Feb 2018

THE MAGAZINE FOR NEW ZEALAND’S OPHTHALMIC COMMUNITY 

PO BOX 106 954, AUCKLAND CITY 1143 

Email: info@nzoptics.co.nz Website: www.nzoptics.co.nz 

FEBRUARY 2018 

You can grow your 

business with Optomism ® . 

That’s our promise. 

Live Brightly.

The future of digital 

customer engagement 

is now 

Do you want a cost-effective 

technology that helps you compete 

with corporate optometry? 

Would you like to maximise your 

availability with new customers? 

Does reducing the daily call load 

for your receptionists sound good? 

How about improving practice 

efficiency with a fully integrated 

recall and reminder system? 

Welcome to 

2 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS February 2018

MyHealth1st, the 1st online healthcare 

platform exclusively designed to 

support independent optometrists, 

is officially coming to New Zealand 

These days you can do most things online, 

like organising a holiday or searching for a 

new job, so why should booking an optometry 

appointment be any different? Thanks to 

MyHealth1st, that’s possible 24 hours a day, 

7 days a week from any digital device. 

We’re focused on revolutionising your 

customer engagement 

MyHealth1st’s smart technology provides an 

effective and economical way for independent 

practices to compete with corporate optometry 

by attracting new customers while still 

retaining the existing. 

We’re now the leading directory 

1 st for independent optometrists! 

The platform facilitates the connection, 

engagement and management of the entire 

booking journey so you and your staff can 

spend less time fielding phone calls and 

chasing up recalls, and more valuable time 

focusing on customer care. 

With more than six million online appointments 

made via MyHealth1st across NZ, Australia 

and beyond, it’s obvious the future is digital. 

What are you waiting for? Find out more at 

myhealth1st.co.nz/optometry 

An event to see your practice grow 

Join us at your nearest launch event to see how MyHealth1st’s comprehensive digital customer 

engagement platform can help your practice compete with corporate optometry. 

RSVP now for our March events at: 

myhealth1st.co.nz/optometryevents 

February 2018 

NEW ZEALAND OPTICS 

3

OPEN TO ALL 

OPTICAL 

PROFESSIONALS! 

THE ULTIMATE PATHWAY TO 

ACHIEVING YOUR AMBITION 

CALLING ALL EXPERIENCED OPTOMETRISTS, OPTICAL 

DISPENSERS AND RETAIL MANAGERS 

In the last ten years, we have opened more than 375 current stores across Australia and New Zealand, 

creating business ownership opportunities in every store – with at least one optometry partner and one 

dispensing partner in every location being the standard Specsavers recipe for success. 

Now, as our network of locations grows and as individual stores continue to 

expand, a greater number of partnership roles are being created, while some of 

our longer-term partners are in succession-planning mode. And that all adds up 

to one thing: opportunity. 

So, if you are an experienced and ambitious optometrist, dispenser or store 

manager and you are thinking of taking the next step – towards business 

ownership – we would like to talk to you about how we can help you turn that 

opportunity into a partnership role with Specsavers. 

Our Pathway program has established a well-travelled route that, partner by 

partner, delivers exactly that. It’s an intensive six-month development program 

that adds much-needed business management and development skills to 

participants’ clinical, dispensing or retail skills. In short, Pathway’s job is to set up 

future store-owners for success. 

So, whether you currently work for Specsavers or have built an impressive 

career elsewhere, we’d love to talk to you about the Pathway to your future. 

Please contact Kimberley Hannan on +61 429 566 846 or at kimberley.hannan@specsavers.com for a confidential discussion. 

Voted by New Zealanders 

Reader’s Digest 

Quality Service 

Award 

2017 

Best Talent 

Development 

Program 

2017 

Best Customer 

Service in NZ 

Optometry 

2017 

Millward Brown 

Research 

No.1 for eye tests 

2016 

Excellence in 

Marketing 

Award 

2016 

Retail 

Store Design 

Award 

2016 

Retail 

Employer 

of the Year 

2015 

Overall 

National 

Supreme Winner 

2015 

Franchise 

Innovation 

Award 

2015 

NZ Franchise 

System of 

the Year 

2014 

Retail 

Innovator 

of the Year 

2014 


Visique evolves for independence 

BY LESLEY SPRINGALL 

Visique has evolved into the Independent 

Optometry Group, a “fiercely independent 

group” designed to support and grow the 

wealth of its independent members in these 

changing times, says Neil Human, formerly 

Visique, now the Independent Optometry Group 

chief executive. 

Formed in 2009, Visique as a group has always 

been hampered by its member requirement to 

use the Visique name, says Human, but that’s 

now gone. The newly launched Independent 

Optometry Group (IOG) is a true 100%-owned 

and run cooperative, he says. “Any independent 

practice can join and become a shareholder and 

continue to trade under their existing name. 

The cooperative company is wholly-owned by its 

shareholder members, so they have a vote and 

say in determining the company’s direction.” 

The new group is about keeping independent 

optometry practices, independent, while 

helping them grow by providing them with 

business support and greater buying power, says 

Human pointing out how the group’s new logo 

embraces the idea of an individual, supported 

within a group. “Autonomy in decision-making 

for practices is paramount. Members drive their 

businesses as they determine, but can leverage 

the collective strength and knowledge that 

comes with our group.” 

The most exciting part of this evolutionary 

journey is that this is not change for change’s 

sake, he adds. “This is change to have a thriving, 

independent sector. We want to be part and 

parcel of a thriving independent optometry 

sector. For a long time, independents have 

thought they didn’t have the muscle to operate 

against the corporates, but they do, they 

absolutely do. The actual revenue growth of 

our members over the past couple of years 

shows you can run your own business, pool your 

strengths and succeed very strongly against the 

corporate muscle.” 

The decision to actually change to the 

Independent Optometry Group (IOG) was made 

last year and was primarily driven by the growing 

consolidation and corporatisation in the market, 

says Human. “At a global 

level, there are a number 

of strategic shifts taking 

place. To maintain and grow, 

independents need to work 

together.” 

The proposed changes 

were put forward to Visique’s 

current membership, 

encompassing 49 practices, 

at its AGM last November 

and were fully supported, 

he says, with no one leaving 

the new group. Current 

Visique members can choose 

whether to keep or lose the 

Visique name, he says. “It’s 

completely up to them.” 

The IOG will continue to 

be supported by a small 

central team, based in 

Auckland, comprising Human, marketing and 

customer experience strategist, Melissa Green, 

and finance and insurance administrator, Bala 

Prasad. They will be guided by members through 

the company’s board, currently comprising 

independent chair, Brian Rosenberg, and two 

member directors, Vanessa Cumming and Jagrut 

Lallu. 

In return for an annual fee, IOG members will 

receive: 

• Supply chain benefits for frames, lenses, 

contact lenses and accessories etc. 

• Business services, such as marketing and 

practice management tools, data analytics, SaaS 

benchmarking systems and mentoring/training 

• Corporate contracts for insurance, Ministry of 

Social Development (MSD) and the cooperative 

sector 

• Plus, other projects, still in the planning stage 

Currently the group has supply contracts with 

nine frame suppliers, one lens company, though 

it’s in discussions with others, plus a number 

of other suppliers, all of whom will be assessed 

on a regular basis. “There will be choice for 

members and we will only select suppliers our 

members want to work with,” says Human. 

Members will be expected to support the 

Melissa Green and Neil Human supporting the newly launched Independent Optometry Group 

group’s strategic suppliers, not exclusively, but 

significantly as that is where the greatest value 

lies for them from a cost perspective, he says. 

Another membership benefit, often 

underestimated, is the business services the 

group can offer, says Human. “Most of us are 

time poor. Our business advisory services are 

directed at giving members dedicated time and 

a structure to work on their business as many 

can get stuck just working in their business.” 

Human and his team hope to build awareness 

about the membership benefits of the new 

group over the next several months with the 

aim of doubling the group’s member base 

within two years. 

“It is very exciting,” he says. “It’s about 

independents working more closely with each 

other to secure their future. That’s why, in 

Australia, ProVision and Eyecare Plus are doing 

very well. Independents can succeed, but they 

will do that best by working collectively and 

cooperatively.” ▀ 

New 

beginnings 

EDITORIAL 

Our first issue of the New Year is straining at 

the seams, packed with news, views and 

experiences from our exciting optometry and 

ophthalmology world. 

There’s exciting news about Visique’s evolution, or 

should that be revolution (this page), and 1stGroup’s 

launch in New Zealand after taking Australia’s 

independent optometry market by storm. All 

independent optometry practice owners and managers, 

and anyone who aspires to run their own practice, 

should have received an invitation to attend one of 

1stGroup’s presentations in either Auckland, Wellington 

or Christchurch by now. But, if you haven’t, check out 

the story on p6 and ad on p2-3 to find out more. 

In this issue, we’re also lucky to be able to share the 

incredible experiences of one patient with Charles 

Bonnet Syndrome (p8), which has lessons for us all; 

a new New Zealand eco-frames designer (p10); and 

the Irlen Institute, about this oft maligned syndrome, 

which is now gaining in acceptance and understanding 

(Chalkeyes, p25). 

There’s a special thanks to all the Special Olympics’ 

volunteers who gave up their time to test the eye health 

of some of New Zealand’s most important, but often 

forgotten citizens (p14); we provide impetus for a New 

Year resolution with our first feature on nutrition and 

its importance to eye health (p16-18); we share our 

reader’s volunteering experiences with Eyes for Everest 

(p12), Orbis (p20) and VOSO (p26). Plus, Dr Jina Han 

tells us why the new Review of Ophthalmology is one 

of her favourite textbooks (p20), Dr Philip Polkinghorne 

shares his time at the Asia Pacific Vitreo-retina Society 

Congress (p21) and US writer Courtney Elder looks at 

why metal is back (p24). 

Then there’s mysterious teaser ad below – what could 

that be? We’re sworn to secrecy, but all will be revealed 

in subsequent 

issues of NZ 

Optics. Happy 

New Year! 

Lesley Springall, editor, NZ Optics 

Professor Dipika Patel 

The University of Auckland has promoted Dipika 

Patel from associate professor to full professor in 

the Department of Ophthalmology, effective from 

1 February, this year. Promotion to professor is a mark of 

distinction, recognising an individual’s professional and 

academic achievements at an international level. 

“I am thrilled to join the eminent team of professors 

at the Department of Ophthalmology,” said Prof 

Patel. “This is a great accolade for both myself and the 

department. I am fortunate to have worked with a 

fantastic team of talented people along the way and, 

in particular, I would like to thank Professor Charles 

McGhee for his mentorship and unwavering support.” 

Prof Patel’s research interests centre on a series 

of inter-related themes including ocular imaging, 

keratoconus and corneal dystrophies, microbial keratitis, 

corneal transplantation, and corneal stem cells. She is 

also joint series editor with Prof McGhee for the popular 

Eye on Ophthalmology series in NZ Optics. ▀ 

Professor Dipika Patel 

OTC update 

Registration is open for the 2018 Ocular 

Therapeutics Conference. The conference 

will be held on Sunday 11 March at the 

Waipuna Conference Centre in Auckland and 

promises to be even bigger and better than last 

year’s successful inaugural conference. 

This year’s conference includes a special session 

on dry eye and 

the outcomes of 

the TFOS’ second 

dry eye workshop 

(DEWS II) from the 

workshop’s vice 

chair, Associate 

Professor Jennifer 

Craig, plus 

presentations 

on prescribing, 

drug interactions 

and side effects, 

therapeutics for 

Dr Ilva Rupenthal 

posterior segment 

diseases and anterior segment therapeutics. 

A wide range of exciting topics will be covered 

in several 12-minute, rapid-fire sessions and 

interactive panel discussions, says Dr Ilva 

Rupenthal, head of the Buchanan Ocular 

Therapeutics Unit (BOTU) at the Unversity of 

Auckland, which is organising the conference. 

“All of these topics will not only enhance 

your everyday practice but will also offer an 

opportunity to apply for a full day of clinical 

diagnosis and enhancement points.” 

For more information or to register, keep an eye 

on your in-boxes or visit: https://www.regonline. 

com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1969349 



5

News 

in brief 

NZ STUDENT DEVELOPS CLS FOR EPILEPSY 

Inspired by a close friend, University 

of Canterbury student Logan 

Williams has invented 3D-printed 

polarised contact lenses (CLs) to 

address photosensitive epilepsy. 

William’s CLs, called Polar Optics, 

work by refracting the light entering 

the sufferer’s vision and dampening Logan Williams 

its intensity, giving wearers vital 

seconds to close their eyes, he said. Williams is working on a wearable 

prototype, which he hopes to commercialise. 

OPTOMETRY AUSTRALIA PARTNERS SILMO SYDNEY 

Optometry Australia, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2018, 

has agreed to partner with and hold workshops at Silmo Sydney 

due to its strong focus on innovation and future planning, said CEO 

Lyn Brodie. “Silmo Sydney 2018 will feature a full-scale, interactive 

practice of the future… which supports Optometry Australia’s goal to 

gain deeper insights into emerging trends.” Silmo Sydney 2018 will be 

held in Sydney from 20-22 July this year. 

PILL TRACKS COMPLIANCE? 

The FDA has approved a pill with a sensor that digitally tracks if 

patients have ingested their medication. Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole 

tablets with sensor) have an ingestible sensor embedded that records 

that the medication was taken, sending a message to a wearable 

patch linked to mobile devices so patients, and their caregivers, 

can track ingestion. The product is approved for the treatment of 

schizophrenia and other mental disorders, but paves the way for other 

medications to include digital sensors. 

BLIND FOOTY GOES GLOBAL 

The International Blind Sports 

Federation (IBSA) has announced 

the first ever Blind Football 

World Grand Prix. The brainchild 

of the Japanese Blind Football 

Association, the first event will 

take place in Tokyo from 18-25 

March 2018, which organisers 

Blind football, growing in popularity 

hope will build interest among 

sponsors and spectators in the sport for the 2020 Paralympic Games. 

In response, Blind Sports Australia (BSA) has established the Australian 

Blind Football (ABF) programme, naming inaugural squads (blind and 

partially sighted) at the end of last year. 

FLINDERS TACKLES GENETICS FOR GLAUCOMA 

The Australian National Health 

and Medical Research Council 

(NHMRC) has awarded an A$9.46 

million grant to Flinders University’s 

Ophthalmology Eye and Vision 

Clinic team to help convert genetic 

discoveries in primary open angle 

glaucoma into new clinical practices. 

The five-year programme, led by 

Flinders’ Professor Jamie Craig 

Flinders Professor of Ophthalmology 

Jamie Craig, will use CRISPR/Cas editing and next-generation gene 

sequencing approaches and run the world’s only DNA bank of patients 

to understand advanced glaucoma genetics. 

DRUG IMPLANT TREATS GLAUCOMA 

Recognising the need for a drug 

delivery method that reduces patient 

inconsistency, researchers at the 

University of California San Francisco 

(UCSF) have engineered a drug delivery 

device that slowly releases glaucoma 

medication, inside the eye for over six 

months before dissolving away. The 

implant, described as a “sandwich” of 

biodegradable films surrounding an antiglaucoma 

drug, successfully reduced eye 

The new biodegradable inplant 

pressure in animals over 24 weeks, reported team leader Dr Tejal Desai. 

PORTABLE GLUE FOR EYE EMERGENCIES 

University of Southern California (USC) scientists have developed a 

hydrogel and special syringe that can quickly seal eye injuries on the 

battlefield or in emergency situations. The reversible, temperaturesensitive, 

temporary gel seal changes from a fluid to a super-strong 

semi-solid when applied to the eye and can be removed by adding 

cool water once the patient reaches hospital. It’s very simple to use — 

almost like caulking a bathroom seal,” said study co-author Assistant 

Professor John Whalen. Human trials are scheduled for 2019. 

KIWI DRIVERS’ VISION PROBLEMS 

Research reveals almost half (42%) of all Kiwi drivers over 18 

experience vision difficulties on the road. Vision difficulties 

highlighted include reading road signs, blurred vision, strain, 

headaches or dizziness and squinting. The research, conducted by 

Specsavers as part of its promotion for AA members, also revealed 

people don’t realise how their vision changes over time and, 

worryingly, that 27.5% think travelling a short distance without 

wearing their glasses is ok, said Roger Venn, AA Driving School GM. 

1stGroup launches in NZ 

BY ELLA EWENS 

1stGroup, an ASX-listed 

software provider, has 

taken Australia by storm, 

capturing 60% of the independent 

optometry market in a couple of 

years. Now it’s planning to roll 

out its unique, socially-integrated 

practice support platform in New 

Zealand. 

Independent optometrists 

across the country are being 

invited to attend presentations 

in March in Auckland, Wellington 

and Christchurch* so 1stGroup 

can explain its point-of-difference 

and why it managed to expand so 

1stGroup managing director, Klaus Bartosch 

quickly in Australia. 

Managing director Klaus Bartosch says he’s excited to bring this 

technology to New Zealand as it significantly reduces administrative 

work for optometry practice staff, makes it simpler and easier for the 

patient to interact with the practice, improves the patient experience 

and drives new patients into optometry businesses. 

According to 1stGroup’s research, patients are increasingly 

engaging with healthcare services online and it is estimated that 

50% of patients now book their appointments online, including new 

patients. The company’s software platform, MyHealth1st includes 

an online appointment booking system, designed to make it simpler 

and easier for patients to interact with practices; EasyRecall, to 

maintain the connection to patients; and EasyFeeback for tailored 

patient surveys. Using the MyHealth1st platform, patients can book 

appointments 24/7, in real time via the practice’s own website, 

Facebook or blog page. The software is also fully-integrated with 

many practice management systems, including Sunnix Vision and 

Optimate, says Bartosch. 

“There are huge opportunities for optometry practices to broaden their 

business using 1stGroups’s suite of digital patient engagement products 

such as EasyRecall and EasyFeeback. 80% of patients don’t come back to 

the same practice, but EasyRecall encourages loyalty and helps improve 

the customer experience so they do come back. This automated and 

integrated system simplifies and tracks recalls. It also sends patients a 

first notice and further notices to those that did not attend.” 

1stGroup is all about independent optometry, says Bartosch, 

providing independents with the software tools they need to better 

compete. “We love working with independent optometry. We want 

to level the playing field by providing independents with simpler 

and better tools, allowing them to be more efficient and effectively 

compete with the corporate market. Independent optometrists 

in New Zealand are savvy business people and will embrace this 

software. We have had tremendous customer feedback so far.” 

The MyHealth1st booking system has already been rolled out 

across 20 practices in New Zealand and the aim is to extend this to a 

further 100 practices by the end of the year, says Bartosch. 

Visualeyez boutique optometrists in Whangarei is one of the first 

New Zealand practices to use 1stGroup’s software and director 

Younger’s new 

chameleon effect 

Younger Optics has launched 

NuPolar Infinite, a prescription, grey, 

polarised, photochromic sun lens 

that automatically reacts to changing light 

conditions, varying between a light grey 60% 

tint to dark grey 91% tint. 

Younger is promoting the launch with a 

new campaign featuring a chameleon, which 

has two layers of cells under its skin loaded 

with tiny nanocrystals. Chameleons can 

instinctively expand and reduce the distance 

between these nanocrystals to reflect different 

coloured light, lightening or darkening their 

skin colour in just a few seconds allowing them 

to adapt to their environment. 

Like the chameleon, NuPolar Infinite is 

the master of adaptability and versatility 

by naturally responding to changes in light 

conditions, said Craig Johnston, Younger 

Optics ANZ sales and marketing manager. 

www.nzoptics.co.nz | PO Box 106954, Auckland 1143 | New Zealand 

“This is a very exciting product release for us 

because it’s the lens customers have been 

asking us to create for years. Finally, we have 

a photochromic sun lens utilising NuPolar 

polarisation technology in the most popular 

lens colour, grey.” 

The NuPolar Infinite campaign builds on 

the successful branding refresh for NuPolar 

in 2017, which demonstrated the power of 

polarised vision using the dragonfly. 

