Apr 2016

Auckland Eye celebrates new look
Auckland Eye celebrated the complete
refurbishment, expansion and
modernisation of its headquarters at the
end of February.
Auckland Eye doctors and new chief executive
Dr David Pendergrast, Arrow’s Mario Cross, Tracey Molloy,
John Kelsey and Nia Stonex
Peter Stoute with Drs Brian Kent-Smith and Hussain Patel
Visionz
With just over six months to go
before New Zealand’s Premier Optical
Event, Visionz 2016 opens its doors, it’s
time to get organised and plan your visit.
We hope 60 exhibitors will commit to Visionz
2016 which is being held in Auckland October
14th - 16th October.
WHERE
Ellerslie Events Centre Ellerslie Auckland.
Newmarket & Pakuranga Hunt Club Rooms
WHEN
Friday 14th October - 9.00am -6.00pm
Saturday 15th October - 9.00am – 6.00pm
Sunday 16th October - 9.30am -1.00pm
2016
2014
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Education is one of the foundation elements of any good industry
exhibition and at Visionz 2016 delegates have the opportunity to earn
CPD and general points. Further details to follow.
FREE ENTRY
There is no charge for admission for all optical practitioners, practice
managers, optical staff or students from the Auckland school of
Optometry to the trade exhibition.
For more Information, please contact: Gary Edgar at nzowa@live.com
Registration details to follow.
GRAND OPENING – 23 SEPT. 2016
Deb Boyd, and the organisation’s former CEO
Moira McInerney—who started the destruction
and construction process, were joined by others
involved in the project, including representatives
from architects Jasmax and construction company
Arrow, a host of optometrists, eye care company
representatives and other special guests. All
were invited to raise a glass to the new building
and celebrate the end of the “noise, dust and
disturbance” of the past several months.
Dr Stephen Best and Dr David Pendergrast
thanked attendees for their patience with their
patients and support during the process, as
the practice moved its clinic from one part of
the building to another to maintain services
throughout the duration of the project.
Today the practice is larger and lighter, with more
consulting rooms, waiting rooms and staff areas; a
better flow between areas; no more leaky building
concerns; and a whole new “less clinical” look and
feel, explained Dr Pendergrast. What was two quite
distinct buildings have now been joined into one,
unified in their design, and related to Auckland Eye’s
Oasis Surgical building, with the same external
cladding, gable angles and through the use of
external metal screens, which modify light entry
and give the building a contemporary design. Dr
Pendergrast joked there had been some arguments
as to what the screens’ design represented. “They
are endothelial cells from my point of view, but
others say they are retinal epithelial cells, but we
are decided they are cells of the eye.”
Silmo Sydney
partners
with NRA
New Australasian optical fair
Silmo Sydney announced it will
include an Independent Retailers
Conference, which will be organised in
partnership with the Australian National
Retail Association (NRA).
“The most successful trade shows are
those which meet the needs of buyers and
match them to sellers. The key is to present
the right mix aligned to a common goal;
it’s all about the balance,” said Gary Fitz-
Roy, managing director of Silmo Sydney
exhibition organisers Expertise Events.
The Independent Retailers Conference
programme will enable practitioners
to pick up valuable retailing ideas that
can have real impact and would not
normally be available to them, said
Fitz-Roy. “Quite often the industry is
so focused on their practices that the
behind-the-scenes every day running
of the business doesn’t get the focus it
should and it’s these aspects that can
greatly affect profitability, such as leases,
law and specific retailing training such as
merchandising.
“Our programme will run on the show
floor and be made up of small concise
sessions and visitors will have the
opportunity to sit one-on-one with NRA
specialists to discuss specifics.”
Phillippa Pitcher, Naomi Meltzer and Dr Sarah Welch
The newly refurbished building is also sustainably
future-proofed with tanks for rainwater collection,
the facility to add solar panels, room to grow and
the ability for the practice to be flexible about how
it uses its new, naturally-lit spaces. “The move to
the reduced paper practice is accelerating, so we
have made sure we have the IT infrastructure to
support this,” said Dr Pendergrast.
The refurbishment also allows space for the
continued growth of Auckland Eye’s research
department, headed by Dr Dean Corbett, while
the increasing number of retinal specialists in the
practice has allowed it to incorporate a dedicated
retinal wing, including a small procedure room.
“Tonight we wanted to say publicly that we are
done and finished and back in business full speed,”
summarised Dr Pendergrast. “And we have got to
the finish line of what I think is an excellent
result.” ▀
In the same announcement, Silmo Sydney
also announced that its official charity will
be the Australian Royal Institute for Deaf
and Blind Children (RIDBC). Funds will be
donated to them from the exhibition and
the organisation will have a presence at
the show. “Children are our future and this
is an extremely worthy cause. More than
1 in 2,500 children in Australia have vision
loss, there has been a 100% increase in
vision-impaired children enrolled in RIDBC
programmes in the last seven years,” said
Fitz-Roy.
