EyeWorld Asia-Pacific June 2011 Issue

50 EW NEWS & OPINION June 2011 As clinicians continue to learn more about the ocular surface, how to better treat and diagnose issues with the surface is taking center stage, and new screening devices are helping. Herb Kaufman, MD, professor of ophthalmology, School of Medicine at New Orleans, Louisiana State University, La., USA, described a Rapid Pathogen Screening (Sarasota, Fla., USA) test to determine whether a patient has elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinase, which until recently has been next to impossible to measure, he said. A high-resolution 3D ultrasonic system (Vevo 2100, VisualSonics, Toronto, Canada) “makes it possible to see lesions located behind the iris involving the ciliary body, choroid, retina, or position of the IOL or foreign body inside the eye”, said Gholam A. Peyman, MD, director, vitreoretinal service, University of Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Ariz., USA. Finally, Henry Edelhauser, PhD, discussed microneedles that are able to deliver 50- 150 microliters into the suprachoroidal space to serve as a route for targeted retinal drug delivery with biodegradable microbeads and microbubbles for the treatment of various retinal disease. When compared to intravitreal injections of triamcinolone acetate, 63% remained in the vitreous while 77.6% remained in the suprachoroidal space. Dr. Lindstrom closed the Innovators Session with his 2011 Charles D. Kelman Innovator’s Lecture, “Thoughts on the ophthalmologist’s role in education and innovation.” An admitted proponent of collaboration between industry and physicians, Dr. Lindstrom stressed that 92% of companies fail in the US before they reach commercialization stages. Attempting to eliminate so- called conflicts of interest is not realistic, he said. “I am supportive of some of the new recommendations for transparency and disclosure,” he said, and cited Harvard University’s policy that encourages collaborative efforts. “There’s a negative impact CALENDAR OF MEETINGS 2011 DATE MEETING VENUE August 13-18 ESASO Asia Singapore Campus-Third Module on Cataract Diseases cindy.lee@esaso.org Singapore August 20-24 29 th American Society of Retina Specialists www.asrs.org Boston, USA September 17-21 XXIX Congress of the ESCRS www.escrs.org Vienna, Austria September 29 – October 2 Indonesian Ophthalmology Association Manado, Indonesia October 13-16 24 th APACRS Annual Meeting in conjunction with 2011 KSCRS Symposium www.2011apacrs.org Seoul, Korea October 22-25 Annual Meeting of American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) www.aao.org Orlando, USA November 17-19 Australasia Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (AUSCRS) www.auscrs.org.au Canberra, Australia November 19-21 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) Annual General Meeting and Scientific Congress www.ranzco.edu Canberra, Australia to science if you take every innovator and consultant off the podium.” The scientific program included a rapid-fire Combined Symposium of Cataract & Refractive Societies (CSCRS). The ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress ran from 25 to 29 March 2011, and was held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif., USA. EW Editors’ note: Dr. Bille has financial interests in Aaren Scientific (Ontario, Calif.) and Heidelberg Engineering (Vista, Calif.). Dr. Edelhauser has financial interests in GlaxoSmithKline (Middlesex, U.K.), LensAR (Winter Park, Fla.), and Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Fabian has financial interests in Abbott Medical Optics (AMO, Santa Ana, Calif.) and Carl Zeiss Meditec (Dublin, Calif.). Dr. Kaufman has a financial interest in Rapid Pathogen Screening. Dr. Lindstrom is a consultant to industry. Dr. Olson has financial interests in Advanced Refractive Technologies (San Clemente, Calif.). Dr. Peyman has no financial interests. Dr. Abhay Vasavada delivers the 2011 Binkhorst Lecture Source: xxxxxx ASCRS•ASOA continued from page 49