To support practices in-store, free NuPolar 

Infinite point-of-sale (POS) is available 

including a window poster, window decal 

to add depth and interest to the window 

poster and a counter card. The NuPolar 

patient brochure has been updated to include 

NuPolar Infinite. Practices can also order 

social media content and digital advertising. 

NuPolar Infinite is available in hard resin 1.50 

initially, in a prescription range of -8.50 to 

and dispensing optician, Craig Robertson, admits he’s a fan. “I find 

the software excellent (and) user-friendly. Once you’ve set it up, it 

maintains itself. It links live and directly to the Optimate software, 

which is great. You can see the appointment roster and when it’s free. 

It’s just effortless. Especially for the younger generation who want to 

book online. It’s really working well.” 

Robertson says he’s noticed an increase in new patients recently 

and believes that’s also partly due to his new booking system as it 

makes it so easy for new patients to go from Googling for a practice 

to reaching out and contacting you. 

1stGroup is also partnering with contact lens company Alcon on 

a campaign to encourage more contact lens (CL) wearers by using 

marketing touch points to educate patients about the benefits of 

lenses to initiate discussion with their optometrist. 

*For more about 1stGroup and the March presentations, see the ad 

on p2-3 and keep an eye on your inbox. 

About 1stGroup 

1stGroup, formerly known as 1stAvailable, listed on the Australian 

Securities Exchange (ASX) on 9 June 2015. Its aim is to build a 

health-based digital community, “where health providers and 

patients connect 1st.” 

The company completed the acquisition of GObookings, Clinic 

Connect and DocAppointments in 2015; launched a new brand, 

PetYeti in 2016 to support the pet services space; and in 2017 

rebranded and renamed its original 1stAvailable healthcare portal 

as MyHealth1st 

By June 2017, 1stGroup had grown to 5,500 installed sites 

on its platform’s and had booked more than six million online 

appointments since 2012. In Australia its customers include 

pharmacies, doctors, dentists, optometrists, allied services, 

specialists, natural therapists, radiology, vets, corporates and 

government agencies. In its marketing material, the company says 

it is the market leader in pharmacy and optometry in Australia. 

1stGroup’s software enables appointment bookings, recalls, 

continued patient contact and surveys. In late 2016, the company 

also launched a range of additional products including self-checkin 

kiosks and apps, patient clipboard apps, advertising and a call 

centre app to help practices grow their revenue from their existing 

customer base. More products are in the pipeline. 

“We improve lives by connecting consumers to a variety of 

healthcare services and information anytime, anywhere, so they 

can get well sooner and stay well longer,” says the company. 

Like the chameleon, NuPolar Infinite adapts to changes in light 

conditions 

+6.00. A polycarbonate release will follow 

shortly. The free POS materials can be ordered 

online at: www.youngeroptics.co.nz/orderpos 

▀ 

For general enquiries or classifieds please email info@nzoptics.co.nz 

For editorial, please contact Lesley Springall at lesley@nzoptics.co.nz or +64 27 445 3543 

For all advertising/marketing enquiries, please contact Susanne Bradley at susanne@nzoptics.co.nz or +64 27 545 4357 in the first instance, or Lesley Springall at lesley@nzoptics.co.nz 

To submit artwork, or to query a graphic, please email susanne@nzoptics.co.nz 

NZ Optics magazine is the industry publication for New Zealand’s ophthalmic community. It is published monthly, 11 times a year, by New Zealand Optics 2015 Ltd. Copyright is held by 

NZ Optics 2015 Ltd. As well as the magazine and the website, NZ Optics publishes the annual New Zealand Optical Information Guide (OIG), a comprehensive listing guide that profiles the 

products and services of the industry. NZ Optics is an independent publication and has no affiliation with any organisations. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily 

those of NZ Optics 2015 Ltd or the editorial team. 


Independent spirit, collective strength 

The Independent Optometry Group is a 100% member-owned cooperative of independent optometry practices 

with a clear mandate: to leverage the collective strength to drive growth, while maintaining individual practice 

autonomy. Our goal is to help all our members enjoy prospering practices. 

With rapidly changing social landscape dynamics, strategic shifts in the optometry market and the impact of 

technology, keeping pace and recognising which ideas hold merit against those which don’t, is challenging 

within the time-poor environment that independents face. 

Standing still is effectively going backwards. The IO Group seeks to keep members up to speed with advances 

to give them a competitive edge in a rapidly changing landscape. We aim to facilitate well-informed decisionmaking, 

growth and resilience for independents through the delivery of a spectrum of tools and services to 

create value. These cover the following aspects: 

Supply chain: creating value and improved profitability through well negotiated and structured product and 

software costs including frames, lenses, CLs and accessories. Business services: the group has a suite of 

business planning and management, data analytics and marketing tools available which allow for improved 

decision-making within the practice. Corporate contracts: we have established relationships with key 

figures in insurance, the MSD and the cooperative sector which facilitate and lower the cost of 

customer acquisition and retention. 

TO FIND OUT MORE CALL NEIL HUMAN ON +64 210 292 8683 OR NEIL.HUMAN@IOGROUP.CO.NZ 



7

Living with Charles Bonnet Syndrome 

BY ELLA EWENS 

Not one, but a whole herd of elephants, 

blocking the main street of Taupo. Their tails 

were swishing, their ears flapping and their 

huge rumps wriggling. I stood there and I thought 

to myself, ‘there is not a herd of elephants in the 

main street of Taupo today or any day’,” says Gael 

Spence, recalling just one of the strange, weird, but 

utterly realistic, visual hallucinations she began to 

contend with soon after receiving the devastating 

news she had gross, atrophic dry macular 

degeneration. 

That was 2008, Gael was 74 years old, and life 

had suddenly got a lot harder. Not only was she 

coping with the mental stress of having lost most 

of her central vision, her driver’s licence and her 

independence, a GP (not her usual one) then told 

her she probably had early dementia after she 

shared her visions of large blobs on the shower 

curtain, bugs on the carpet, faces on the wall and 

that herd of elephants in Taupo. 

Her problems were compounded by the eye 

health world’s lack of consideration to her plight, 

she explains, recalling her stress and struggle to 

make the 70-kilometre trip from Mangakino, where 

she lives, to Rotorua to attend her ophthalmology 

appointments. 

“I tried everything to get to there. I spoke 

with various support groups – Age concern, 

the Blind Foundation, Lions, Red Cross, Macular 

Degeneration New Zealand (MDNZ) – but to no 

avail. I don’t know anyone who can drive me; I 

cannot see a phone book; I cannot look up buses. 

How could I ring a bus? I just could not get to 

Rotorua. I even thought if I started walking at 4 

am, maybe I could I make it...” 

Feeling desperate and isolated, plagued by weird 

visions and trapped in a fading world, Gael admits 

she considered suicide. “Should I walk into the lake 

and end it all?” she thought. 

Not dementia? 

Gael Spence with her grandaughter Melanie, now coping well with macular degeneration and CBS 

www.littlepeach.co.nz 

office@littlepeach.co.nz 

0800 573 224 

NEW INNOVATION 

FROM LITTLE PEACH 

Then one day a friend of Gael’s was reading an 

article about Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) in 

the MDNZ magazine Viewpoint, and asked her, 

“Gael have you seen this article? It’s all about you. 

The article said the hallucinations could easily be 

mistaken for early dementia.” 

Armed with this first piece of positive knowledge, 

Gael went back to her usual GP and cautiously 

asked if he thought she could have CBS. The GP ran 

her through some dementia screening tests – she 

passed – and said, yes, he thought she was suffering 

from CBS. Fortunately, her GP was familiar with the 

condition and so was able to reassure her she was 

mentally as able as she’d always been. 

Charles Bonnet Syndrome, sometimes known as 

visual release hallucinations, is a 

common condition among people 

with partial or severe blindness 

(see box). The main cause of CBS, 

according to psychiatrists, is the 

loss of vision and how your brain 

reacts to this loss. “When you 

lose your sight, your brain doesn’t 

receive as much information and 

fills in these gaps by releasing 

new fantasy pictures, patterns or 

old pictures that it has stored,” 

explains the Royal National 

Institute of the Blind in the UK. 

Gael was simply relieved she 

wasn’t losing her mind and could 

now rationalise the strange 

visions she kept having, but she 

was concerned how few people 

appeared to be aware of CBS and other problems 

visually-impaired people have to contend with, so 

she shared her story with MDNZ. 

She’s so glad she returned to her GP and asked 

about CBS, she says, as that’s when she started 

to cope. Though she knew the images and 

hallucinations were not real, the fear of losing her 

mind was great, so telling people you’re having 

hallucinations is not an easy thing to do. 

She hopes her story will bring awareness to the 

condition and urges all professionals, especially 

GPs, to acknowledge and learn more about CBS. 

“Don’t be afraid to commit to this phenomenon just 

because it’s not easily explained,” she says. “As a 

visually-impaired person, life can be tough enough 

Understanding CBS 

NZ Optics’ asked Tauranga-based ophthalmologist and MDNZ 

trustee, Dr Andrew Thompson, to talk about Charles Bonnet 

Syndrome (CBS). 

Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a common 

condition characterised by the occurrence of 

phantom images or hallucinations in a person 

living with acquired vision loss. The condition 

can affect people of any age with partial sight or 

severe blindness and generally begins weeks to 

months after sight loss has occurred. 

The condition is experienced by those who are 

psychological or cognitively sound, however, 

patients may often think they are going mad. 

The condition was initially described by Swiss 

scientist Charles Bonnet in 1760, but was not 

evident in medical literature until the 1980s. 

Hallucinations vary from abstract shapes and 

colours to detailed images of people, animals and 

landscapes. In contrast to the images a partialsighted 

person may see, the hallucinations of 

CBS’ sufferers can be very clear and detailed, and 

are usually of nice things. Occasionally, people 

may experience frightening images but this is 

uncommon. Most people find the hallucinations 

become less frequent over 18 months to two 

years, though 

many will still 

have occasional 

hallucinations up 

to five years later. 

Swiss lawyer, philosopher and scientist 

Charles Bonnet who first described 

visual release hallucinations in 1760 

What causes 

CBS? 

CBS appears to be 

poorly understood, 

though it is 

quite a common 

condition in 

people who have 

lost their vision. 

The exact cause 

when you cannot even go to the bank by yourself, 

let alone sign a withdrawal slip.” 

Gael says she’s thankful to groups like Age 

Concern and MDNZ for their support and hopes, 

in the future, carers will have more insight into 

the everyday difficulties someone who is vision 

impaired experiences. 

As for finding her place in this new life of hers, 

she’s giving it her all despite her disabilities and, 

after some encouragement by her GP, has even 

written a children’s book entitled, ‘Who do these 

shoes belong to?’. Illustrated by her grand-daughter, 

Melanie, the book takes the reader on a search for 

the owner of some mysterious shoes, providing a 

peek into the life of someone with central scotoma. 

is not known. For 

a normal sighted 

person, the brain 

receives visual 

input and this stops 

the brain from 

generating its own Dr Andrew Thompson 

images. When sight 

is lost, it is thought the brain starts to fill in gaps 

by generating hallucinatory images, patterns or 

previously stored images as it is not receiving 

visual input in the usual manner. It is not a sign 

of psychiatric illness or madness, even if patients 

consider it may be. 

How common is CBS? 

The reported prevalence rates for CBS vary widely. 

An Australian study reported the prevalence to be 

17.5% in 2008. 

Approximately 40% to 65% of CBS-affected 

people tend not mention their symptoms to 

anyone, reluctant for fear of being labelled mad. 

So, it is sensible to enquire about CBS when 

seeing patients with partial or severe vision loss. 

CBS only affects vision and does not cause 

hallucinations involving other senses. Patients with 

CBS are aware that what they are seeing isn’t real, 

although the hallucinations can seem very real. 

What can be done about CBS? 

There is no cure for CBS and drug therapy is not 

usually indicated to treat the hallucinations. For 

most people with CBS, a simple explanation of 

what is happening is all that is required to put 

their mind at rest. 

For more information contact: www. 

charlesbonnetsyndrome.org 

Fleye firms up NZ presence 

Danish designer eyewear Fleye, 

as worn by Kiwi celebrity 

chef Al Brown, has appointed 

its first on the ground rep in New 

Zealand, Tracey Dobson, who’s set 

up her own company, Lotus Star, to 

accommodate the new move. 

Dobson used to work for the 

jewellery side of Australian-based 

distributor, House of Brands KJ, 

which previously looked after Fleye 

in this part of the world. Though 

responsible for jewellery in New 

Zealand, Dobson was often called 

upon to help with Fleye. So, she’s 

familiar with Fleye and many of 

Fleye’s Kiwi customers and a big fan 

of the brand, she says, and was delighted when she 

was asked to directly represent Fleye here. “Working 

with Fleye, I came to really enjoy the industry, so 

when the offer was made, I jumped at it. Annette 

Estø, creator and one of the founders of Fleye, is the 

Fleye’s new NZ rep, Tracey Dobson 

Correction – Ozurdex 

Ozurdex (dexamethasone 700mcg) a long-acting 

intravitreal steroid, delivered via a sustainedrelease 

ocular implant is funded in New Zealand 

for diabetic macula oedema (DMO). It is also 

Medsafe approved, but not funded (as was 

wrongly stated on p14 of December’s issue of 

most inspiring and motivational 

person I have met and I’m very 

happy to be working alongside 

her on this venture.” 

Estø is equally pleased to have 

Dobson on the ground to help 

and support Fleye’s customers 

directly, after building up a loyal 

customer base over the past 

four years. 

“We are pleased to have 

Tracey as our distributor in New 

Zealand and are very much 

looking forward to a stable 

long-term collaboration. There 

is a great potential for Fleye in 

New Zealand as Danish design is 

much appreciated here.” 

As well as Fleye, Dobson will also be representing 

Australian frames distributor Eye Candy Optics’ 

Iyoko Inyaké brand, designed in Belgium and 

handcrafted in Japan. ▀ 

NZ Optics), for the treatment of macular oedema 

due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and noninfectious 

uveitis affecting the posterior segment 

of the eye. 

For more, see full story on p16 of December’s 

issue. 


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9

Duskies: a passion for wood 

Driven by the desire to create a sustainable business, Andrew “Macca” McKenzie, co-creator 

and owner of Duskies Eco Eyewear, started up his own handcrafted wooden eyewear business 

in Hawkes Bay. Susanne Bradley caught up with him to find out more. 

Andrew Mckenzie “Macca” and Jessica Whyte, the Duskies eyewear team 

How did Duskies come about? 

After many years of timber-house building in 

New Zealand, including a major renovation of my 

family’s art deco home in Havelock North, I decided 

to head over to the UK for a two-year working 

holiday as many kiwis do. 

After six months in London, I left the rat race 

behind and moved to Aberdeen to do some 

carpentry work. The initial two years extended into 

an amazing seven years in Scotland and Ireland 

working in construction. I also travelled extensively 

throughout Western and Eastern 

Europe, which is where I first came 

across the wooden frame concept. After 

returning to New Zealand, I decided I 

wanted a drastic change in career. This 

is when Duskies started to evolve. 

Why wooden frames? 

Back in the UK, I attended many music 

festivals and couldn’t help noticing 

all the waste left behind by festival 

goers. Copious amounts of bottles, cups 

and plastic food utensils along with 

paddocks full of tents and clothing, all 

left behind. At one event, there was a 

company handing out complimentary 

bright green, plastic sunglasses at the 

gates and of course, the fluorescent 

green memorabilia were over-powering 

the pile of trash left behind. 

It was at that very moment I thought 

there must be an alternative; an 

environmentally-friendly material 

sunglasses can be made from. I was 

very proud of my festival Trilby-style hat 

made from bamboo fibre and being a 

carpenter, frames produced from wood 

seemed an obvious choice. 

Following my green light moment and 

after some research, I found the concept 

of wooden sunglasses was out there. 

But only a handful of small companies 

in Europe and USA were producing wooden 

eyewear, and no companies in New Zealand, so I 

made it my mission to create something uniquely 

awesome from wood, from here. 

What’s Duskies’ difference? 

Duskies wooden frames are very light and 

comfortable to wear. Our customers and stockists 

are often surprised at how light they are when 

they first try them on. The frames are robust and 

hardy and our German spring-loaded hinges offer 

extra comfort. 

How important is the ‘eco’ part 

of the business? 

So many people, especially the 

younger generations, are becoming 

more aware of using sustainable 

materials and what impact their 

(buying) decisions have on our 

environment. I saw a niche in the 

market for a sustainable fashion 

accessory and I’m very proud of the 

eco aspect of Duskies. We have some 

extremely loyal supporters in this domain, but 

it’s the fashion-forward, unique designs we are 

creating that seem to be really pushing Duskies 

ahead as the pioneers of wooden eyewear in New 

Zealand. 

Who else is involved with Duskies? 

We are a small boutique company operating from 

the hills of Havelock North in Hawkes Bay. 

It’s myself and my partner Jessica (Whyte) driving 

this ship. We have a small team in China helping 

us with production and we work very closely 

with them. I am very hands on in the production 

process and the face-to-face sales of the Duskies’ 

brand. Jessica is amazing support and does a lot of 

the behind the scenes work whilst keeping me in 

check. 

What’s been the hardest thing about 

setting up the business? 

We have been producing and distributing wooden 

frames for just over three years now and have 

some amazing support throughout the country. 

Manufacturing is the biggest challenge as it’s very 

labour intensive with a huge amount of handsanding 

to get that top-quality finish Duskies’ 

requires. Keeping up with new designs and 

implementing ideas to make the frames stronger 

and more durable is also crucial with wooden 

eyewear. There was a lot of trial and error with 

Duskies and Mt Difficulty limited edition sunglasses 

processes and materials at the start which, at 

times, was very frustrating but we now have the 

knack for it and produce what we consider to be 

a beautiful, fashionable range of unique wooden 

eyewear. 

Manufacturing in China also has its challenges. 

There is a lot to learn when it comes to Chinese 

culture and work ethics. We now have a great 

team in place and have become very close with 

the family-owned wood workshop we work with. 

On our last trip, we actually took my parents and 

Jess’ mother with us, and meeting our China team 

was a total highlight for them. The two families, 

spending time together has helped confirm our 

loyal relationship with our Chinese connections as 

we later found out it was a massive sign of respect 

for us to introduce our ‘Xinxilan’ (New Zealand 

family) to them. 

Any other news you’d like to share? 

We’ve just launched a collaboration with Central 

Otago winery Mt Difficulty, which I am super 

excited about. We have recycled Mt Difficulty’s 

pinot noir soaked wine barrels into oak wood 

sunglasses. It’s been a long process but well worth 

the wait as the barrels initially came from Europe, 

then held their award-winning vintage for three 

years. The production process has taken a further 

eight months but, this summer, Mt Difficulty 

will be selling these limited-edition wine barrel 

sunglasses through their cellar door. ▀ 

Constant Progress 

ZEISS Precision Lenses 

1912 

Punktal ® 

The first axially symmetric spectacle lenses with point-focal 

Imagery, a concept that still plays a significant role in today’s 

lens designs. This invention was enabled by a close collaboration 

with Moritz von Rohr and Alvar Gullstrand. 

1935 

Patent for AR coatings 

ZEISS invents a process to create durable coatings 

to reduce reflections on optical lens surfaces. 

1969 

The photos of the first moon landing 

were taken with ZEISS camera lenses. 

1970 

First photochromic spectacle lenses 

A partnership with SCHOTT helps ZEISS launch 

the world’s first brown glass photochromic spectacle, 

known as Umbramatic. 

1980 

Gradal ® HS 

ZEISS unveils the world’s first progressive lens design 

based on splines. It is the predecessor of freeform lenses. 

1992 

Video Infral ® 

The world’s first computer-based centration device is introduced 

by ZEISS to set new standards in individualised lens fitting. 

1997 

Patent for a new manufacturing process 

With the Hof / Hanssen patent ZEISS sets a new standard in 

progressive lens production. To date, this manufacturing process 

has been licenced to the entire ophthalmic market by ZEISS. 