“We promised to push the boundaries
and create a world class event that
unites the key market players and adds
value to buyers. The involvement of NRA
certainly adds real value and clout to the
overall event; we are excited by what we
have announced so far, but expect more
exciting announcements soon. We have
only just begun outlining our plans for
SILMO Sydney.”
Fitz-Roy said currently stand bookings
are strong and Expertise Events was
looking forward to hosting the Silmo Paris
organising team in early April when they
come to conduct a site visit of the new
Darling Harbour Centre.
Silmo Sydney is set to take place from
March 9-11. ▀
ACBO runs
basics seminar
Optometrists from around New Zealand
attended a seminar to learn about
integrating behavioural optometry
methods within their existing practice.
Workshop leader Adrian Bell with ABCO member Keith
Miller and CR Surfacing’s Steph Court and Lynton Dodge
The Australian College of Behavioural
Optometrists Kickstarter Seminar on February 21
featured presentations and workshops by Adrian
Bell, a Sunshine Coast-based optometrist with 30
years’ experience in the field.
The course was designed for new ACBO
members or others getting started in Behavioural
Optometry. In addition to a dinner, sponsored by
CR Surfacing, attendees were taken on a step-bystep
look at behavioural examinations, testing,
decision-making and prescribing. It was also a reintroduction
to near retinoscopy, an under-utilised
tool, according to organisers.
“This course is enough to make people start
thinking and prescribing in different ways,” said
Keith Miller, ACBO’s New Zealand director. “It’s
using the tests they’re already doing but looking
at the results in a slightly different manner.
They’re learning new ways and getting a better
understanding of using the retinoscope for
investigating what a person is doing with their
visual system when they’re, say, reading.”
Bell took the group through an afternoon session
that ended in a workshop on the retinoscope.
“Retinoscopy is one of those things that some
people think we don’t need any more. But I will
encourage you to get your ret out, charge it, blow
off the dust, because it’s a great way of observing
vision, in a dynamic sense.”
Bell said the retinoscope provides a dynamic view,
over time, of where patients are focusing and even if
they are paying attention. He also discussed methods
for using the retinoscope with younger patients.
“Remember your refraction is a subjective
test. Retinoscopy is much more objective. You’re
directing attention to a particular place, but you’re
more in control. It’s objective, real-time and it’s
dynamic. The focus moves, the eyes move, the
reflex moves.”
Feedback from the 27 attendees was positive,
said Miller. If optometrists wanted to pursue
behavioural optometry and earn certification,
they can attend additional seminars offered over
the year. March’s Practical Vision Therapy NZ -
Workshop 1 with New Zealand optometrist Evan
Brown was sold out.
“There really are not enough behavioural
optometrists in New Zealand,” Miller said. “With
one-in-five children suffering a vision-related
problem that can interfere with their learning,
there’s a lot that could be done. But if all those
children came to a behavioural optometrist for
examination and vision care, we couldn’t cope.
But [they] aren’t seeking help because they don’t
know; nobody is offering them the appropriate
levels of care.” ▀
REINVENTING BUSINESS.
23> 26 SEPT. 2016
PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE
Conception : CARLIN
SILMOPARIS.COM
Neuro-ophthalmology evening from CVRT
BY DR JESSE GALE*
The first Capital Vision Research
Trust (CVRT) education event for
2016 was themed around neuroophthalmology.
Many optometrists and
ophthalmologists feel less confident dealing
with neuro-ophthalmic complaints because
the cause of the problem is not usually visible
with the slit lamp. The presenters were fellow
Wellington neuro-ophthalmologist Dr Neil
Aburn and myself.
I started with a talk on abnormalities
of the pupil, where I discussed various
physiological and pathological aspects from
the interesting melanopsin ganglion cells,
to tips on examining pupils and measuring
a relative afferent pupil defect (RAPD),
causes of light-near dissociation, and a
number of cases of anisocoria.
Dr Aburn presented on optic neuropathies
with a great range of varied cases to
demonstrate the crucial principles about
how the history guides the differential
diagnosis and investigation. Among
the interesting cases were both the
common and bizarre, from urgent medical
emergencies to gradual inherited problems.
Our sponsor OptiMed made a brief
presentation on the scanning laser
ophthalmoscope called Eidon, which takes
wide-field retinal images without dilation.
I then presented another talk on diplopia,
with cases to illustrate several important
principles and some of the important
patterns to recognise. Cases of monocular
diplopia, cranial nerve palsies, myasthenia
and orbital disease were covered, with
emphasis on red flags. Both Dr Aburn and
I tried to use plenty of case studies and
questions to stimulate thought and draw
feedback from the participants and to
highlight the underlying principles and safety
issues of these challenging presentations.
Other CVRT education event dates for
Wellington in 2016 are: Wednesday April
25, Wednesday August 24 and Thursday
December 1. For more information, please
visit www.capitalvision.org.nz or email
info@capitalvision.org.nz. ▀
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
* Dr Jesse Gale is an ophthalmologist with Capital &
Coast District Health Board and Capital Eye Specialists
in Wellington. He is a new board member at Capital
Vision Research.
8 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS April 2016