FORTNIGHTLY UPDATE / 25 Jun 2025

Hello!

For the first time, specialist ophthalmic services provider Optegra has been offering NHS patients a “treble” of cataract care at its eye hospital in Hampshire, UK, comprising drop-free surgery, pre-op consultation and treatment on the same day, and bilateral surgery. Optegra aims to roll out drop-free surgery to all its NHS patients in the UK in the coming weeks.

The Ophthalmologist sat down with Alastair Stuart (pictured above), Optegra Medical Director and consultant ophthalmic surgeon, to discuss the thinking behind this new approach and how it has impacted patients so far.

Read the article here.

Until next time!

Julian Upton, Editor

Essential Reading

Introducing the Lumio
Aston Vision Sciences’s Lumio is a compact anterior eye inspection tool that the company says is applicable in a broad range of clinical environments, including hospitals, clinics, ambulances, domiciliary visits, and military field operations. It comes with a clip-in fluorescein filter, which allows you to perform a fluorescein examination in a variety of settings without the need for a slit lamp. “Our ‘trade secret’ is that we’ve developed the color formula for the fluorescein filter to give a very good performance,” Aston Vision Sciences founder Karl Obszanski tells The New Optometrist. “Even in the low blue-light conditions, you can see what’s going on in the eye very clearly.” Obszanski tells us more about the device here.

The Study

Comparison of IOLS with different depths of field. Findings of a study highlighting the strength and weaknesses of three intraocular lenses (IOLs) – the enhanced range of field Evolux and Tecnis Eyhance, and the narrow range of field Acrysof IQ – “provide valuable information for selecting IOLs based on patient-specific visual requirements in cataract and refractive surgery,” the authors report. Link

Challenges faced by women in optometry in India. Indian study describes several challenges faced by female optometrists in community eye health in India, from the lack of basic facilities to gender bias among peers and a challenging work-life balance. Despite this, the researchers say, women find contributing to community work a “rewarding” experience, “both emotionally and professionally.” Link

The Bulletin Board

Specsavers joins IAPB to advocate for better eye health. Specsavers has joined the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in the global fight against avoidable sight loss. Specsavers’ co-founder, Dame Mary Perkins, explained: “We believe everyone, regardless of their circumstances, deserves access to quality eye health services. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in initiatives like optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans, allowing for early detection of conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma – directly aligning with IAPB’s mission to eliminate preventable blindness.” Link

London clinic to offer AI-powered retinal cardiovascular screening. Hodd Barnes Dickins, Holborn, is expanding its eye exams into “a gateway for cardiovascular health” with the Dr.Noon CVD – an AI-powered technology that assesses potential cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Dr.Noon CVD analyzes retinal vessel images and identifies key indicators linked to cardiovascular health. Link

SpaMedica teams with the Macular Society. SpaMedica has announced a partnership with the Macular Society to help “fund ground-breaking research and vital support services for patients who have been diagnosed with macular disease, including conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), currently the leading cause of sight loss in the UK.” Link

And Finally...

TikTok vision correction? (...rolls eyes)

“Eye gymnastics” is the latest thing creating a big debate on TikTok and Reddit, with influencers and users claiming such exercises can naturally improve eyesight, and some saying they’ve even reduced their glasses prescriptions by multiple diopters.

But, as Leightons Opticians’ Jo Lindley explains, "There is no scientific proof that eye exercises can permanently improve refractive errors like myopia or hyperopia. At best, they may relieve digital eye strain, but they won’t fix nearsightedness or remove the need for glasses.”

Google searches for "eye exercises" have increased by 11 percent in the last quarter. Related terms such as “eye yoga” and “eye gym” have also seen an uptick.

But while some exercises “such as palming, blinking exercises, and the 20-20-20 rule may help with eye fatigue or strain,” Lindley adds, “they won’t change the shape of the eye or correct vision defects like nearsightedness or astigmatism. These conditions are caused by the structure of the eye and require glasses, contacts, or surgery to correct."

This email was sent to by [email protected]. To ensure delivery of emails to your inbox, please add [email protected] to your address book or safe sender list. To view online, please click here

Create or manage your account here
Unsubscribe here

The New Optometrist is a brand of Texere Publishing Limited (trading as Conexiant)

Texere Publishing Limited (trading as Conexiant), with registered number 08113419 whose registered office is at Booths No. 1, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, England, WA16 8GS.