2000 

Gradal Individual ® Progressive Lenses 

For the first time in history, ZEISS offers personalised 

parameters in the computation of progressive 

lens surfaces. 

2007 

i.Scription ® 

ZEISS launches the first lens technology that 

incorporates higher-order aberrations and combines 

subjective refraction and wavefront analysis. 

2010 

MyoVision ® 

The world’s first lens that enables a reduction in myopia 

progression by an average of 30% in Asian children. 

2014 

Digital Lenses 

ZEISS introduces a new first-pair lens product category 

that is an eye care solution for mobile devices. 

2015 

DriveSafe Lenses 

ZEISS develops an everyday lens solution consisting of three 

elements to make driving safer and more comfortable. 

2018 

Watch this Space! 

Our breakthrough innovations are the result of every decision we have made, every idea we have had and every contribution that everyone 

at ZEISS has made. We are proud of our long history and tradition in shaping the future of optics. We even made it to the moon, and we are 

aiming for even greater heights. Be part of this never-ending story. 

Find out which ZEISS lens solutions are most suitable for you and your business at www.zeiss.com.au/vision or 1800 882 041. 


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References: 1. Perez-Gomez I, Giles T. Clin Optom 2014;6:17–23. 2. Angelini TE et al. Invest Oph & Vis Sci 2013;54:E-Abstract 500. 3. Angelini T. Hydrogel surface viscoelasticity 

and mesh-size characterized with microrheology. ARVO, 2013:E-abstract 1614872. 4. Dunn AC et al. Tribol Lett 2013;49(2):371–378. 5. Straehla JP et al. Tribol Lett 2010;38:107–113. 

6. Thekveli S et al. Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2012;35(Supp1):e14. 

© 2017 Novartis. Alcon Laboratories (Australia) Pty Ltd. ABN 88 000 740 830. Phone: 1800 224 153; NZ Phone: 0800 101 106. 04/17 ALC0715 NP4:A21611561214. 



11

International updates to home-grown problems 

The Eye Doctors’ last Grand Round of the year 

was a good-natured and warm affair. Guests 

were welcomed by the full Eye Doctors’ team 

and a choice of refreshments. Zeiss’ Chris Money 

kicked off proceedings by introducing Zeiss’ new 

ultra-widefield imaging system, the Clarus 500, said 

to be the first fundus camera to combine true colour 

and high clarity with an ultra-wide view of the retina. 

Money also discussed SITA Faster, Zeiss’ newest 

addition to the SITA family of testing strategies for 

the Humphrey Field Analyzer 3 (HFA3) perimeter. 

SITA Faster testing takes about two-thirds of the 

time required by SITA Fast and about half the time 

required by SITA Standard, he said, with no blind 

spot or false negatives. 

Xen and the art of trabeculectomy 

The evening proper got underway with Dr Mark 

Donaldson sharing his journey with trabeculectomy 

surgery and the reticence surgeons have towards 

applying it given the risks and recovery time, despite 

its positive effect for many glaucoma patients, 

especially when micro-invasive glaucoma surgery 

(MIGS) is not suitable. All eye health practitioners 

should be mindful of the recovery time and the 

assistance patients require after surgery given the 

resultant temporary vision loss, he said, citing one 

patient who had arranged to stay with relatives for 

five weeks following surgery, but found it actually 

took three months before he could manage without 

outside care. 

Thus, Dr Donaldson said he was pleased to 

discuss a new way of doing trabeculectomy 

that’s much faster, less-invasive and enables a 

far quicker recovery, and is now available in New 

Zealand. The new Xen Implant from Allergan will, 

he said, become a common option for glaucoma 

patients, whose condition is not being well 

managed with drops. However, he warned, Xen 

trabeculectomies have a similar complication profile 

to trabeculectomy and great care is still required. 

According to Allergan’s studies, approximately three 

Xen procedures can be done in the time required for 

one trabeculectomy, with less intensive and timeconsuming 

follow-up required. 

For more on Xen and the new Clarus 500 see 

December’s NZ Optics. 

Retinal cotton wool to RANZCO’s best bits 

12 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS February 2018 

Dr Andrew Riley took the audience on a rapid tour 

of retinal cotton wool spots: what causes them, 

how long they last, what to worry about and what 

not to worry about. 

Cotton-wool spots are small white areas on 

the retina and are caused by a lack of blood flow 

to the nerve fibre layer. They usually disappear 

within several weeks and don’t threaten vision, 

however, they can be an early sign of diabetic or 

hypertensive retinopathy and, less commonly, 

vasculitis, such as the presented case of syphilis. 

He also discussed the commonest cause of retinal 

cotton wool spots and reiterated the benefits of 

Eylea, especially for diabetic retinopathy, which, 

frustratingly, he said, is still not funded in New 

Zealand though it is currently being reviewed, 

again. “90% of patients respond to Avastin, 

but some patients don’t, so Eylea would be an 

excellent second line agent.” 

One product that is now funded in New Zealand 

for diabetic macular oedema (DMO), and was 

proudly on display at RANZCO’s Scientific Congress 

in Perth at the end of last year, is Ozurdex – a 

long-acting intravitral steroid, delivered via a 

sustained-release ocular implant. Eye Doctors’ Dr 

Donaldson and Dr Riley were part of the Phase III 

trial of Ozurdex in DMO and vein occlusions (see 

December’s NZ Optics). 

Another RANZCO highlight was Alcon’s Ngenuity 

3D Visualization System, a platform for digitallyassisted 

vitreoretinal surgery (DAVS), designed to 

enhance visualization of the back of the eye, with a 

variety of colour-enhanced filters. One of the main 

benefits of this system, however, is the reduction of 

neck strain for eye care professionals, 50% of which 

report neck pain due to their posture in surgery and 

on the slit lamp. “The ‘ophthalmic surgeon stoop’ 

may become a thing of the past if this could also be 

included in the slit lamp,” said Dr Riley. 

He then closed with some other RANZCO highlights 

and a comment on defining macular degeneration. 

“Hard drusen is aging; soft drusen is ARMD.” 

Thyroid disease 

Dr Shuan Dai gave a memorable, case-based 

presentation on thyroid eye disease’s diagnosis 

and management. It can be sight-threatening and 

debilitating due to its effect on the optic nerve, 

ocular surface and ocular motility. Non-surgical 

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Vaishna Singavarothayan, Trevor Skinner and Shookria Rajaiy 

management includes normalising the endocrine 

imbalance, stopping smoking, prismatic correction 

of vertical or horizontal deviation and observation 

for stability. 

It’s important to set appropriate expectations, 

said Dr Dai, as 20% of cases require more than one 

surgery; patients may require lid surgery and optic 

prisms to achieve binocular single vision (BSV); and 

patients are likely to still have some diplopia in 

some directions of gaze. The cessation of smoking 

is very important to maintain long-term stability 

after successful eye muscle surgery, he stressed. 

OSA and floppy eyelids 

Dr Penny McAllum then discussed her typical corneal 

transplant patient from South Auckland: a 30-yearold 

male, usually of Polynesian or Indian descent, 

with advanced keratoconus, allergic eye disease, 

floppy eyelids, obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea 

and, sometimes, diabetes. Using case studies, she 

discussed the dangers of obstructive sleep apnoea 

(OSA) and its relation to eye disease, especially 

keratoconus. OSA patients tend to have red, irritable 

eyes, and there’s a clear link to allergic conjunctivitis 

and/or eyelid eczema. 10-20% of patients with 

OSA have floppy eyelid syndrome (FES) but 96% 

of patients with FES have OSA. The best ways to 

Gary Filer, Dr Andrew Riley and Rob Allen 

Stephen Hill and Carolyn Campbell 

manage FES is lubrication at night, tape or shielding 

eyes at night, treating other eye diseases, such as 

allergic conjunctivitis, and, when necessary, surgery 

to reduce horizontal lid laxity, but this has a 25% to 

50% failure rate at two years, she said. 

OSA is also associated with normal tension 

glaucoma (NTG), with 5-10% of patients with OSA 

having NTG, while up to 50% patients with NTG 

have OSA; more if they also have FES. So treating 

OSA may stop the progression of NTG, said Dr 

McAllum. 

If your patient has symptoms of OSA, encourage 

them to talk to their GP about having a sleep 

assessment, and encourage them to lose weight as 

this could help save their lives, she added. ▀ 

An Everest experience 

BY COURTNEY JELLEY* 

I 

grew up in Rural Zimbabwe, where my dad built 

a small clinical practice to provide medical care 

in the community, so I’ve always been inspired to 

volunteer and help those in need. Having recently 

qualified as a dispensing optician, I was looking for 

a volunteer opportunity and, given my current focus 

on meditation and wellbeing, I thought Eyes4Everest 

would be perfect, and it was. 

In fact, it was absolutely phenomenal; a real life 

changing experience. Nothing can really prepare you 

for the literally breathtaking views of the towering 

peaks, Everest itself and the endless amounts of 

stairs. Although strenuous, people of average fitness 

can trek through Nepal – slow and steady is the key! 

We started out as a group of nine optometrists 

from Australia, plus myself from New Zealand, all 

brought together by a common desire to make a 

difference to people who don’t have access to the 

same eye care we do. Most of us were first time 

trekkers. The support of our Sherpa guides and yaks, 

who carried the majority of our gear, made the trip 

a lot more pleasant. We also met up with a young 

Nepalese optometrist, Tashy, who had just finished 

her qualification in India and is the first Sherpa 

optometrist as far as we know! It was so amazing 

seeing how proud her community was of her. 

We spent the majority of our time on this 

Eyes4Everest trip helping in a village named 

Khumjung (3970m) where we saw around 100 

Nepalese people over two days. I was lucky enough 

to have my work station outside with a memorial 

statue of Sir Edmond Hillary and a stunning 

mountain overlooking me. I was also fortunate to 

be the last person our patients saw, so it was a bit 

emotional having Sherpa elders hold my hand to 

their cheeks in thanks! It all becomes that much 

more rewarding when you realise a couple of 

80-year-old ladies have walked for four hours just 

to see you before walking home again. We all spent 

time trying to learn as much Nepalese as we could 

to try to communicate more effectively, though our 

Sherpa guides were on hand to help us out! 

One of my favourite moments was watching two 

young boys freeze, their eyes go incredibly wide and 

then run away as one of our optometrists, Rose, 

stepped outside while wearing her BIO! 

While we were primarily there to provide eye care 

services, the trip also let us explore one of the most 

remarkable places on Earth. Our trek took us along 

the Gokyo track, culminating in an ascent of Gokyo 

Ri (5357m). This was by far our toughest day and 

we could barely sleep with the anticipation of being 

among the few people in the world to summit the 

peak. We got up at 3am. It was minus 20 degrees 

Courtney Jelley hard at work and play with Eyes4Everest 

and we only had the light of our headlamps to lead 

the way. The stars were unbelievably clear and the 

sheer beauty of the sun slowly rising over the four 

highest peaks in the world can’t be put into words. 

The achievement of reaching the top, especially 

with people you have become so close with, was 

undoubtedly the main highlight of the trip. 

Another highlight for me, however, was spending 

time with a local Nepalese woman learning how to 

cook traditional Dal Bhat (lentil soup and vegetable/ 

chicken curry). As I’m an avid cook, this was a skill I 

am happy to have brought home with me so I will 

always have a bit of Nepal to remember! 

Being from New Zealand and knowing enough 

Nepalese to be able to explain that, I felt a 

huge connection to the mountains and Sherpa 

people through their fondness of Sir Ed and his 

achievements. This connection and the Sherpa 

culture has inspired me to return and explore, 

as well as continue to help, in different areas of 

the Himalayas with Eyes4Everest. I also hope by 

sharing my experiences I can encourage fellow 

dispensers and other optical professionals to jump 

at opportunities to use their skills overseas. 

Eyes4Everest will be hosting four trips next year 

and are always on the lookout for people who 

want to get involved and maybe push themselves 

outside their comfort zones! If you would like more 

information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch 

through http://eyes4everest.org.au/ 

*Courtney Jelley is a dispensing optician with Visique Eye Spy 

Optometrists in Palmerston North. She made the change to 

optics after leaving the military, where she was training to 

become a medic, and finished second in her year of dispensing 

students last year.

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February 

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2018 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS 

TRA0003 

13

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

MY 

K 

Special Olympics: a big thank you 

Evan Brown triaging Max Nyenkamp who went on to win a gold medal in basketball 

1200 Special Olympic athletes assembled in Wellington from 26 

November to 1 December 2017 to compete in their respective sports 

at the National Summer Games (NSG). Since 2001, the New Zealand 

Opening Eyes programme has screened athletes to assess vision 

problems. Local wholesalers OptiMed, OIC and Designs for Vision 

generously donated equipment and expertise to enable a volunteer 

team of 22 optometrists, 17 student optometrists, one dispensing 

optician and two Essilor staffers to screen and support more than 

800 athletes CooperVision at the Half ASB Page Sports NZ Optics Centre Feb 2018.pdf in Kilbirnie, 1 8/01/2018 Wellington. 

2:18:09 PM 

Live Brightly. 

BY EVAN BROWN, CLINICAL CO-DIRECTOR OF SOLCIOENZ 

Great 

technology 

alone is 

not enough 

Greg Sampson 

General Manager, CooperVision ANZ 

AGENT OF OPTOMISM 

Despite the impressive range of excellent contact lenses 

available, we understand it can be hard to retain patients 

and maintain profits. 

That’s why at CooperVision we’re doing everything we 

can to make you more optimistic about the future of your 

contact lens business with our new Optomism mission. 

To find out more, contact your CooperVision 

Agent of Optomism. 

Our Optomism promise 

We promise to give you the tools, techniques and 

products you need to transform your contact lens 

business and generate measurable growth. 

Keratoconus is significantly more common in individuals living with 

Down syndrome and can be more complicated to treat and manage. 

This year also saw the introduction of a specialist team from the 

University of Auckland, comprising Akilesh Gokul, Samantha Simkin 

and Joyce Mathan, who using a corneal topographer, auto-refractor 

and biomicrosope screened all Down syndrome athletes, detecting 

keratoconus or sub-clinical keratoconus in 45 athletes. Many athletes 

with keratoconus presented with asymmetry of disease, having 

quite advanced progression in one eye and mild or sub-clinical status 

in the other eye. We are hopeful corneal cross linking will be very 

helpful for future management of these athletes. 

Cataract, pterygium and blepharitis are other conditions seen with 

high frequency in Special Olympic athletes and this year, another 30 

athletes were referred to ophthalmology, their GP or optometry for 

further investigation. 

The Special Olympics Lions Club International Opening Eyes 

(SOLCIOE) programme is designed to provide quality eye care for 

people with intellectual disabilities, increasing the athlete’s access 

to care by providing vision screening, refraction and dispensing of 

appropriate eyewear during Special Olympics events. From previous 

SOLCIOE screenings it’s known that about one third of Special 

Olympic athletes present wearing clinically incorrect eyewear or 

not wearing eyewear at all. This statistic was born out yet again at 

the NZ National Games, with the programme dispensing 360 pairs 

of prescription eyewear, confirming how this vision programme 

continues to fill an unmet healthcare need for those individuals 

with intellectual disabilities in our community. The programme also 

educates athletes, their guardians, coaches and administrators about 

Akilesh Gokul with Max at the topographer 

the importance of vision to the athletes’ performance in sports, 

school, craft and work and provides continuing education for our 

volunteer optometrists to familiarise them with the best techniques 

for testing this patient population. 

We would like to thank all the sponsors and volunteers who helped 

support this year’s programme and also recognise SOLCIOE’s global 

sponsors: the Essilor Vision Foundation, which provided the athletes’ 

lenses; Safilo Group which provided the frames and free plano 

sunglasses for those who passed the screening; and Liberty Optical 

which supplied the sports frames and protective eyewear. 

The Special Olympics brings out the best people and the best 

in people! We had a great time and everyone was positive and 

enthusiastic. The team worked hard, but received the emotional 

reward of a job well done. 

We hope to see you all again at the next SOLCIOE NZ event in 2021. 

Gates move 

Gates Optometrists celebrated its move to a new central location 

in Hamilton’s CBD by toasting the new premises with a soiree 

for local business people, customers and guests at the end of 

last year. 

Now based in Wiseman Central, an iconic building situated on the 

corner of Ward and Victoria Streets, the relocation means the business 

has come full circle, says Darren Savage, chief executive of Gates. The 

business began in 1991 as “Eyewear Collection” which was originally 

based on Ward Street. In 2004, the practice was renamed “Gates 

Opticians” and moved to Barton Street. Another name change to Gates 

Optometrists occurred after the business was purchased by Paterson 

Burn Optometrists in 2010. 

Savage says he’s excited about this new chapter in the business’ 

history and the relocation within Hamilton central. “We were 

committed to staying in the CBD and our new location provides both 

high-foot traffic and excellent visibility from passing vehicles.” 

In recent years, Hamilton CBD buildings have been refurbished 

providing opportunities for businesses like Gates to relocate into 

purpose-friendly premises. Waikato Chamber of Commerce CEO 

William Durning says he’s thrilled Gates is remaining in the centre of 

town. “Businesses like Gates are reinvigorating Hamilton’s CBD.” 

Gates’ new premises has floor to ceiling glass windows with brass 

trimmings, accommodating new display screens, replacing traditional 

poster advertising. The interior design, influenced by the Art Deco 

period of the Wiseman building, was designed by local architects 

Edwards White. 

“As a large portion of our patients are professional males, we wanted 

the practice to appeal to them as much as it would to the professional 

female,” explains Savage adding how the masculine designs, 

influenced by the industrial look, were softened with lighting, both 

natural and artificial. 

The sensory experience for Gates customers is also very important, 

he says. “The main door remains open and with the air curtain, we are 

able to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors all year round 

and block out some of the noise from passing traffic.” This is helped 

by surround-sound music, which also adds ambience. While mirrors 

are cleverly placed near the large windows to take advantage of the 

natural light for customers trying on glasses, says Savage, and shelves 

are lit up so frame colours pop. “The dispensing room is private yet 

our staff can still look 

out to the practice 

retail area and we use 

tablets to dispense if 

required throughout 

the practice to enable 

staff and patients’ 

mobility.” ▀ 

© 2018 CooperVision. 

above: Dale Thomas, Darren Savage and Essilor’s Chris Aldous 


6 

months 

shelf life after 

opening 



15

SPECIAL FEATURE: NUTRITION 

Diet defence against eye disease 

BY ELLA EWENS* 

Nutrition for optimal eye health is an 

exciting area that has gained a huge 

amount of interest recently, and for good 

reason. Our ageing population, coupled with a 

decreasing death rate means eye care practitioners 

will be faced with an increasing number of 

patients suffering from age-related eye diseases 

in the future. The projected number of patients 

with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is 

predicted to be 196 million in 2020, increasing to a 

whopping 288 million in 2040 1 . 

While new treatment options for conditions 

for AMD, dry eye and glaucoma are entering the 

market each year, prolonging eye health and 

prevention should be a primary focus. We need to 

be eye health practitioners in the fullest sense and 

key to this is encouraging our patients to adopt a 

healthy diet to prolong the health of their eyes and 

their sight. 

The evidence for diet 

Epidemiological studies from the last two decades 

have shone some light on some of the risk factors 

associated with AMD, including smoking, ethnicity, 

age, diet, nutritional status, hypertension and also 

genetic markers 2 . The ground-breaking, landmark 

Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), which 

began in 1992, closely followed 3640 patients 

over 6.3 years and found that taking high levels 

of antioxidants (vitamin A, C and E) and zinc can 

reduce the risk of developing advanced AMD by 

approximately 25% and can also reduce associated 

vision loss 3 . When considering the huge public 

health burden of AMD (including everything from 

treatment costs to falls in the elderly), this 25% 

reduction is significant. The success of AREDS 

began a cascade of new investigations into other 

potential supplements such as zeaxanthin, lutein, 

docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic 

acid (EPA), resveratrol and vitamin D in the 

prevention of AMD. One study showed progression 

of both dry and wet AMD is 25% less likely among 

those eating a diet rich in omega-3s, EPA and 

DHA. Plus, a high omega-3 diet combined with a 

low glycaemic index (GI) intake reduced the risk 

of progression to advanced disease even further, 

cutting it by 50%, while a high meat intake is 

associated with early onset AMD 4,5 . 

