eyes, something he thinks is most important.
Local GPs and ophthalmologists in Staffordshire now request assessments (including OCT) for their patients with age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes and so on. Glaucoma suspects also have pachymetry carried out, both ultrasonic and OCT. There is also a hand-held autorefractor (the RetinoMax) which is particularly useful for screening young children and those with significant learning difficulties.
Zeidan is an advocate of 'e-ophthalmology' or telemedicine, and regularly sends and receives clinical data, comparing thoughts and notes with other professionals to help decide the correct diagnosis and management. Also, the centre can offer the very latest in electronic low vision aids alongside the more traditional, as part of its popular low vision service. Zeidan Eyecare Centre is also the first and only eye care centre to offer the IOL VIP system for the enhancement of vision in a number of eye diseases. The practice is also a centre for training courses and a visit to its website includes a whole host of useful teaching material and details of research undertaken.
Zeidan believes optometrists offer an important professional clinical service and is most up front about transparency of fees for every professional service offered. 'We do not compound charges on products to compensate for our fees,' he states. ●

Optician news in brief

A revised version of the Efron Grading Scales for contact lens complications has been published by Johnson & Johnson under the name The Vision Care Institute Clinical Assessment Guide. Originator Professor Nathan Efron welcomed the revisions, which include information on slit-lamp illumination techniques, staining and lid assessment, corneal inflammation and assessment and signs of oxygen deficiency.

Around 350 designer frames and cases have been stolen from an optical practice after burglars broke through a barred window. The thieves took Silhouette, Boz, Gucci, Elle, Ted Baker, Armani and Givenchy branded goods from Colin Lee Opticians in Lichfield, Staffordshire during the weekend of October 15/16. Practices in the area suspiciously offered frames or sunglasses are urged to contact Staffordshire Police officer PC Coleman on 07854 775363, quoting crime reference FR/69384/11.

A strong association has been found in India between depleted vitamin C levels and cataract development. A study published in this month's Ophthalmology Journal looked at a random sample of over 5,500 villagers in north and south India. Each had a blood test and their lenses photographed. There was a strong inverse association between cataract and serum vitamin C levels. The researchers also found an inverse association, though not to the same degree, between cataract and lutein, zeaxanthin and retinol.
The British Orthokeratology Society will be closed following the formation of a new association. UK practitioners have been urged to join the European Academy of Orthokeratology (EurOK) instead, which has become part of the International Academy of Orthokeratology (IAO). EurOK fees for the first year until December 2012 will be €150, but the British Orthokeratology Society has offered 24 bursaries of £100 each to the first 24 UK practitioners to join.