iTrack Canaloplasty With 90° Goniotomy

I. Paul Singh, MD

Eyetube

I. Paul Singh, MD, highlights the advantages of the blinking light on the iTrack Advance (Nova Eye Medical) and the power of viscodelivery. The video shows significant blanching just from the viscodelivery, and Dr. Singh performs a 90° goniotomy. Financial disclosure: Consultant (Nova Eye Medical)

The Promise of Drug-Eluting Contact Lenses

The future looks bright for this technology.

Alex Hynes, OD, FAAO

Modern Optometry

Although not yet commercially available in the United States, and with many prototypes still in preclinical study stages, drug-eluting contact lenses may pave the way for a new era of eye care. This article offers a brief overview of the technology and what lenses are in the pipeline. LENS PROS AND CONS As with all things in life, there are pros and cons to drug-eluting contact lenses. Let’s start with the less positive aspects of this treatment modality. Drawbacks Disadvantages to drug-eluting contact lenses include risk of corneal toxicity with long-term wear and discontinuation of wear due to lens discomfort. There are also fears that unhygienic lens handling may lead to infection.1 Issues remain with lens preparation and storage; for example, the fast and simple soaking method of drug loading is limited by poor sustained medication release. Encouragingly, however, several lenses loaded via more complex methodologies allowing more gradual medication release recently moved into clinical studies.2-5 Given the inherent limitations associated with other methods of ocular drug delivery, the potential of drug-eluting lenses is likely not over-exaggerated.5 Advantages Drug-eluting contact lenses may improve patient compliance compared with topical medication use, which is often limited by forgetfulness and poor hand-eye coordination. In a prospective study of patients with glaucoma, 29% could not administer drops into their eyes.6 Reduced drop instillation ability may result in under- or overdosing, which can lead to side effects or treatment inefficacies if patients don’t follow the correct dispensing interval or quantity.7 Contact lenses may also increase treatment efficacy by enhancing drug bioavailability. The medication is eluted into a post-lens tear layer that is partially shielded from blink-induced tear film turnover. This allows longer residence time on the ocular surface.

Why You Should Hire an Associate OD

Welcoming another eye care practitioner to your practice can accelerate practice growth and expand your range of services offered.

Christopher Lopez, OD

Modern Optometry

Running a successful optometry practice is not just about providing top-notch eye care—it’s also about effectively managing the business aspects of your practice. One crucial decision that can have a significant influence on the financial health of an optometry practice is hiring an associate optometrist. Although this may seem like an added expense, at least initially, hiring the right associate can lead to a substantial increase in practice revenue (see How Much Additional Revenue Can I Expect?). This article explores how bringing on an associate OD can benefit your practice’s top—and bottom—lines. How Much Additional Revenue Can I Expect? In my experience, the range of revenue production from an associate optometrist varies drastically. Some generate $600K annually, while others generate upward of $1.5M annually. Practice setting can hinder overall production, to an extent. For example, some ODs in an OD/MD setting only generate $450K annually, but if a large portion of their workload is managing postoperative care, that may be a reasonable amount. We have other colleagues who work in sublease locations, in which optical sales do not count toward their production, so their revenue generation is based entirely on professional services and nonoptical sales.