The Blue Mountains Study, a large 15-year 

population-based study in Australia, showed 

smoking is linked to both AMD and cataract. In 

fact, there is a four-fold increased risk of latestage 

AMD among smokers compared with past 

or non-smokers and 10-year earlier onset 6 . The 

well-known Beaver Dam Eye Study also found an 

association of cigarette smoking with cataract and 

AMD 7 . 

More recently, studies investigating vitamin D 

indicate it may play an important role in agerelated 

disease. Vitamin D could have a function in 

immune regulation and barrier function in ocular 

barrier epithelial cells 8 . Macular thickness may 

also change in accordance with serum vitamin 

D concentration in older patients 9 . Furthermore, 

vitamin D is a powerful inhibitor of vascular 

neovascularisation 10 . With more than 50% of the 

world’s population at risk of vitamin D deficiency 

and decreased skin production of vitamin D as we 

age, it makes sense that vitamin D, with its role in 

combating inflammation, neovascularisation and 

fibrosis, might be the next contender to add to our 

list of supplements. 

As well as AMD, there is also an abundance of 

nutrition and lifestyle research relating to other 

common age-related diseases, such as glaucoma 

and dry eye disease (DED). While there are no 

environmental factors clearly associated with 

primary open angle glaucoma 11 , several studies 

have found risk factors relating to DED, such as 

age, sex, systemic disease (arthritis, diabetes 

and thyroid disease) smoking and medications 

(aspirin and antidepressants) 12 . Higher intake of 

omega-3 fatty acids is associated with decreased 

DED incidence in women 13 . While both systemic 

and topical omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have 

showed promise as treatments in dry eye, omega-3 

supplements remain the mainstay for nutritional 

management of DED today. 

Taking an educator role 

As eye health practitioners, we need to keep 

abreast of nutritional research developments 

and be proactive in educating patients on how to 

maintain their own eye health. Asking patients 

whether they smoke for instance and giving 

appropriate nutritional advice could have a major 

impact years down the line. So, it’s important 

patients understand the association between diet 

and lifestyle and the health of these incredible 

ocular organs so they can keep an eye on their diet 

and go for regular eye check-ups. 

To this end, NZ Optics’ brings you our first 

feature dedicated to nutrition. With the help of 

Grant Watters, we look at some potential new 

nutraceuticals in the wings, which may help 

slow eye ageing and better protect our eyes 

against dry eye, presbyopia, cataract and macular 

degeneration; celebrity nutritionist Dr Libby 

Growing evidence shows a healthy diet improves and protects eye health 

Weaver discusses what to eat for eye health; and 

we take a peep inside the world of one of our 

own ocular nutrition scientists, Andrea Braakhuis, 

whose fascinating research on oxidative stress 

disease demonstrates the correlation between 

high meat consumption and eye disease. For the 

cooks among you, we even have a delicious recipe 

for you to try from the Feast your Eyes cook book. 

Hopefully it will inspire us all to do a little more for 

ourselves and for our patients. 

References 

1. Wong, Wan Ling et al, Global prevalence of age-related 

macular degeneration and disease burden projection for 

2020 and 2040L a systematic review and meta-analysis. 

The Lancet Global Health, Vol. 2, Issue 2, e106-e116. 

2. Fletcher AE (2009). Healthy Ageing: The Eye. In: Stanner 

et al (eds). Healthy ageing: the role of nutrition and 

lifestyle. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2009.143- 158. 

3. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. 

A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of 

highdose supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta 

carotene, and zinc for age-related macular degeneration 

and vision loss. AREDS report no. 8. Arch Ophthalmol 

2001;119:1417–36. 

4. Chiu C-J, Klein R, Milton RC et al. Does eating particular 

diets alter risk of age- related macular degeneration in 

users of the age-related eye disease study supplements? 

Br J Ophthalmol 2009;93:1241-1246. 

5. Chong EW, Simpson JA, Robman LD et al. Red meat and 

chicken consumption and its association with age-related 

macular degeneration. Am J Epidemiol 2009;169:7 867-76. 

6. Multiple papers from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, 

including Cumming RG, Mitchell P, Smith W. Diet and 

cataract: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology 

2000 Mar; 107(3): 450-6; and Moshtaghiam H et al. Trends 

in added sugar intake and food sources etc. J. Hum Nutr 

Diet 2017 Jun: 30(3):339-348 

7. Klein, R et al. Am J Epidemiol. 1993 Jan 15;137(2):190-200. 

The Beaver Dam Eye Study: the relation of age-related 

maculopathy to smoking. 

8. Alsalem, JA. Characterization of vitamin D production by 

human ocular barrier cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 

2014 Apr 7;55(4):2140-7. 

9. Alsalem, JA. Characterization of vitamin D production by 

human ocular barrier cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 

2014 Apr 7;55(4):2140-7. 

10. Albert, D. et al. Calcitriol is a potent inhibitor of retinal 

neovascularization. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007 

May;48(5):2327-34. 

11. Pasquale LR and Kang JH. Lifestyle, nutrition and 

glaucoma. J Glaucoma 2009;18:6 423-8. 

12. Scot E Moss et al. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118(9):1264- 

1268. doi:10.1001/archopht.118.9.1264 Prevalence of and 

Risk Factors for Dry Eye Syndrome 

13. Miljanović B, Trivedi KA, Dana MR et al. Relation between 

dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and clinically diagnosed 

dry eye syndrome in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 82:4 

887-93. 

*As well as being a reporter for NZ Optics, Ella Ewens is 

an optometrist at the Greenlane Clinical Centre who has a 

particular interest in nutrition for eye health, having lectured 

in the UK and Europe about this as part of her previous role as 

medical affairs manager with J&J. 

Nutraceutical supplements for eye health? 

BY GRANT WATTERS* 

Intense exposure to light, intense metabolic 

activity and high oxygen tension render the 

human eye particularly vulnerable to oxidative 

damage at all levels from the ocular surface and 

dry eye, cornea, anterior chamber, crystalline 

lens and back to the retina, macula and optic 

nerve. Hence compounds with strong antioxidant 

capabilities are under the spotlight as potential 

treatments to slow eye damage and ageing by 

reducing the production of reactive oxygen and 

nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) in the eye. 

Similarly, naturally found “alternative” 

antibiotics, such as New Zealand manuka honey 

extract, are being studied for ocular applications, 

particularly now with the potential of antibiotic 

resistance becoming worrisome. 

There is also a growing trend towards people 

turning towards “natural health” alternatives for 

treating their ailments but, of course, the issue 

with this is often the lack of evidence-based 

research to support the manufacturer’s claims. 

But now, some more enlightened nutraceutical 

manufacturers, are approaching researchers and 

funding their studies to legitimise their product 

claims. Our recent work with Manuka Health has 

already led to the development of an exciting 

eyelid night cream treatment for blepharitis. Here 

are some of the more promising natural products 

also on our radar that could also become effective 

and respected supporters of eye health with 

appropriate funding support and well-designed 

studies. 

Krill oil: a recent paper by Deinema et al 1 

compared oral krill oil, fish oil and a placebo (olive 

oil) for treating dry eye disease (DED). Krill oil came 

out on top and the researchers hypothesised that 

was because krill oil is a phospholipid which makes 

it more bioavailable than the triacylglyceride 

of fish oil. They also noted that krill oil contains 

astaxanthin (AXT) which is a powerful natural 

antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Of course, krill 

is a very important part of the marine food chain 

so it would need to be ethically farmed to avoid 

hungry whales! 

Astaxanthin (AXT): a Kiwi company called Supreme 

Health (formerly Supreme Biotechnology) farms 

the green algae Haematococcus pluviallis, which 

produces AXT to protect itself from environmental 

stresses such as excessive sunlight and dryness. 

AXT is a marine carotenoid closely related to lutein 


Eating for eye health 

BY DR LIBBY WEAVER* 

Investing in your eye health is potentially one of 

the most important investments you can make. 

From having regular eye checks and monitoring 

any degeneration through to supporting the 

health of your eyes with a diet full of fresh whole 

foods, there are many different ways you can 

support these amazing organs. We don’t get 

another shot at taking excellent care of our eyes! 

Though a good, healthy diet is good for our 

whole bodies, including our eyes and our eye 

sight, there are certain vitamins and minerals that 

are particular good for eye health and, in part, 

can protect against and in some cases even help 

prevent diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma and 

age-related macular degeneration. Here’s just a 

few examples of the most important nutrients and 

foods that support optimal eye health. 

Vitamin A and beta-carotene 

Vitamin A has many functions, but when it comes 

to our eyes, it is critical for keeping the retina 

healthy. In many third-world countries, vitamin A 

deficiency is the leading cause of night-blindness 

– an inability to see at night or in dim light. 

Vitamin A is also sometimes used in the treatment 

of hereditary retina deformities and has been 

shown in some studies to slow the progression of 

retinal disorders. Sufferers can take supplements, 

but we can all keep up our vitamin A intake by 

eating lots of coloured vegetables and fruit, high 

in carotenoids, such as beta-carotene and alphacarotene, 

which our bodies convert into vitamin A. 

Hence, why carrots are often cited for being good 

at helping us see at night. 

Carotenoids are also good antioxidants, 

considered by many eye care professionals to be 

extremely important for eye health. Research 

indicates beta-carotene may also play a role in 

cataract prevention. Foods rich in beta-carotene 

include carrot, sweet potato, kale, spinach, papaya, 

capsicum and pumpkin to name a few, and these 

foods are a wonderful inclusion in your diet for a 

number of other health benefits as well. 

Zinc 

Zinc deficiency is associated with functional 

impairments in various parts of the eye. Zinc is 

needed for the conversion of retinol (a form of 

vitamin A) into retinal, which is required for night 

vision. Zinc is also needed to deliver vitamin A to 

the eyes and it works with vitamin C to protect 

the eyes against oxidative damage. Zinc is found 

in oysters from clean waters, red meat, eggs, 

Australian nutritionist, Dr Libby Weaver 

sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, however too 

many people these days aren’t obtaining enough 

from their food. Supplementation of this mineral is 

therefore, sometimes beneficial. 

Top foods for eye health 

Kale, eggs – Leafy green vegetables like kale are 

superstars for eye health as they’re a good source of 

lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants known to 

support healthy eye function. Evidence suggests that 

people with diets high in lutein are up to 23% less 

likely to develop cataracts than those whose diets 

are low in this nutrient. If kale isn’t your thing, simply 

choose other dark leafy green vegetables, like spinach 

or silverbeet as they’re also good sources of lutein 

and zeaxanthin. Eggs are another great source. 

Salmon, sardines – Evidence shows diets rich in 

omega-3 fatty acids from fresh, cold-water fish like 

salmon and sardines, reduce the risk of developing 

eye disease later in life. If your diet is vegetarian or 

vegan be sure to include plant sources of omega-3 

fatty acids such as linseeds, walnuts, pecans or 

chia seeds. 

Citrus fruits – Citrus fruits are a wonderful source 

of vitamin C, an antioxidant that is critical to eye 

health. Oranges, lemons, grapefruit and mandarins 

are all delicious additions to the diet with many 

other benefits to your health. 

*Libby Weaver (PhD) is one of Australia’s leading nutritional 

biochemists, an international speaker, media personality, 

founder of the plant-based supplement range, Bio Blends, and 

a well-known author, having sold more than 300,000 books in 

New Zealand and Australia. 

Feast your eyes 

Taking the nutritional health of our eyes 

seriously in a truly inspiring way, is the 

Look for Life Foundation’s beautifully puttogether 

Feast Your Eyes cook book. 

Look for Life (formerly the Genetic Eye 

Foundation) is an Australian-based, not-forprofit 

dedicated to promoting awareness, 

diagnosis and support for patients with 

genetic eye conditions. Lifestyle factors are 

a significant contributor to the severity of 

genetic eye conditions and in an effort to raise 

awareness, the foundation has long supported 

the Mediterranean diet as a leading method of 

genetic eye condition prevention. 

The Foundation’s Feast your Eyes cook book 

includes contributions from some of Australia’s 

leading chefs to both promote eye health 

through healthy eating and raise funds to 

support research 

into genetic 

eye conditions. 

The book was 

compiled by 

Foundation 

directors, Professor 

Minas Coroneo, 

chair of the 

ophthalmology 

Baked asparagus with oregano, feta and lemon zest 

By Maria Benardis 

2 bunches of asparagus 

Sea salt and cracked pepper 

100g feta, crumbled 

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

2 cloves of garlic, crushed 

2 tablespoons lemon zest, grated 

1 teaspoon wild oregano, dried 

Juice of 1 lemon 

1 tablespoon dill, chopped (optional) 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. 

Wash the asparagus and place in a baking dish. 

Season with salt and pepper, then scatter the 

crumbled feta over the top. 

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet over 

a low heat. Add the garlic, lemon zest and 

oregano and cook, stirring, until the garlic 

is lightly golden. Remove the pan from the 

heat, stir in the lemon juice and pour over the 

asparagus and feta. Bake for 15 minutes or 

until the asparagus is tender. 

Garnish with dill (if using) and serve either as 

Hellene and Prof Minas Coroneo from the 

Look for Life Foundation 

department at the University of New South 

Wales, and his wife and practice manager Hellene 

Coroneo. A second digital edition of the cook 

book, featuring recipes from international as well 

as Australian chefs if due out later this year. 

As a taster, here is Sydney-based Greekalicious’ 

chef Maria Bernardis’ contribution to the Feast 

Your Eyes cook book. 

Maria Benardis from Greekalicious’ baked asparagus 

a main meal or as an accompaniment to meat 

or poultry. 

To purchase a copy of Feast Your Eyes or to 

learn more about the Foundation, go to www. 

lookforlife.com.au 

and zeaxanthin and it has 

the strongest antioxidant 

(AO) activity of all of the 

carotenoids 2 , as well as 

having immunomodulatory 

characteristics. Funding is 

currently being sought to 

investigate whether various 

AXT-containing nutraceutical 

“recipes” could be effective in 

treating dry eye disease (DED), 

presbyopia, cataract, and agerelated 

macular changes. 

Saffron: Saffron is a culinary 

spice derived from parts of 

the Crocus sativus flower. 

It contains the compounds crocin and crocetin, 

which are derivatives of carotenoids and, again, 

are powerful antioxidants with antiapoptotic 

characteristics. A 2010 study by Falsini et al 3 

found that saffron supplementation for three 

months improved retinal flicker sensitivity and 

best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in 25 subjects 

with early age-related macular degeneration 

(AMD) compared to a placebo. 

Turmeric: another spice from the herbal plant, 

Curcuma longa, with multifunctional medicinal 

properties, turmeric contains curcumen which 

when concentrated has antioxidant, antifungal, 

antimicrobial and Cox-2 inhibiting antiinflammatory 

properties. A review paper by 

Nasri et al 4 noted that curcumen already has a 

good reputation in China and India for treating 

diabetes, kidney disease, cancer and arthritis. 

Ocular applications just started to be studied. 

Castor oil: is derived from the seeds of the castor 

bean plant (Ricinus communis). The use of castor 

oil goes back as far as the ancient Egyptians, who 

used it to treat eye irritations and as a natural skin 

care remedy with antibiotic properties. On the 

advice of a colleague who already has a patient 

successfully using it around her eyes, we are 

embarking on a pilot study this year to see if highgrade, 

sterile castor oil might also be beneficial in 

treating anterior blepharitis. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, as there 

are many vitamins and trace elements that also 

have the potential to benefit eye health. With 

increased understanding of the antioxidant and 

antibiotic properties of some of these “natural” 

compounds, there is a lot of potential for 

producing a new generation of novel and effective 

eye treatments. 

References 

1. Deinema LA et al. A randomised, double masked, 

placebo-controlled clinical trial of two forms of omega-3 

supplements for treating dry eye disease. Ophthalmol. 

2017;124(1): 43-52. 

2. Ambati RR et al. Astaxanthin: sources, 

extraction,stability,biological activities and its 

commercial applications- a review. Mar.Drugs. 2014; 12: 

128-152. 

3. Falsini B et al. Influence of saffron supplementation on 

retinal flicker sensitivity in early age-related macular 

degeneration. IOVS. 2010; 51(12): 6118-6124. 

4. Nasri H et al. Turmeric: a spice with multifunctional 

medicinal properties. J.HerbMed.Pharm. 2014; 3(1): 5-8. 

*Grant Watters (MScOptom) is an honorary teaching fellow 

in the Department of Optometry and Vision Science and an 

honorary research fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology 

at the University of Auckland 

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17

SPECIAL FEATURE: NUTRITION 

Meet the … Ocular nutritionist 

BY JAI BREITNAUER 

Andrea Braakhuis is a registered dietitian 

with a PhD from the University of Auckland. 

Her work with antioxidants triggered her 

interest and research into the impact of what we 

eat on eye health. 

We’re all busy, but Braakhuis takes the meaning 

of the word to a new level, not because she has 

more on her schedule than any other passionate 

scientist, but because of the level of energy and 

vigour she brings with her. A former senior sport 

dietitian for the United States Olympic Committee, 

as well as NZ’s own Olympic team, Braakhuis now 

lectures to nutrition and dietetic students at the 

University of Auckland while running her own 

research projects, including in the application of 

dietary antioxidants and phytochemicals. 

“I’ve got a particular interest in polyphenols. Those 

are the ones found in red wine, eggplant and berries,” 

she says. “The ones the media always write about. 

My PhD looked specifically at their use within diet.” 

From that research, Braakhuis noted that in studies 

involving rabbits, it appeared polyphenols had a 

positive impact on eye health. “Not a lot of research 

has been done in this area,” she says. “In fact, there 

isn’t a whole lot of research going into preventative 

medicine for eye health; it’s mostly reactive. I wanted 

to see what effect, if any, polyphenols might have on 

the outcome of ocular disease.” 

Braakhuis notes, that a large and growing 

number of New Zealanders, and people globally, 

are suffering from debilitating ocular diseases, 

such as glaucoma. Slower progression of these 

diseases could be linked to diet, she says. 

“I started with a meta-analysis of other studies. 

We looked at existing published literature to 

see whether the use of flavonoids, powerful 

antioxidants found in fruit and veg, correlated 

with an improvement to visual acuity.” 

Her team started with 16,840 articles dating back 

to 1980 and, by removing duplicates and applying 

specific criteria regarding the participants, whittled 

these down to six articles in the meta-analysis and a 

further two in the systematic review – a total of 286 

participants. This analysis demonstrated that visual 

acuity was recorded as improved in those who 

consumed flavonoid supplements for two months 

or more. The poorer the visual acuity to start with, 

the better the result. 

“Although there is some discussion about what 

increased visual acuity actually means, in my 

opinion these findings are clinically relevant. The 

improvement was high enough to be relevant to 

the patients, and this is very positive indeed.” 

Braakhuis then went on to conduct her own, New 

Zealand-based small 

survey, to try to obtain 

a picture of what is 

happening here. “I used 

participants from the 

university optometry 

clinic with oxidative 

stress disease, and a 

control group from 

audiology, weeding 

out any crossovers of 

course.” 

Dr Andrea Braakhuis 

Together with 

her co-researchers, Ryan Raman and Dr Ehsan 

Vaghefi, Braakhuis asked participants to complete 

a questionnaire about their diet over previous 

months. The team wanted the 78 participants 

from optometry and the control group of 149 to 

note the frequency of consumption of 31 specific 

food items. The questionnaire was based on a prior 

study from the University of Melbourne with a few 

local inclusions, such as kumara. 

“We found that those with a high meat intake 

were also those with progressive ocular disease,” 

says Andrea. “The fruit and vegetable intake was 

higher in the control group, as was the consumption 

of oils and lipids. These results, while from a small 

cohort, were similar to those of the much larger 

clinical study performed in Melbourne.” 

Braakhuis’ conclusions were simple 

and are seemingly common sense: that a 

healthy diet higher in fruit and veg is going 

to be better for eye health. 

“In fact, the benefits of such a diet for 

full body health have been confirmed by 

a number of papers,” she says. “But high 

meat consumption does seem to correlate 

specifically with eye disease.” 

Despite these clear findings, there is still 

very little work being done to push the 

importance of good diet on patients with 

ocular disease. Braakhuis would like to see 

a cross-departmental group of specialists 

working on this, but it’s been a tricky 

project to get off the ground, she says. 

“It would be great to get a collective of experts 

working together on this issue, but it is very 

complex because it involves deep research into 

areas like digestion and absorption and the impact 

of gut bacteria. I think that puts some people off 

even though the benefit for our ageing population 

of good (dietary) advice could be huge.” 

Despite this, Braakhuis’ interest in the link 

between diet and good eye health has not 

diminished. “I’m currently developing an idea 

around a link between diet and eye strain, 

especially in certain populations and ethnic 

groups. With the incredible increase in myopia, I 

think this will be of great interest.” ▀ 

Dealing with brain injury 

Eight kiwis crossed the Tasman to be a part 

of the audience at the Neuro-Optometric 

Vision Rehabilitation Seminar in Sydney from 

2-3 December. Attendees from across Australasia 

and further afield gathered to hear Dr Charles 

Shidlofsky, a specialist neuro-developmental 

optometrist from Texas, USA, discuss the vision 

consequences, treatment and management of 

patients sustaining an acquired/traumatic brain 

injury (ABI), as a part of the Australasian College 

of Behavioural Optometrists’ annual continuing 

education series. 

Optometrists with specific interest in neurooptometric 

rehabilitation are being increasingly 

sought out as a part of multi-disciplinary medical 

2018 

SAVE THE DATE 

BY EVAN BROWN* 

teams assisting patients rehabilitate from acquired 

brain injury. Visual dysfunction following ABI is 

common¹, with a wide variety of symptoms related 

to vision reported² , ³ including headaches, vertigo, 

diplopia, visual fatigue, focusing difficulty, movement 

of print on the page when reading, difficulty tracking, 

sensitivity to light, reduced field of vision, reduced 

depth perception, reduced colour vision perception, 

spatial disorientation, altered sense of midline, 

difficulty with posture and balance, delayed reaction 

time and impaired memory. 

This neuro-optometric weekend seminar covered 

the common vision deficits and sequelae secondary 

to brain injury, expanded upon the specialised 

neurological testing that assists diagnostic 

EDITION 2018 

28 TH SEPTEMBER-1 ST OCTOBER 

silmoparis.com 

evaluation and discussed 

the treatment options 

available for patients 

sustaining a brain injury, 

including specialist 

prescribing of lenses, 

prisms, tints and filters, 

sector patching options 

and the use of neurooptometric 

vision therapy. 

Injury to the striate 

cortex of the occipital 

cortex, cranial nerve palsy 

and orbital wall fractures 

are well recorded in 

the literature. But the 

bimodal process of vision, 

involving ambient and 

focal processing, and the role of the magnocellular 

projections in processing motion, extending spatial 

mapping to the visual process of orientation and 

anti-gravity, are now more clinically relevant in 

understanding how injury to the cortical and 

sub-cortical mechanisms (that organise vision 

and its integration with other sensory and 

motor processes) can result in subtle, but lifechanging 

symptoms seen in patients with ABI 

and concussion. Notably, 90% of individuals with 

concussion will have one or more visual symptoms, 

with 40% experiencing visual symptoms for 

longer than three months. Not addressed, 

these symptoms result in delayed recovery and 

significant difficulty in undertaking daily living 

activities, including returning to work. 

The weekend was a great success and all 

participants took home clinical pearls they were 

able to place into practice immediately. For those 

wanting further exposure to continuing education 

in neuro-optometric practice in brain injury, 

consider attending the annual conference of the 

Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association 

(https://noravisionrehab.com/) or cross the 

Tasman next April to attend the ICBO conference 

‘Establishing the Future’. For more, visit: https:// 

www.acbo.org.au/professionals/menu/events/91- 

icbo-2018-establishing-the-future ▀ 

References: 

1. Risdall JE, Menon DK. Traumatic brain injury. Philos Trans 

R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011;366(1562):241-250. 

2. Sabates NR, Gonce MA, Farris BK. Neuro-Ophthalmological 

findings in closed head injury. J Clin Neuroophthalmol. 

1991;11(4):273-277. 

3. Cockerman GC, Goodrich JL, Weichel ED, et al. Eye and 

visual function in traumatic brain injury. J Rehabil Res Dev. 

2009;46(6):811-818 

*Evan Brown is a certified behavioural optometrist with specific 

interest in visual dysfunctions related to learning and paediatric 

optometry. He is co-lecturer for the ACBO Practical Vision 

Therapy Programme and clinical co-director for the NZ Special 

Olympics Healthy Athletes Opening Eyes Programme (see 

associated story p14.) 

HVO and Face & Cie 

Howick Village Optometrists (HVO) held 

a promotional evening event on the 21 

November 2017 to showcase the new Face 

& Cie range of frames. Clients were invited to 

the practice, which has been providing eye wear 

products to the Howick community since the 

1960s, to view the largest collection of Face & Cie 

frames and faceplates in Australasia. 

“We invited some patients who already have the 

product and couldn’t wait to see the entire range,” 

said HVO co-owner Frith Jenkins. “Other attendees, 

who were new to the product, had a ball talking 

to those already converted and swapping and 

trying on each other’s clip-ons. It was a fabulous 

opportunity for our clients to interact with the 

supplier, giving tremendous feedback.” 

The event was a resounding success with 90% of all 

invitees attending, and many frames and more than 

60 clip-on fronts sold, all in just three hours. “Having 

so many clients in the shop, laughing and chatting 

to each other was fun; great for Howick Village 

Optometrists client relationships!” said Jenkins. 

Kiwis at the ACBO neuro conference: Niall McCormack, Renee Edgar, Paul Dickson, Nicola Boyce, Evan Brown, 

Sita Thakersi, Ricky Lee and Richard Shanks (front) 

Howick Village clients trying on Face & Cie 

“Face & Cie continues to grow in this market as 

more and more people wear them, get enthusiastic 

about them and share their enthusiasm with 

the people they mix with. It’s the best form of 

marketing,” said David Bearpark from Little Peach, 

the exclusive distributor for Face & Cie in New 

Zealand. ▀ 

For more news from Little Peach see p24. 


Help your patients 

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Acquaint your patients 

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References: 1. Alcon data on file. Preservative-free position paper. 2. Gabriel M et al. Invest Opthalmol Vis Sci 2015;56(7):272. 3. Muya L et al. Wetting 

substantivity of a new hydrogen peroxide disinfecting solution on silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Poster #50 presented at BCLA 2015; Liverpool, UK. 

4. Alcon data on file, 2014. CSR for protocol C-13-003. 5. Lally J et al. A new lens care solution provides moisture and comfort with today’s CL’s. Optician 

04/01/2011;241(62960):42–46. 

© 2018 Novartis. Alcon Laboratories (Australia) Pty. Ltd. ABN 88 000 740 830. Australia Phone: 1800 224 153. 

New Zealand Phone: 0800 101 106. 01/18 ALC0803 NP4: A21711744129 



19

Focus 

on Business 

Dos and don’ts of online 

and social marketing 

Your practice is part of a 

dynamic community, so 

keeping your services top-ofmind 

can be a challenge. Mobile 

phones have overtaken desktop 

computers as the primary device for 

web search and people are spending 

increasingly more time online, 

especially connected to social media. 

Thus, marketing your practice has 

evolved to include all sorts of digital 

aspects, even for more traditional 

methods. Sending out recall letters 

or still running print and radio ads? 

Even loyal patients are likely to 

check out your website and do some 

comparative online searches now 

before responding. 

Seek and you shall find 

In the early days of Google, Yahoo 

and Internet Explorer, it was the wild 

west of advertising, occupied mainly 

by large corporations using the “spray 

and pray” approach, putting out as 

many ads as possible. Fast forward 20 

years and there has been a massive 

shift to local search, especially 

given platforms such as Google My 

Business, designed to empower small 

business owners with tools such as 

Google Maps, Google Reviews and 

Google Ads, which can be targeted to 

your own database. 

The physical aspects of your 

practice are now well represented 

online: Google and Facebook know 

your business location and create 

a listing for you automatically. This 

is taken a step further with health 

directory websites looking to play a 

role in guiding patients to healthcare 

providers. 

You need to know what both new 

and existing patients experience 

when they come to visit your practice. 

Explore their patient journey online 

and the digital touchpoints they use 

to know what prompted them to visit 

and how you can better represent 

your practice online. 

Tips and tricks for online search 

Definitely dos 

• Ensure your online message is 

“click-worthy”. Online searches 

will result in clicks to your website 

homepage or specific content page. 

Ensure your message is clear, looks 

good and provides compelling 

reasons to visit your practice 

• Optimise your Google Maps listing. 

New patients often use location as 

a deciding factor, so ensure your 

images, keywords and address are up 

to date 

• Acquire some positive Google 

Reviews 

Definitely don’ts 

• When running ads on Google, 

avoid depleting your budget by using 

common, and therefore expensive, 

keywords. Use the Google keyword 

search tool instead to identify hot 

pockets of search activity related to 

brands you sell or a clinical service 

you provide 

• Don’t be tempted to generate your 

own online reviews by staff or family 

members. Google knows to look for 

irregular or disingenuous activity 

and will penalise you by dropping 

your Google search ranking 

Every post has a purpose 

Back in late 2005, Facebook rolled 

BY ROBERT SPRINGER* 

out across the globe and two years 

later, company pages were launched 

and businesses started to get to 

grips with this new media. 

In 2018, it would be unusual for 

a business not to have a Facebook 

page. It serves the same purpose 

as your website: to represent your 

practice online, but with the added 

benefit of built-in traffic generating 

capabilities. Reaching patients 

with your message has become 

easier, because of the trust and 

transparency that comes with social 

media. Every post has a purpose, 

to engage and inspire your target 

audience. 

Tips and tricks for social media 

marketing 

Definitely dos 

• Be interesting to your target 

audience: know your audience and 

post accordingly 

• Create posts that are “boostworthy”. 

For only a few dollars you 

can ensure your post is seen by 

a new audience, generating new 

patient prospects 

• Assign a dedicated person, even 

for a few hours per week, to measure 

and monitor 

• Post regularly using the 

“Goldilocks” rule: not too much, such 

that you’ll struggle to come up with 

new content, and not too little, with 

the minimum being once per month 

to keep an active online presence 

Definitely don’ts 

• Don’t rely heavily on re-posted 

content. Facebook rewards you with 

greater reach when you post original 

content 

• Don’t worry about the possible 

downsides of comments or online 

reviews. The Facebook reviews 

module can be inactivated and all 

posts can be moderated. This puts 

you fully in control of your online 

reputation and allows you to capture 

the tremendous upside of social 

word-of-mouth 

• Don’t use your personal Facebook 

profile to represent your practice. 

Post and comment only with your 

practice page 

Your digital advantage 

The benefit of digital marketing 

and consumer online activity is 

that it leaves a digital footprint. You 

can measure if your methods are 

working and this allows you to focus 

on specific audiences and techniques 

generating the best response. As a 

business promoting eye health, the 

latest eye care and eyewear, this is a 

huge advantage for you. You’ve got a 

service that benefits nearly everyone 

in your local area, it’s just a matter of 

how to get your message out. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Robert Springer 

is the technical 

director of 

OptomEDGE, 

an optometryfocused 

marketing 

agency covering 

campaigns, 

printed and 

digital recalls, 

and patient 

communications. To get in touch and learn 

more, please call: +64 9 889 3179 or email 

ask@optomedge.co.nz 

In Cameroon with Orbis 

BY ANITA GERBER-SETZ* 

Orbis is the world’s only accredited 

teaching flying eye hospital. It 

was set up in 1982 by American 

ophthalmologist Dr David Paton who felt 

that if people were not able to travel to 

increase their knowledge, then the next 

best thing would be to travel to where the 

knowledge and skills are needed. 

Over time, Orbis has evolved from 

upskilling ophthalmologists and nurses to 

providing hands on training for biomedical 

engineers, orthoptists and optometrists. 

It organises study symposiums with guest 

speakers and, with the advent of the 

internet, has also established Cybersight 

to enable information to be exchanged 

remotely, including triaging of patients for 

future programmes and timely advice for 

difficult cases. 

A core group of staff including nurses, 

doctors, anaesthetists, administration 

staff, engineers and mechanics fly regularly 

with the new MD-10 plane, which replaced the aging DC-10 

last year. People like me, and other visiting professionals also 

join the team for a week or two to share knowledge and skills 

with overseas colleagues. 

For this trip, Orbis was again invited by Philémon Yang, 

the prime minister of Cameroon, to come for four weeks to 

strengthen the clinical and operational capacity of Orbis’ 

partner hospitals, Yaoundé Central Hospital and Magrabi 

ICO Cameroon Eye Institute. The government hospital is 

a large hospital with limited resources, while Magrabi is 

newly built with better resources, but with doctors who have 

limited surgical experience. Cameroon is home to 25 million 

people with about 73 ophthalmologists to treat the main 

causes of avoidable blindness namely cataract, glaucoma, 

onchocerciasis, trachoma with corneal scarring, and refractive 

error. Because of the number of people, the scarce resources 

and under-qualified staff, screening and referral of eye disease 

and access to quality eye care remains a great challenge. 

On the ground in Yaoundé 

Whilst in Cameroon, I had the opportunity to work on the 

Orbis airplane for one week and in the local hospital for one 

week. My week on the airplane coincided with world sight day 

on 12 October which was very appropriate. 

Every Monday is screening day. Patients are chosen according 

to the best teaching cases for the widest audience. They are 

thoroughly screened and anaesthesia always has the last word 

on patient suitability. The screening process also includes 

patient education and media consent as well as the relevant 

tests and diagnostics for surgery. 

While the bulk of the trainees were in the class room at the 

front of the plane, one local doctor assisted the surgeon. The 

operation was televised via a live feed to the classroom. The 

visiting ophthalmologist would talk through the surgery and 

take questions as they were operating. The sub-specialties 

focused on in my first week were paediatric strabismus under 

general anaesthetic and trabeculectomy with MMC and SICS. 

While this was happening, anaesthetic and nursing trainees 

were participating in learning opportunities at the back 

of the plane while admitting patients, administering local 

BOOK REVIEW 

anaesthetic and caring for patients, post-anaesthesia. The 

plane is a very compact place and it is always a hive of activity! 

After surgery, patients were driven back to the local 

hospital by ambulance and seen post-operatively by the staff 

ophthalmologist. The traffic in Yaoundé is alarming to say the 

least and there are not too many times in my life where I have 

had a police escort to and from my place of work! 

My second week in the local hospital was a sober reality 

check after the state-of-the-art flying eye hospital. The 

local hospital had no recovery area, which meant general 

anaesthesia patients had to be recovered in theatre. Working 

together, the Orbis recovery room nurses and the local nurses 

created a pre and post-operative area which functioned well, 

despite no air conditioning! 

During the second week, the three sub-specialties the local 

doctors wished to have more training in were oculoplastics 

and, again, glaucoma and SICS. Our cataract specialist 

from Maulana Azad Medical College, India, Dr Ruchi 

Goel’s experience with small incision cataract surgery was 

phenomenal, having operated on hundreds of Indian patients. 

The oculoplastics surgeon, Dr Thomas Johnson from the 

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was a veteran 

of Orbis’ programmes, both on the plane and in local hospitals. 

He was well used to teaching with the aid of an interpreter and 

the local trainees were like sponges: engaged and enthusiastic, 

especially those who worked with us in the operating theatre. 

French and English are the official languages in Cameroon with 

more people speaking French, so my high school French got a 

good work out! 

An enormous amount of planning and work goes into 

programmes like this, with many people wholeheartedly 

contributing. This was an amazing and humbling experience 

for me, not least because of the people we were able to help, 

but also the spirit of cooperation between local professionals 

and Orbis personnel. The teamwork, camaraderie and 

dedication, demonstrated time and again by everyone, made 

this programme a great success. ▀ 

*Anita Gerber-Setz, RN, BN, OND, is the Clinical Nurse Manager and passionate 

ophthalmic nurse with Christchurch Eye Surgery, which she’d like to thank for 

being so supportive of her trip to Cameroon with Orbis 

Review of Ophthalmology (third edition) and Case Reviews 

of Ophthalmology (second edition) 

by Neil J. Friedman, Peter K Kaiser, and William B Trattler 

REVIEWED BY DR JINA HAN* 

The Review of Ophthalmology, third edition, by Drs Neil 

Friedman, Peter Kaiser and William Trattler, has quickly become 

one of my favourite textbooks. It is a one-stop comprehensive 

review book, richly filled with concise bullet points of key 

information. 

The 11 chapters cover all subspecialties as well as optics, 

pharmacology, embryology, anatomy and pathology. With a 

strong clinical focus, it walks the reader through pertinent 

symptoms, findings, diagnosis and treatment. The book 

is visually well designed with a nice flow and consistent 

formatting throughout. The text is in concise bullet points, 

which makes the read easy-to-digest and follow. There are high 

quality clinical and histological images and large illustrations 

are used to demonstrate concepts and anatomy. 

New to this edition are clinical scenario-based review 

questions at the end of every chapter. These multiple-choice 

style questions provide a nice breather from reading factual 

information and are helpful to consolidate learning. 

Perhaps the most impressive feature of this book are the 

generous sections summarising findings of key clinical studies. 

These allow the reader to rapidly access up-to-date, evidencebased 

treatment and management information across all 

subspecialty areas. 

With 416 pages in total, and at more or less A4 paper size, 

the book is too large to be readily portable. However, the eBook 

companion can be viewed on your mobile or laptop and is easily 

Anita Gerber-Setz and fellow Orbis, nurse, Elisa from Peru, on their first day operating in Cameroon on the MD-10 

accessible to all book 

owners through a 

unique code supplied 

within each cover. The 

online version is easy 

to navigate and allows the reader to make notes alongside each 

section, magnify images to a sufficient resolution full screen 

and perform useful searches. 

For readers in exam preparation, this book would pair very 

well with a question bank. It is also worth pairing this third 

edition with its sister book, ‘Case Reviews in Ophthalmology, 

second edition’, which contains more than 140 case scenarios 

covering the most relevant ocular conditions and basic sciences, 

in a similar format to RANZCO’s advanced clinical examinations 

(RACE). The eBook companion can be used like flash cards and 

there are large photos to highlight the key aspects of diagnosis 

for each case. 

Overall, both of these texts have a clear clinical focus, 

with concise relevant content and high-quality illustrations. 

Although these books may be most useful for ophthalmic 

trainees preparing for clinical examinations, they would make 

an excellent resource for any reader in eye care interested in 

reviewing ocular conditions quickly and efficiently. 

*Dr Jina Han is a clinical research fellow in cornea and anterior segment diseases 

in the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland. She is currently 

pursuing her MD on preoperative risk stratification and works closely with the 

anterior segment team at the Auckland District Health Board, as well as at the 

Eye Institute, Auckland, with Professor Charles McGhee. 


SPARK THERAPEUTICS INC 

Luxturna: costly but welcomed 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

has fast-tracked and approved a novel gene 

therapy, Luxturna (voretigene neparvovecrzyl), 

to treat patients with a rare form of inherited 

vision loss that can result in blindness. 

The news was welcomed by advocacy group 

Retina International and international retina 

specialists, including Auckland-based Associate 

Professor Andrea Vincent. 

“This represents a very exciting milestone in the 

treatment of inherited retinal diseases,” said A/ 

Prof Vincent. “There is a complex surgical procedure 

that has been developed to deliver this gene 

therapy. Therefore, it is likely at this point, that any 

patient would have to travel overseas to receive this 

Gene therapy research at Spark Therapeutics 

treatment, although expertise exists in Australia.” 

Luxturna has been approved in the US for 

the treatment of patients with confirmed 

biallelic RPE65 mutation-associated retinal 

dystrophy that leads to vision loss and may cause 

complete blindness. The condition is rare, with 

approximately 1,000 to 2,000 patients believed 

to suffer from it in the US and just a few in New 

Zealand. Only two individuals have been identified 

in the New Zealand Database of Inherited Retinal 

Diseases, confirmed A/Prof Vincent. 

Though the new treatment was welcomed, 

many international commentators however, are 

questioning the cost of treatment. Manufacturer 

Spark Therapeutics announced the cost at a 

whopping US$425,000 per eye at the end of last 

year, not including surgery costs, reigniting the 

cost of medicines debate in the US. 

“(In New Zealand) application would have to 

be made on a case-by-case basis,” said A/Prof 

Vincent. “However, as RPE65 retinal disease 

affects very young children, the socioeconomic 

cost of supporting and educating severely visually 

impaired children for the duration of their life 

is not insignificant, and therefore this likely 

represents a cost benefit.” 

But the cost shouldn’t detract from what is an 

incredible scientific breakthrough, she added. “This 

is a very exciting advancement for the treatment of 

inherited retinal diseases and the lessons learnt from 

[the trials] have allowed many other gene therapies 

for retinal degenerations to advance more rapidly.” 

The RPE65 gene provides instructions for making 

an enzyme that is essential for normal vision. 

Thus, Luxturna works by delivering a normal copy 

of the RPE65 gene directly to retinal cells using 

a naturally occurring adeno-associated virus, 

which has been modified using recombinant DNA 

techniques. These retinal cells then produce the 

protein that converts light to an electrical signal in 

the retina to restore patient’s vision loss. 

“[This] approval marks another first in the field 

of gene therapy — both in how the therapy works 

and in expanding the use of gene therapy beyond 

the treatment of cancer to the treatment of vision 

loss,” said FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb in a 

statement. “I believe gene therapy will become a 

mainstay in treating, and maybe curing, many of 

our most devastating and intractable illnesses.” 

Congratulating those involved in Luxturna’s 

development, Christina Fasser, president of Retina 

International, said the news marks the beginning 

of “an exciting and hopeful new era in the 

development of treatments.” 

More about this incredible new treatment will 

be revealed at the Retina International meeting 

in Auckland this month (see box) as one of the 

keynote speakers is Dr Jean Bennett, a lead 

researcher on Luxturna and an ophthalmologist at 

the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School 

of Medicine. Others senior researchers involved 

in Luxturna’s development include Dr Bennett’s 

husband, Dr Albert Maguire, an ophthalmologist 

at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) 

and Dr Katherine High, president and chief 

scientific officer at Spark Therapeutics. 

Retina 2018 in Auckland 

The 20th Retina International World Congress 

is being held in the Owen G Glenn Building at 

the University of Auckland from 10-11 February. 

The Congress will bring together some of the 

world’s foremost retinal scientists and clinicians 

along with global leaders in patient advocacy 

and peer support. It is aimed at anyone 

interested retinal disorders. 

The scientific programme, organised 

by Associate Professor Andrea Vincent, 

covers two days with a variety of sessions, 

including keynote addresses given by leading 

international researchers, plenary sessions, 

patient-focused sessions and education for 

healthcare professionals and scientists. 

For more and to register, go to http:// 

retina2018newzealand.com 

APVRS 2017 and an 

update on Eylea 

BY A/PROF PHILIP POLKINGHORNE* 

The 11th Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society 

(APVRS) Congress was held in December 

in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by the Malaysian 

Society of Ophthalmology. Enthusiastic hosts, 

beautiful Asian food, the latest technology from 

sponsoring companies and a scientific programme 

to interest all, greeted some 2000 delegates. 

The Congress was held in the Malaysian National 

Convention Centre, just opposite the Petronas Twin 

Towers. James Bond wasn’t in town, but the Tano 

lecture delivered by Professor Taraprasad Das from 

India on endophthalmitis following cataract surgery, 

attracted a large audience. The other named 

lectures were equally well-supported, delivering and 

sharing a wealth of information with the region. It 

is great to go and listen to experts who have clearly 

identified problems and can offer some solutions 

based on clinically published evidence, modified 

by real life experience. Quoting to a patient with 

diabetic macular oedema that Eylea will get you 

back to driving standard 18 months faster than a 

generic anti-VEGF, for example, as demonstrated 

by Bayer’s Vivid study, may have great relevance for 

your patient. 

I also enjoyed the first-hand experience of the 

investigators on Bayer’s Clarity Study (the latest 

update published in The Lancet in May 2017) who 

reported on how aflibercept (Eylea) was superior 

to panretinal photocoagulation for proliferative 

diabetic retinopathy. Maybe my days hunched over 

a laser are coming to an end! Perhaps I can cancel 

my scheduled appointments with my chiropractor? 

In addition to the named lectures, the Congress 

programme included a number of masterclass 

sessions covering such topics as the timing of 

intervention for eyes that have suffered significant 

trauma. There was also a masterclass session on 

the surgical management of diabetic eye disease 

and assessment of retinopathy of prematurity. This 

cluster of talks was aimed at the general retinal 

specialist and those just starting out, to let them 

know about the latest findings. 

There were also sessions for the more 

technologically-geeky on new applications on 

different devices, artificial intelligence, robotic 

developments and software programmes designed 

to help with mass screening. There were plenty 

of free papers as well, reporting on all manner of 

studies from Asia and beyond. 

The results of the Planet study into the 

management of that variant of age-related macular 

degeneration, namely PCV (polypoidal choroidal 

vasculopathy) were also presented in Kuala Lumpur. 

While this disease is likely to be more prevalent 

in Asia as opposed to New Zealand, it is being 

increasingly recognised here. Essentially, after two 

years, the Planet study demonstrated that Bayer’s 

anti-VEGF treatment aflibercept is effective as 

a monotherapy for PCV patients and had better 

outcomes than a combination therapy of anti-VEGF 

and photodynamic therapy. 

The Asia Pacific Vitreo-retinal Society is only about 

Drs Andrew Thompson and Jim Borthwick with Bayer’s Christie Murzello 

(middle) in Kuala Lumpur 

a decade old, formed as the result of a conversation 

between APVRS secretary-general, Professor Dennis 

Lam, and the late Professor Yasuo Tano from Japan. 

It is now a fully mature society hosting not only 

the annual meeting but supporting colleagues 

throughout the region. One APVRS programme I 

was especially interested in, was the mentoring 

scheme, where experienced VR surgeons team up 

with newbies from developing countries to offer 

advice and support online. The ability to transfer 

images internationally, means a colleague working 

by him or herself in more remote regions, for 

example, can obtain another opinion from someone 

who might have encountered something similar. 

Equally, a more experienced colleague’s literary 

knowledge may help a colleague who has less 

access to a well-resourced library. 

The medium-term goal of APVRS is to get onto 

an even footing with Euretina and the American 

Society of Retinal Specialists. With the growth 

of specialists in the region, together with the 

encouragement and support of younger colleagues 

– as evidenced by the mentoring programme and 

travelling scholarships etc. – I think that goal will be 

achieved in the very near future. 

The next APVRS meeting is in Seoul, South Korea 

on 14-16 December 2018 and I would recommend 

retinal colleagues attend. ▀ 

*Dr Philip Polkinghorne is an associate professor in the 

Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Auckland, 

a visiting lecturer at Otago University and a consultant 

ophthalmologist with Auckland Eye and the Greenlane Clinical 

Centre. A specialist in retinal, vitreo-retinal and cataract surgery, 

he also has subspecialty training in medical and surgical retina 

and is active in clinical and basic science research. 

Robotic delivery system 

for retinal cells 

A 

team of researchers from Moorfields Eye 

Hospital and the UCL Institute of Healthcare 

Engineering in the UK have been awarded 

£1.1 million to develop a robotic system to replace 

damaged retinal cells in people with age-related 

macular degeneration (AMD). 

The system will be supported by advanced 

imaging techniques, such as OCT-A, allowing 

surgeons to deliver new retinal cells with precision, 

said Professor Lyndon da Cruz, Moorfield’s 

ophthalmologist and clinical lead for the project. 

LEAVE A LEGACY 

OF VISUAL FREEDOM. 

TECNIS ® 

PRESBYOPIA-CORRECTING IOLs 

“Significant 

progress 

in cellular 

therapy 

has meant 

we are one 

step closer 

to restoring 

sight and improving AMD patients’ quality of life. 

However, this cannot be realised without effective 

cellular delivery.” ▀ 

TECNIS is a trademark owned by or licensed to Abbott Laboratories, its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the intellectual property of their respective owners. 

AMO Australia Pty. Limited. Level 3, 299 Lane Cove Road, Macquarie Park, NSW 2113. AMO Australia Pty. Limited (Incorporated in Australia) PO Box 401, Shortland Street, Auckland, 1140. 

© 2017 Abbott Medical Optics Inc. | www.vision.abbott | PP2016CT1775 

AMO20530 Tecnis PICOLs Adv_A4.indd 1 



21 

14/3/17 10:00 am

for optometrists and eye care professionals 

with 

Professors Charles 

McGhee & Dipika Patel 

Series Editors 

Iris melanoma: a review 

BY AMY CLUCAS AND DR JENNIFER COURT* 

Iris naevi are common, making up to 63% of 

melanocytic iris tumours found in adults 1 . 

In contrast, iris melanomas are rare, making 

up only 2-8% of all uveal melanomas 2 . Most are 

believed to arise from iris naevi, with an estimated 

transformation rate of 4% over 10 years, and 11% 

over 20 years 3 . Iris melanoma typically display 

two patterns of growth, circumscribed or diffuse. 

Progress tends to be slow – either locally along the 

surface of the iris, locally into the anterior chamber 

or invading into the ciliary body 4 . Metastases of 

iris melanoma occurs in up to 10% of cases over 

20 years and are influenced by factors such as 

the cytology of the tumour, increased age of the 

patient and angle involvement. This renders the 

distinction between naevus and melanoma, and 

then the different histological subtypes, clinically 

important. 

Iris naevi – The ABCDEF Guide 3 

Certain clinical features of iris naevi have been 

identified as indicators of increased risk for 

transformation into iris melanoma. A study done 

by Shields et al, which analysed 1611 consecutive 

patients with an initial diagnosis of iris naevus, 

developed ‘The ABCDEF Guide’ – a mnemonic for 

remembering factors predictive of transformation: 

A – age < 40 years, B – blood (hyphaema), C – clock 

hour inferior, D – diffuse, E – ectropion uveae, F – 

feathery margin 3 . While the mnemonic is helpful, 

important features are missing such as large size, 

nodule formation, elevated intra-ocular pressure 

and prominent intralesional vasculature 5 . 

The use of sequential photographs via slit lamp 

photography is extremely helpful for monitoring 

the size and growth of iris lesions. The frequency 

at which these photographs should occur depends 

on if there are features present which make the 

naevi higher risk and whether there is a history 

of suspected recent change. Should any changes 

in naevi be noticed, referral for ophthalmic 

review is advised. Just as patients are educated to 

monitor their cutaneous naevi, they should also 

be encouraged to monitor their iris naevi for any 

obvious changes if possible. 

Epidemiology of iris melanoma 

The prevalence of iris melanoma is increasing 6 . 

The estimated incidence of iris melanoma in New 

Zealand is 0.09/100,000 per year 6 , which is slightly 

higher than the estimated European incidence 

(0.02-0.08/100,000 per year) 7 . This may be 

attributed to the higher amount of solar radiation 

experienced in New Zealand. The superior part 

of the iris, which is better protected from UV 

radiation by the upper eyelid, rarely experiences 

iris melanoma 6 . 

The average age of patients with iris melanoma 

is 64 years of age 8 , with an equal distribution 

between male and females 9 . Risk factors include 

pre-existing iris naevi, fair skin with cutaneous 

naevi and non-brown coloured irises 8 . One 

study found 4% of patients diagnosed with iris 

melanoma had a history of skin melanoma 10 . 

Presentation 

The most common presentation of iris melanoma 

is the sudden rapid growth of a previously 

existing pigmented iris lesion. Most of these 

tend to be brown in colour (65.6%), but also exist 

as amelanotic (9.9%) or multi-coloured (9,9%) 8 . 

The shape is most commonly nodular (78.4%) as 

Fig 1. Diffuse iris melanoma associated with ectropion uveae and distortion of the pupil 

opposed to flat (21.6%) and existing in the inferior 

clock face (78.4%) 9 . Common associated features 

include a corectopia (the drawing of the pupil from 

its usual central position, 62%), ectropion uveae 

(44%), intrinsic tumour vessels (43%), hyphaema 

(9%) secondary glaucoma and tumour induced 

cataract (14%) 5 . 

Histology 

Iris melanomas can be divided into three broad 

histological categories: spindle- cell, epithelioidcell 

and mixed – with spindle-cell tumours 

being the most common and carrying the best 

prognosis 9 . Mixed or epithelioid tumours have 

been found to have an estimated eight times 

higher risk of mortality 8 . 

Management of iris melanoma 

The course of management for iris melanoma 

depends on many factors, including the size of 

the tumour, invasion into the anterior chamber 

angle and the presence of melanoma-related 

complications such as raised intraocular pressure. 

An initial thorough inspection of the lesion is 

recommended, followed by an investigation 

for involvement of surrounding structures, 

including the anterior chamber, angle, lens 

and cornea 5 . Diagnostic procedures such as 

ultrasound biomicroscopy and anterior segment 

optical coherence tomography (OCT) are useful 

for differentiating between cystic and solid 

lesions 10 , as well as assessing the ciliary body 

for involvement. Ultrasound-guided fine-needle 

aspiration biopsy to confirm cytology can also play 

a role in guiding the course of management. 

Watchful waiting 

Watchful waiting is an option for lesions that are 

slow growing or have been histologically identified 

as composed of spindle type-A cells. These 

melanomas have a very low risk of local invasion 

and metastasis 11 . 

Surgical Excision 

For lesions identified as being localised and 

without evidence of tumour seeding, local 

excision via iridectomy or iridocyclectomy is an 

appropriate choice of management. For these 

patients, the most common post-operative 

complaint is glare – experienced in up to 25% 

of cases 12 . This can be managed with either a 

pupil reconstruction or tinted glasses. Other 

complications include incomplete excision of the 

lesion, a dislocated lens, cataract progression and 

post-operative glaucoma 4 . 

Radiotherapy 

Radiotherapeutic approaches to iris melanoma 

include proton beam therapy and plaque 

radiotherapy. Proton beam therapy involves a 

highly collimated external beam that uses protons 

instead of x-rays 13 . Plaque radiotherapy is a disc 

of radioactive material (commonly Iodine 125) 

delivering localised trans-corneal radiotherapy to 

an iris lesion 14 . Indications for radiotherapy include 

residual tumour following surgical excision, 

tumour recurrence and diffuse or multifocal 

involvement. Radiation-induced side effects 

are common. Shields et al reported at five years 

following treatment, patients developed cataracts 

(70%), corneal conditions (9%) and neovascular 

glaucoma (8%) 14 . An additional complication 

specific to proton beam therapy is limbal stem cell 

deficiency 12 . 

A review done by Popovic et al 12 comparing 

the radiotherapeutic and surgical management 

of iris melanoma found that radiotherapeutic 

approaches are now being used more frequently 

(proton beam 49.4%, plaque 31.4%) than surgical 

resection (19.2%). Other findings included 

lower rates of local recurrence and metastatic 

development with radiotherapy (0-5%) than 

surgery (0-14%, including enucleation). However, 

surgical management tended to show lower rates 

of cataract and glaucoma development following 

treatment and avoids the radiotherapeutic specific 

complications such as limbal stem cell deficiency 12 . 

Enucleation 

Enucleation is reserved as a last resort treatment 

for tumours that show aggressive recurrence, 

extensive growth and invasion, poor vision 

potential and uncontrollably high intraocular 

pressure with pain 12,14 . 

Summary 

Fig 2. Gonioscopy image of an iris melanoma abutting the angle 

There is considerable overlap between the 

features of iris naevus and melanoma, warranting 

monitoring of naevi by patients and their families, 

optometrists and ophthalmologists. The use 

of radiotherapeutic approaches are becoming 

more popular, with studies showing lower rates 

of recurrence and metastases compared to local 

surgical excision. However, this must be balanced 

against the higher rates of common complications 

such as cataract, glaucoma and limbal stem cell 

deficiency. Given the rarity and heterogeneity of 

iris melanoma, there remains a need for more 

research regarding its monitoring and optimum 

timing for intervention. ▀ 

References: 

1. Shields, Carol L., et al. “Clinical survey of 3680 iris tumors 

based on patient age at presentation.” Ophthalmology 

119.2 (2012): 407-414. 

2. Shields, Carol L., et al. “Clinical spectrum and prognosis 

of uveal melanoma based on age at presentation in 8,033 

cases.” Retina 32.7 (2012): 1363-1372. 

3. Shields, Carol L., et al. “Iris nevus growth into melanoma: 

analysis of 1611 consecutive eyes: the ABCDEF guide.” 

Ophthalmology 120.4 (2013): 766-772. 

4. Conway, R. M., et al. “Primary iris melanoma: diagnostic 

features and outcome of conservative surgical treatment.” 

British journal of ophthalmology85.7 (2001): 848-854. 

5. Shields, Carol L., et al. “Iris melanoma: risk factors for 

metastasis in 169 consecutive patients.” Ophthalmology 

108.1 (2001): 172-178. 

6. Michalova, Kira, et al. “Iris melanomas: are they 

more frequent in New Zealand?.” British journal of 

ophthalmology 85.1 (2001): 4-5. 

7. McGalliard, J. N., and P. B. Johnston. “A study of iris 

melanoma in Northern Ireland.” British journal of 

ophthalmology 73.8 (1989): 591-595. 

8. Khan, Samira, et al. “Clinical and pathologic 

characteristics of biopsy-proven iris melanoma: 

a multicenter international study.” Archives of 

Ophthalmology130.1 (2012): 57-64. 

9. Jakobiec, Frederick A., and Glenn Silbert. “Are most iris’ 

melanomas’ really nevi?: A clinicopathologic study of 

189 lesions.” Archives of Ophthalmology99.12 (1981): 

2117-2132. 

10. Pavlin, Charles J., et al. “Ultrasound biomicroscopy of 

anterior segment tumors.” Ophthalmology 99.8 (1992): 

1220-1228. 

11. Geisse, Lawrence J., and Dennis M. Robertson. “Iris 

melanomas.” American journal of ophthalmology 99.6 

(1985): 638-648. 

12. Popovic, Marko, et al. “Radiotherapeutic and surgical 

management of iris melanoma: A review.” Survey of 

ophthalmology (2017). 

13. Rahmi, Ahmed, et al. “Proton beam therapy for 

presumed and confirmed iris melanomas: a review of 36 

cases.” Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental 


14. Shields, Carol L., et al. “Iris melanoma management 

with iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy in 144 patients: 

impact of melanoma-related glaucoma on outcomes.” 


15. Shields, Carol L., et al. “Custom-designed plaque 

radiotherapy for nonresectable iris melanoma in 38 

patients: tumor control and ocular complications.” 

American journal of ophthalmology 135.5 (2003): 648-656. 

About the authors 

IMAGES COURTESY OF PROFESSOR CHARLES MCGHEE 

Fig 3. (a) Iris melanoma with visible incisional biopsy site; (b) following excisional biopsy; (c) following phacoemulsification and insertion of an intraocular lens and artificial iris 

Amy Clucas 

Dr Jennifer Court 

*Amy Clucas is a medical student at the University of Auckland 

who developed an interest in ophthalmology on her two-week 

attachment last year. She completed a selective in ophthalmology 

with the Greenlane Clinical Centre’s eye department and says 

she’s looking forward to future experiences in the field. 

Dr Jennifer Court trained in ophthalmology in the UK. She is a 

cornea and anterior segment fellow at Greenlane Clinical Centre, 

Auckland. 


New education evening 

Class of 2017 graduates 

BY MICHAELLA DOLLING* 

We had our first 

of, hopefully, 

many educational 

evenings with local 

Hamilton ophthalmologist 

Dr Chris Murphy at the 

end November. Dr Murphy, 

an anterior eye specialist, 

informed attendees about 

the latest up-to-date 

techniques in pterygium, 

cataract and corneal crosslinking 

procedures and 

when, where and who to 

refer. 

After a lovely dinner and 

drinks in Victoria Street 

Bistro’s private rooms, Dr 

Murphy then ended the 

evening with a discussion 

about common corneal 

dystrophies and answered 

any questions we had. 

Places were limited for this first evening, but 

after great feedback, we will be arranging another 

evening this year. 

Attendees also received 2.5 CPD points. ▀ 

New SOVS appointees 

The School of Optometry and Vision Science 

(SOVS) at the University of Auckland has 

announced three new appointments: Dr Sam 

Schwarzkopf as an associate professor and Drs 

Hannah Kersten and Phil Turnbull as lecturers. 

Professor Steven Dakin says it’s wonderful 

the School’s two new lecturers, Drs Kersten and 

Turnbull, both did their undergraduate degrees 

and PhDs at the University of Auckland. Their 

appointments, says Dakin, continues a proud 

tradition of New Zealand “growing its own” clinical 

vision scientists. The SOVS team is also excited to 

welcome Associate Professor Sam Schwarzkopf, 

who joins them from one of the world’s best 

psychology/neuroscience departments at 

University College London, says Prof Dakin. 

“These exceptionally talented young scientists 

will add value to the innovative teaching making 

up the BOptom programme and the world-class 

eye health research conducted within the School.” 

NZ Optics caught up with the new appointees 

to learn more about what attracted them to eye 

health. 

Associate Professor Sam Schwarzkopf 

A/Prof Schwarzkopf 

became interested 

in perceptual 

processing, 

especially in the 

visual domain, 

when he first learnt 

about neurobiology 

in high school, 

he says. “In my 

first year, in my 

neuroscience 

degree I read a 

A/Prof Sam Schwarzkopf 

textbook about 

visual perception and started to focus my interest 

in this area. I actually convinced my tutors to allow 

me to write an essay about it instead of answering 

the essay question everybody else had to answer.” 

Today, he says, he is driven by the mystery of how 

the brain turns sensory inputs into an experience. 

“Even though a lot of the general processes are 

fairly well studied, we still do not really know 

what determines how each person subjectively 

experiences the world.” 

A/Prof Schwarzkopf, who first visited New 

Zealand on his honeymoon, says he is looking 

forward to the change of environment his new 

appointment brings and he’s exited by New 

Zealand’s unique ethnic and cultural mix, which 

opens up opportunities of cross-cultural and 

population comparisons of perceptual function 

which few other countries can offer. “I am 

also excited to move back from a psychology 

department into a more biologically-oriented 

department. In some ways, this is going 

back to the roots for me as I was trained as a 

neurophysiologist, but of course my research will 

continue to have close links to psychology.” 

Dr Phil Turnbull 

Dr Turnbull, a former graduate from the University 

of Auckland optometry programme, says he’s 

Dr Chris Murphy (at the back) and attendees from the new Hamilton education evening 

Michaella Dolling is a locum optometrist who works in New 

Zealand, Australia and further afield. She organised this 

inaugural educational evening with Dr Chris Murphy after 

realising how much her travels have led her to appreciate both 

the ophthalmological talent in Hamilton and Hamilton itself. 

thrilled to be able 

to continue his 

clinical research 

career as a SOVS 

lecturer. He 

completed his 

PhD in the field 

of myopia with 

Dr John Phillips 

and, between 

feeding his 

octopus and squid 

research subjects, 

Dr Phil Turnbull 

pushed for better 

awareness of myopia control management and 

taught myopia control techniques to optometry 

students in the University Eye Clinic. His current 

research, however, investigates how new and 

emerging technologies, such as eye-tracking, 

virtual reality and electroretinography can be used 

in optometry and vision science, he says. 

“As a clinician scientist, I’m passionate about 

optometry, research and evidence-based medicine 

and try to infuse this into my teaching to inspire 

future optometrists. My class (of 2006) was the 

first year to have therapeutics included as part 

of the undergraduate degree and [we] have seen 

several expansions in the scope of the optometry 

profession. I hope my research will be able to 

contribute to the literature… help maintain the 

healthy outlook for the optometric profession, 

improve our understanding of vision science and 

benefit the broader community.” 

Dr Hannah Kersten 

A love of physics 

led Dr Hannah 

Kersten to do 

a Bachelor of 

Optometry, where 

she developed a 

strong interest 

in eye health. 

After graduating, 

she worked in 

a community 

optometry practice 

in Lower Hutt, 

before returning 

to Auckland to Dr Hannah Kersten 

take up a junior optic nerve research fellowship 

position in the Department of Ophthalmology. 

Since completing her doctoral thesis in 2016, 

she’s held a joint position between SOVS and the 

ophthalmology department, with her current 

research focusing on the identification of potential 

retinal and optic nerve biomarkers in early 

neurodegenerative disease. 

Dr Kersten says she’s excited about her new 

role, which allows her to develop an independent 

research career and expand her teaching practice, 

while contributing to the profession of optometry. 

“In addition, I am able to continue in my clinical 

role and further develop my areas of clinical 

expertise. I hope to solidify existing research 

collaborations and form new ones with fellow NZ- 

NEC researchers.” ▀ 

The graduating class of 2017 

Entering to the powerful 

sound-track of Star Wars 

(the good side, that is, 

the dark side was reserved for 

the University’s professional 

teaching staff!), the graduating 

optometry class of 2017 entered 

Auckland Town Hall, bedecked 

in flowing black robes with royal 

blue collars. For the first time, 

optometry students graduated 

in November with their Faculty 

of Medical & Health Science 

colleagues from nursing and 

pharmacy. To herald this, the 

guest speaker was optometry’s 

own Paul Rose, CNZM. 

Inventor of the internationallyrecognised 

and sold Rose K 

brand of contact lenses for 

irregular cornea, Rose provided 

an uplifting speech about 

entrepreneurialism and being 

aware of “those lightbulb 

moments” as you never know 

where they might take you. 

“Innovation is challenging the 

status quo, that’s how we move 

forward in life.” 

After congratulating all the 

students on their hard work, 

adding that learning is an 

exciting journey that never ends, 

he reminded all the graduates 

to stay passionate about what 

they do as then, they will never 

be bored. 

Graduates were then 

presented with their certificates 

and prizes were awarded. Class of 2017 School of 

Optometry and Vision Science prize winners were: 

• Sean Mahendran – the Anna Pritchard Prize for 

optical dispensing 

• Jing Chen – the Raymond Harry Hawkins Prize for 

undergraduate optometry research 

• Theantay Keo and Kishan Mistry – first in the 

Carla Louise Ngo Sy, Astha Rai, Zhen Lim and Linda Lin 

Keynote speaker Paul Rose addresses the 2017 graduates in Auckland’s Town Hall 

Hong Low, Sherin Varughese, Sean Mahendran, Rahul Kumar and Eva Woodward 

NZCO Prize for project presentation 

• Joyce Mathan, Bridget Field and Bianca Davidson 

– second in the NZCO Prize for project presentation 

• Sharifeh Safdari – Excellence in Clinical 

Optometry Prize 

• Bianca Davidson – Senior Scholar 

• Bianca Davidson – Dean’s Medal ▀ 



23

Style-Eyes 

Magical metal makes a 

come back 

BY COURTNEY ELDER* 

Anyone who’s been in the eyewear industry, 

or any occupation related to fashion 

for that matter, for any length of time, 

know styles are cyclical. People who grew up 

in the 1950s and 1960s and needed vision 

correction more than likely wore cat-eye shapes 

or clubmaster styles, and they always tend to 

laugh with familiarity when they see these looks 

displayed as the latest new thing in their local 

optometrists. 

Millennials who wore glasses in middle school, 

more than likely weren’t thrilled with round 

frames that typically had a faux tortoise shell 

print on them. But, at the time, there wasn’t much 

else to choose from. Imagine their surprise when 

they see these exact frames making a comeback 

and turning into eyewear’s latest trend! 

On a broader scale, bold acetate frames have 

been the go-to for the visually impaired for 

many years, and while the styles have slightly 

changed, the overall feel has not. Maybe you’ve 

already started to see the shift, but if you’re 

not following eyewear trends closely, get ready 

for what will seem like a surprising jump in a 

completely opposite direction. 

ProDesign Model 1291 

who want 

outrageous 

colors like lime 

green or hot 

pink can get 

exactly what 

they want from 

ProDesign’s 

ProDesign Axiom 

collection. 

Usually, ProDesign lovers tend to be bold and 

it’s not uncommon to encounter them saying 

they are on their fifth or sixth pair of these 

Danish beauties, so they are also quite possibly 

early adopters of this growing metal eyewear 

fashion. 

DITA 

Fashion update 

WOOW Wool 

WOOW, created by Face á Face in 2012, is celebrating its 

fifth anniversary by introducing the new WOOW Wool 

collection. The new collection stays true to the fun, upbeat 

spirit of the label, combining brightly coloured frames with 

vibrant matching patterns adorning the acetate temples, 

inspired by the iconic Argyle diamond sock design. All also 

feature “frame names” such as ‘Heat Up’ and ‘Be Hot’ 

inside the temple tips. ‘Be Hot’ has light metal fronts and 

acetate temples and comes in two shapes and six colour 

combinations. Distributed by Eyes Right Optical, 

NZ agent CMI Optical. 

Ricky Martin dons Blackfin 

Celebrity singer Ricky Martin, wore a pair of 

Blackfin sunglasses during the Golden Globes 

‘Gold Meets Golden’ 

after-party, which 

brings together 

Hollywood stars, 

professional athletes, 

Olympic champions, 

sponsors and rich 

listers to help 

generate awareness 

and support for 

sports-related 

causes. Distributed 

by Beni Vision. 

Superlight Airlock II 

With minimalistic style and modern designs, the 

new Airlock II Collection is crafted from superlight 

materials, providing ultimate comfort and 

durability to suit all faces, said US manufacturer 

Marchon Eyewear. It also features the company’s 

unique Dual Compression Mounting system, 

providing faster fabrication time and no-notch lens 

edges. Distributed by VSP Australia. 

William Morris strikes gold 

Readers who attended ADONZ in Christchurch 

last year had the opportunity to have a close look 

at William Morris’ new London Gold Collection. 

This elegant, lightweight collection includes nine 

exclusive, premium acetate styles, in retro inspired 

shapes with modern details. Acetate fronts are 

blended with gold metal finishes while stainless 

steel temples make them light weight and 

extremely durable, said the company. “To give the 

frames an exceptionally beautiful and long-lasting 

sheen, we use up to four layers of fine metals and 

then coat in a natural white palladium metal (to 

increase) the strength and durability of the stainless 

steel.” Distributed by Phoenix Eyewear. ▀ 

Retro shapes are coming back into mainstream fashion 

Metal’s making a return 

For years, optical professionals touted the 

strength and durability of acetate frames and 

when this functional aspect blended in with the 

ability to choose from a variety of unique colors 

and designs, it’s no surprise plastic became the 

popular choice. 

But today, eyewear manufacturers across the 

globe seemed to have finally cracked the code 

when it comes to metal frames and are now 

starting to offer styles that vastly outperform the 

lifespan of their zyl counterparts and bring bold 

looks of their own. 

Here’s a few of my top picks today. 

Mykita 

Berlin designers have an edgy interpretation of metal frames 

Luxury eyewear shops around the world often 

boast that Mykita is one of their best-selling 

brands due to its clean design and incredible 

flexibility. When wearing glasses goes beyond 

just a fashion statement and wearers place an 

emphasis on all-day comfort, perceptions about 

metal frames seem to shift. 

From bold sunglasses to the ability to combine 

beautiful colors for a pretty and delicate look, 

this German eyewear company takes its craft 

seriously. Offering frames suitable for men, 

women and children, Mykita has begun to 

revolutionise the future of fashionable frames. 

ProDesign 

A staple for many optometrists and patients 

alike, the selection from ProDesign continues to 

show us that the future of fashion is in metals. 

People who are looking for elegant frames with 

intricate leaf work on the temples or those 

Genuine gold adds to the detailed metal work 

Tracing back to its Italian roots of high quality 

and luxury, Dita also seems to be on the 

forefront of fashion, using elegant finishes and 

materials to make metals feel truly sublime. 

People who love craftsmanship sometimes 

simply don’t get it when it comes to acetate 

frames. 

But with Dita, each hinge itself is made using 

over 40 pieces, often crafted from 14K gold. Just 

like other boutique eyewear brands, patients 

certainly get what they pay for (and pay for what 

they get) when it comes to this brand. But, just 

like the fans of ProDesign, die-hard lovers of Dita 

don’t seem to flinch at the price point. 

Part of the company’s strategy, that seems to 

really work, comes from morphing supple metals 

into retro shapes that strike a chord with anyone 

who has a penchant for vintage eyewear. Dita 

isn’t afraid to go big and bold with its metal 

collection and is certainly at the forefront of 

today’s metal eyewear collections. 

A time and a place 

The craftsmanship and creative designs displayed 

in today’s metal frames shouldn’t be underplayed, 

yet at the same time, it’s not like plastic styles are 

going by the wayside either. Plenty of eyewear 

manufacturers rely on bold and dark frames as 

staple pieces, but the increasing appeal of metal 

frames just can’t be ignored. 

As a glasses wearer of 20+ years and a gal who 

has always adored her plastic frames, I actually 

happily added a metal frame to my collection 

last year. It took some time getting used to 

nosepads, but it’s infused an entirely new 

element to my style that allows me to change 

things up when I want to. If it wasn’t for the 

new and innovative styles that I see from various 

brands across the world, I doubt I would’ve 

strayed from my tried and true acetates. 

*Courtney Elder has more 

than 10 years of optical 

experience and loves wearing 

fashionable eyewear in 

Portland, OR, USA. Today 

she owns a content creation 

company with her husband. 

Visit www.author-eyes.com for 

more info. 

Kosby tech now in NZ 

Little Peach have introduced the high-tech 

eyewear brand, Kosby, to New Zealand. Kosby 

eyewear incorporate a unique, and now 

patented, spring hinge, that springs both in and 

outwards to ensure both a comfortable and tight 

fit, that’s been rigorously tested to ensure it doesn’t 

come lose, says David Bearpark from Little Peach. 

Stars and their Eyes… 

Paul Holmes 

In 1973, at the age of 23, the late broadcaster 

and keen amateur pilot Sir Paul Holmes had a 

near-fatal accident injuring his optic nerve and 

causing permanent vision loss in his right eye. 

Close friend, Richard Griffin recalls fondly 

the white-knuckle moments flying with newly 

licensed, amateur, one-eyed pilot Sir Paul (with 

just 17 hours solo behind him). “He’d got over 

Egmont in a whiteout and he said, “F***, I think I 

just missed that mountain.” 

Sir Paul had lost his stereopsis since becoming 

monocular. “He couldn’t calculate distance from 

about 10 feet up. So, when you were coming in 

for landing, the last 10 feet were just a bit of a 

mystery, really. He used to drop it anywhere and 

sometimes it was perfect and sometimes it was 

hair-raising,” said Griffin in media reports. 

“We had four emergency landings and took out 

two fences. On one occasion, we took a fence with 

us without crashing. I still can’t believe that. I 

looked out to one side and there was the top wire 

The new hinge technology was developed over 

more than five years by two French optometrists, Guy 

Azoulay and Francis Kessous, and is now incorporated 

into their brand-new collection made from highquality 

stainless steel and acetate. 

“Coupled with a timeless, stylish look, Kosby frames 

are also extremely lightweight, making them some 

of the most comfortable frames on 

the market,” said Bearpark. “This 

highly technical brand collection is 

aimed primarily at men and women 

over the age of 35, who are happy 

to spend a little more if they can see 

quality and added value. We expect 

Kosby to become a major player in 

the independent optical market very 

quickly.” ▀ 

For more see the ad on p8 and 

contact Little Peach (details in your 

2018 OIG) 

of a fence trailing along. Paul said, “Jesus, we’ve got 

to be more careful.” 

Along with surviving a colourful radio and 

television career in the public eye, several plane, 

car and helicopter crashes, Sir Paul also endured 

several health battles. In an interview, he said “If 

you want to get through an experience, you’ve just 

got to grit your teeth and get through it.” He was 

knighted in 2013 two weeks before his death. ▀ 


Chalkeyes presents… 

Seeing vs perceiving 

What every eye care practitioner should know about visual-perceptual processing problems. By Dr Sandra Tosta* 

In the world of optics, what an individual 

sees is of utmost importance and eye care 

professionals are impeccably trained to 

recognise and treat dysfunctions and anomalies 

related to the eye. The visual system, however, 

includes not just the eyes, but also the brain. 

Even when the eyes are functioning perfectly, the 

brain can have difficulty processing the visual 

information it receives. When this happens, what 

an individual “sees” can become like an optical 

illusion and a variety of difficulties ranging from 

reading problems to physical symptoms can result. 

Swirled print distortion suffered by some people with visual 

perception processing problems 

A common, but often mis – or unidentified 

condition 

Since 1980, research has repeatedly documented 

the presence of, and difficulties associated with, a 

little known perceptual processing problem known 

as Irlen Syndrome. Irlen Syndrome is a problem 

with how the brain interprets visual information. 

The condition affects 12-14% of the general 

population and up to 46% of individuals with 

reading and learning difficulties. It is characterised 

by a variety of physical symptoms exacerbated by 

environmental factors such as lighting, especially 

bright lights and fluorescents, and computer 

screens, iPhones, white paper, white boards, 

high-contrast and visually-intensive activities. 

Unfortunately, eye care professionals are unfamiliar 

with the warning signs of Irlen Syndrome. As a 

result, many individuals with this condition go 

unidentified and never receive proper intervention 

for their visual-perceptual processing problems. 

Drs Ricardo and Marcia Guimaraes are 

ophthalmologists at the largest eye hospital in 

Brazil and researchers at the country’s second 

largest university. According to their research, 

the basic difference between the current 

optometric assessments and those required to 

identify visual-perceptual processing disorders 

is, “besides checking the static abilities granted 

by the parvocellular system and related to visual 

acuity (special resolution, refraction, intraocular 

pressure, biomicroscopy and fundoscopy, cover 

testing, OCT, etc.), it is necessary to also consider 

the performance of the eye under dynamic 

conditions.” Thus, the absence of a dynamic 

assessment protocol means Irlen Syndrome is not 

picked up during standard optometric exams. 

How to tell if Irlen Syndrome might be 

part of the problem 

Individuals with Irlen Syndrome will often 

complain of light sensitivity associated with 

sunlight, bright lighting, fluorescent lights, 

headlight and glare. They may also have reading 

problems, as reading becomes inefficient and they 

Irlen specs: the coloured-lenses help with visual processing 

Ongoing research by Drs Adam Anderson and Eve De Rosa at Cornell 

University’s shows over-active brain function when Irlen Syndrome 

sufferers wear a blank lens that normalizes when proper precisiontinted 

coloured filters are worn 

may need to re-read for comprehension or build 

breaks into reading. High-contrast (black print 

on white paper) and visually-intensive activities, 

create high levels of stress for the brain that 

trigger physical symptoms which may include 

headaches and migraines. Brain imaging, both 

SPECT scans and fMRI, of individuals with this 

condition shows over-activity, complex brain 

patterns and non-normalised functioning. This 

results in a variety of issues, including difficulties 

reading because of a lack of print stability, 

issues with glare or discomfort from the white 

background on the printed page, problems with 

depth perception and physical symptoms, such as 

headaches, nausea, dizziness, brain fog, anxiety, 

strain and fatigue. 

What we know about Irlen Syndrome 

Over 100 scientific studies on the topic have 

established a hereditary component of the 

disorder 1-3 , a number of biochemical markers for 

problems associated with Irlen Syndrome 4-6 , and 

differences in brain function between individuals 

with and without the condition 7-11 . Precisiontinted 

coloured filters have been found to 

normalise abnormal brain activity and eliminate 

issues with print clarity and stability, physical 

symptoms, and light sensitivity associated with 

the condition 12-21 . Although originally thought 

to be associated solely with reading problems, 

research has linked visual processing difficulties 

to a range of other disorders, including ADHD 

(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), ASD 

(autism spectrum disorders), learning disabilities, 

anxiety and certain emotional and psychological 

issues 22-24 . Visual processing challenges also 

overlap with other neurological conditions, such 

as migraines and tourette’s 8, 25 . 

How eye care professionals can help: the 

need for comprehensive care 

While binocular and accommodative anomalies 

may occur in conjunction with Irlen Syndrome, 

they are not considered to be the underlying 

physiological basis of the condition 26-29 . As such, 

comprehensive care of individuals suffering from 

Irlen Syndrome needs to include assessment 

and correction of eye-related dysfunctions and 

anomalies by an eye care professional before any 

assessment for Irlen Syndrome. Specific assessment 

and intervention for the neurologic dysfunction 

related to Irlen Syndrome ensures that both eyeand 

brain-related issues are being addressed. 

A short pre-screening questionnaire can help 

identify individuals who might be at risk for 

Irlen Syndrome and most eye-care professionals 

can be trained to both identify and address Irlen 

Syndrome in their clients. ▀ 

For more information about Irlen Syndrome, 

visit www.irlen.com or contact Sarah Bycroft, the 

national director for Irlen NZ, on 09 414 4484 or 

sarah@irlen.nz. 

References: 

1. Loew, S.J., & Watson, K. (2012). A prospective genetic marker 

of the visual perception disorder Meares–Irlen syndrome. 

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 114(3), 870-882. 

2. Robinson, G.L., Foreman, P.J., & Dear, K.G.B. (2000). The familial 

incidence of symptoms of Scotopic sensitivity/Irlen syndrome: 

comparison of referred and mass-screened groups. Perceptual 

and Motor Skills, 91, 707-724. 

3. Robinson, G.L., Foreman, P.J., Dear, K.G.B., and Sparkes, D. 

(2004). The Family Incidence of a Visual-Perceptual Subtype of 

Dyslexia. Nova Science Publishers, 27-40. 

4. Robinson, G.L., Roberts, T.K., McGregor, N.R., Dunstan, R.H., 

& Butt, H. (1999) . Understanding the causal mechanisms of 

visual processing problems: a possible biochemical basis for 

Irlen Syndrome? Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 

4(4), 21-29. 

5. Robinson, G.L., McGregor, N.R., Roberts, T.K., Dunstan, R.H., & 

Butt, H. (2001). A biochemical analysis of people with chronic 

fatigue who have Irlen syndrome: speculation concerning 

immune system dysfunction. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 

486-504. 

6. Sparks, D.L., Robinson, G.L., Dunstan, H., & Roberts, T.K. (2003). 

Plasma cholesterol levels and Irlen Syndrome: preliminary 

study of 10- to 17-yr., old students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 

97, 745-752. 

7. Chouinard, B.D., Zhou, C.I., Hrybouski, S., Kim, E.S., Cummine, 

J. (2012). A functional neuroimaging case study of Meares-Irlen 

syndrome/visual stress (MISViS) Brain Topography, 25 (3), pp. 

293-307. 

8. Huang, J., Zong, X., Wilkins, A., Jenkins, B., Bozoki, A., Cao, Y. 

(2011). fMRI evidence that precision ophthalmic tints reduce 

cortical hyperactivation in migraine. Cephalagia, 31(8):925-36. 

9. Lewine, J.D., Irlen, H.L., & Orrison, W.W. (1996). Visual evoked 

magnetic fields in Scotopic sensitivity syndrome. (Available 

from New Mexico Institute of Neuroimaging. The New Mexico 

Regional Field Medical Center: Albuquerque, NM). 

10. Riddell, P. M., Wilkins, A. and Hainline, L. (2006) The effect of 

colored lenses on the visual evoked response in children with 

visual stress. Optometry and Vision Science, 83 (5). pp. 299-305. 

11. Yellen, A. (2010). Irlen syndrome: a case study. Los Angeles 

Psychologist, May-June,16-18. 

12. Bouldoukian, J., Wilkins, A.J., & Evans, Bruce J.W. (2002). 

Randomised controlled trial of the effect of coloured overlays on 

the rate of reading of people with specific learning difficulties. 

Ophthalmological and Physiological Optics, 22, 55-60. 

13. IMAIZUMI, S., HIBINO, H., & KOYAMA, S. (2016). Effect of 

Colored Overlays on Reading Comfort in People with and 

without Meares-Irlen Syndrome. International Journal of 

Affective Engineering, 15(1), 21-28. 

14. Kim, J. H., Seo, H. J., Ha, S. G., & Kim, S. H. (2015). Functional 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Meares-Irlen 

Syndrome: A Pilot Study. Korean Journal of Ophthalmology, 

29(2), 121-125. 

15. Nobel, J., Orton, M., Irlen, S., & Robinson, G. (2004). A controlled 

field study of the use of coloured overlays on reading 

achievement. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 9(2) 

14-22. 

16. Park, S.H., Kim, S., Cho, Y.A., Joo, C. (2012). The Effect of Colored 

Filters in Patients with Meares-Irlen Syndrome. J Korean 

Ophthalmol Soc. 2012 Mar;53(3):452-459. 

17. Huang, J., Zong, X., Wilkins, A., Jenkins, B., Bozoki, A., Cao, Y. 

(2011). fMRI evidence that precision ophthalmic tints reduce 

cortical hyperactivation in migraine. Cephalagia, 31(8):925-36. 

18. Loew, S. J., Rodríguez, C., Marsh, N. V., Jones, G. L., Núñez, J. C., 

& Watson, K. (2015). Levels of Visual Stress in Proficient Readers: 

Effects of Spectral Filtering of Fluorescent Lighting on Reading 

Discomfort. The Spanish journal of psychology, 18, E58. 

19. Robinson, G.L., & Conway, R.N.F. (2000). Irlen lenses and adults: 

a small scale study of reading speed, accuracy, comprehension 

and self-image. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 5, 

4-13. 

20. Whiting, P., Robinson, G.L., & Parrot, C.F. (1994). Irlen coloured 

filters for reading: a six year follow up. Australian Journal of 

Remedial Education, 26, 13-19. 

21. Kim, J. H., Seo, H. J., Ha, S. G., & Kim, S. H. (2015). Functional 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Meares-Irlen 

Syndrome: A Pilot Study. Korean Journal of Ophthalmology, 

29(2), 121-125. 

22. Loew, S. J., & Watson, K. (2013). The prevalence of symptoms 

of scotopic sensitivity/Meares-Irlen syndrome in subjects 

diagnosed with ADHD: Does misdiagnosis play a significant 

role?. Hrvatska revija za rehabilitacijska istraživanja, 

49(Supplement), 64-72. 

23. Irlen, H. (1991). Reading by the Colors. New York: Avery Press. 

24. Irlen, H. (2010) The Irlen Revolution: A Guide to Changing Your 

Perception and Your Life. New York: SquareOne Publishers. 

25. Ludlow, A. K., & Wilkins, A. J. (2016). Atypical Sensory 

behaviours in children with Tourette’s Syndrome and in 

children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Research in 

Developmental Disabilities, 56, 108-116. 

26. Evans, B.J.W., Patel, R., Wilkins, A.J., Lightstone, A., Eperjesi, F., 

Speedwell, L., & Duffy, J. (1999). A review of the management of 

323 consecutive patients seen in a specific learning disabilities 

clinic. Ophthalmological and Physiological Optics, 19(6), 454- 

466. 

27. Evans, B. J. W., Wilkins, A. J., Brown, J., Busby, A., Wingfield, 

A., Jeanes, R., & Bald, J. (1996). A preliminary investigation 

into the aetiology of Meares-Irlen syndrome. Ophthalmic and 

Physiological Optics, 16(4), 286-296. 

28. Evans, B. J. W., Wilkins, A. J., Busby, A., & Jeanes, R. (1996). 

Optometric characteristics of children with reading difficulties 

who report a benefit from coloured filters. In C. M. Dickinson, 

I. J., Murray, & D. Garden (Eds.), John Dalton’s colour legacy (pp. 

709-715). London : Taylor and Francis. 

29. Scott, L., McWhinnie, H., Taylor, L., Stevenson, N., Irons, P., 

Lewis E., Evans, M., Evans, B., & Wilkins, A. (2002). Coloured 

overlays in schools: orthoptic and optometric findings. 

Ophthalmological and Physiological Optics, 22, 156-165. 

*Sandra Tosta, PhD, is head of research for the Perceptual 

Development Corporation at the Irlen Institute’s international 

headquarters. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Human 

Development from Cornell University and a PhD in Educational 

Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles 

(UCLA). As a senior researcher at the Hypothesis Group for 

nearly a decade, she focused on research related to children 

and education. She has authored a variety of papers on Irlen 

Syndrome and related topics. For more information about the 

Irlen Institute and the Irlen Method, please visit www.irlen.com. 

FLEYE Copenhagen is the first eyewear brand to blend 

carbon fibres and natural wood in one glasses frame. 

For the Carbon Wood Collection 

we have constructed the frame 

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For more information please 

contact your local New Zealand 

Sales rep, Tracey Dobson. 

E-mail: tracey@fleye.com.au, 

Tel. no. +64 21 655573 



25

VOSO in Tonga 

Volunteer Opthalmic Services Overseas (VOSO) spent 

a week in Tonga at the end of last year at the Vaiola 

Hospital in Nukuʻalofa. The VOSO team was led by 

VOSO chair Dr Andrew Riley and included Dr Hussain Patel, 

VOSO secretary Kylie Dreaver and trustee Hywel Bowen. The 

team was based at the hospital and was fortunate in having 

the opportunity to meet the King of Tonga, King Tupou VI. 

VOSO worked closely with local staff, including Dr Duke 

Mataka, whom VOSO supported to come from Fiji to work 

with the team. 

The surgeons set a record for the number of surgical 

procedures performed in a week’s trip to Tonga, and the 

newly donated autorefractor was a great asset to train 

staff and better manage unusual refraction cases, reported 

Dreaver. The most memorable case was an undiagnosed 

diabetic patient, who initially presented with septicaemia 

then developed red eye. As he had had uveitis previously, he 

was treated with steroids, but was diagnosed by the VOSO 

team with orbital cellulitis and suspected endogenous 

endophthalmitis, she said. 

“It has been nine years since I last went to Tonga on a 

VOSO trip and I was blown away by the changes. The new 

building was clean, tidy, well-equipped and air-conditioned. 

The staff could do and manage so much more than before. 

In fact, their scope of practice is greater than mine! I take my 

hat off to Dr Andrew Riley who has been volunteering and 

heading the trips to Tonga for the last consecutive 11 years.” 

VOSO supplied 100 surgical kits for IOLs; 800 recycled 

glasses, including sunglasses; a donated chair and stand; 

plus lots of other optometric equipment that will be used 

in the Hospital’s eye department and outlying clinics. The 

donated glasses were processed by the Lions Club and the 

surgical equipment was purchased with funds raised at Dine 

by Donation at Merediths in November. The month was 

fully-booked and raised an amazing $11,377, said Dreaver. 

Sadly, though, there will be no more Dine by Donations as 

Merediths has been sold. 

VOSO is on the lookout for more ophthalmologist 

volunteers, so if you would like to get involved, please visit: 

www.voso.org.nz ▀ 

Some of the VOSO 2017 team, including chair Dr Andrew Riley (third from right), Kylie Dreaver (centre, behind) 

and Hywel Bowen (centre, front) 

MORE CLASSIFIEDS ON PAGE 28 

LOCUM 

OPTOMETRIST 

Paterson Burn Optometrists is looking for an experienced TPA 

qualified Optometrist to join our team on a locum basis. This position 

is flexible and requires you to provide cover at any of our Waikato 

branches during extremely busy periods and covering staff holidays. 

DISPENSING OPTICIAN/ 

OPTICAL ASSISTANT CAMBRIDGE 

This is an exciting fixed-term opportunity offering you a great 

working environment, state-of-the art equipment, continuous 

support and professional development opportunities. 

To be successful in this role you will have experience as a 

Dispensing Optician / Optical Assistant, be confident, enthusiastic 

and have a friendly, natural and consultative approach to selling. 

This position is a fixed-term 12-month contract covering maternity 

leave with the possibility of a permanent position within the 

group. This position is full-time, based in Cambridge and requires 

some Saturday work. 


OPTICAL ASSISTANT HAMILTON 

Paterson Burn Optometrists Hamilton is looking for an enthusiastic 

Dispensing Optician/Optical Assistant/Visual Therapist. The ideal 

candidate will have previous experience working in the Visual 

Therapy field or have a strong interest in working with children. 

In this role, you will be working closely with our Optometrists with 

special interests in children’s vision, be responsible for running 

visual therapy block courses with patients while still being part of 

the dispensing team. 

The successful applicant will need to be confident with engaging 

communication skills and experienced in the optical industry. 

Ongoing training will be provided. This position is full-time 

including some Saturdays. 


PRACTICE MANAGER NEWMARKET 

Paterson Burn Newmarket is looking for a Dispensing Optician/ 

Practice Manager to take control of the day-to-day running of the 

practice while providing the best visual solutions available to our 

patients. 

The successful applicant will need to be confident with engaging 

communication skills and experienced in the industry. Ongoing 

managerial training will be provided. 

This position is full-time with some Saturdays and some public 

holidays required. 


OPTICAL ASSISTANT 

Gates Optometrists is looking for a 

fashion forward Dispensing Optician / 

Optical Assistant to join our shiny new practice! 

If you love good quality fashion eyewear, believe in exceptional 

customer service and enjoy working with the newest technology, 

then this is for you! Take a virtual tour of the practice through https:// 

gatesoptometrists.co.nz/ and imagine yourself working there! 

This position is full-time, based at the Gates Optometrists practice 

in Hamilton and requires some Saturday work. 

Experience as a Dispensing Optician or Optical Assistant is 

preferred. 

If you are interested in any of these roles and would like to become a 

part of one of the largest independent optometry practice groups in 

New Zealand, please email your CV and cover letter to 

sandri@patersonburn.co.nz or call 09 9035406. 

OPTOMETRIST 

REQUIRED 

Optik Eyecare Pukekohe is looking for a TPA qualified optometrist 

to join our team on a nine month fixed contract to cover 

maternity leave. 

We are an independent optometry practice in Pukekohe, South 

Auckland providing excellent eye care in our purpose built 

building.Our practice is clinically orientated, with a strong 

support team, and has excellent technology, including an OCT. 

You will be part of an Optometrist team of three. It’s a full-time 

position but part-time could be considered for the right applicant. 

We expect this contract to start mid June 2018. 

In the first instance please forward your CV to Laurraine at 

admin@optik.co.nz 

OPTOMETRIST 

WANTED 

CANBERRA 

Fantastic opportunity for an enthusiastic graduate optometrist to 

join an established independent optometry practice in Canberra 

CBD. You will be interested in full scope optometry, have great 

people skills and work well in a team. Our practice includes retinal 

imaging and corneal topography as well as E-Eye IPL treatment. 

You will be supported by an experienced and friendly team who are 

fashion forward and passionate in delivering exceptional service. 

Applications to info@thecanberraoptometrist.com.au 

Refer your low vision patients to Naomi Meltzer, 

optometrist specialising in low vision rehabilitation. 

For appointments and information 

low vision 

services 

Phone (09) 520 5208 or 0800 555 546 Email info@lowvisionservices.nz 

www.lowvisionservices.nz 

To advertise in NZ Optics’ classified 

pages contact: 

Susanne Bradley at 

susanne@nzoptics.co.nz 

A cause for 

optimism 

Contact lens (CL) company, CooperVision has bundled its 

offerings together to create a series of initiatives designed 

to drive contact lens profitability and inspire loyalty among 

practices’ patients. 

Wittily described as its “Optomism mission”, the company says it’s 

passionate about its new business proposition, which it hopes will 

make practice owners more optimistic about their future. “Contact 

lenses can sometimes be overlooked as a profitable opportunity. 

CooperVision has developed numerous tools, techniques and 

products to help drive best business practice where both glasses and 

contact lenses are for all patients.” 

Specifically, CooperVision’s initiatives include: its exclusive optometryonly 

and house brands, Ascend, Liberty and Softview; its ‘See Both 

Ways’ promotional package to encourage higher CL and glasses 

sales; its speedy delivery service; and its comfort guarantee, amongst 

other services designed to assist both the optometrist and patient in 

adopting contact lenses within their eye care plan, said the company. 

“The CooperVision Agents of Optomism aim to restore optimism in 

optometry to help you transform your contact lens business… (giving) 

you the tools, techniques and products you need to help transform your 

contact lens business and generate measurable growth.” ▀ 

Win a holiday 

with Transitions 

Transitions: offering optometrists the chance to win a holiday 

Transitions Optical is kicking off 2018 with a Transitions 

XtraActive campaign giving eyecare professionals on both 

sides of the Tasman the opportunity to win a holiday. 

The promotion builds upon the current ‘Which Transitions lens 

are you?’ campaign which challenges consumers to question which 

of Transitions’ three technologies is the best match for their needs: 

Transitions Signature, Transitions XtraActive or Transitions Vantage. 

While Transitions Signature remains the most popular, Transitions 

XtraActive offers unmatched benefits not offered by any other 

photochromic lens currently on the market, said Stuart Cannon, 

Transitions Optical general manager for Asia Pacific. “Not only is it 

the darkest lens, it also activates in the car, filters more harmful blue 

light both indoors and outdoors, and offers protection from harsh 

artificial light and bright sunlight for light-sensitive eyes.” 

For every pair of Transitions XtraActive ordered between 29 

January and 30 March, eyecare professionals have the opportunity 

to win themselves a luxury holiday for two to Nusa Dua staying at 

the exclusive Ritz-Carlton Bali resort for seven nights. Valued at up 

to $9,000, it includes a $1,000 Visa Gift Card and return flights from 

the winner’s nearest capital city. 

“Transitions also offer a ‘Love Them or Exchange Them’ guarantee as 

reassurance for patients and eyecare professionals, said Cannon. “If 

your patient is in doubt, they can try Transitions XtraActive risk-free; if 

they don’t love their lenses they can exchange for a clear pair of lenses.” 

For more information and to enter the competition entry visit www. 

transitions.com/win-a-holiday ▀ 


PUT DOWN YOUR 

ROOTS IN REGIONAL NZ 

PERMANENT ROLES IN YOUR CHOICE OF REGIONAL LOCATION 

Multiple opportunities available across both the North and South Islands to suit your career aspirations 

Specsavers’ growing New Zealand store network offers a variety of roles catering 

to different development needs and are available for optometrists at all stages of 

their career. 

Joining one of our regional New Zealand stores provides an ideal opportunity to 

firmly establish yourself within a community while progressing your clinical skills. 

You will be equipped with the latest ophthalmic equipment and presented with 

a range of interesting conditions across a high-volume patient base – all with the 

support of an experienced dispensing and pre-testing team, the mentorship of the 

store partners, and access to an exemplary professional development program. 

Or if you’re ready to move into practice ownership, our regional New Zealand stores 

present an attractive business venture. With average annual sales running at $2.4 

million per store, and Support Office training and assistance available every step of 

the way, there’s no better time to uncover the leader within you. 

Ask us about the opportunities we have waiting for you – contact Chris Rickard 

on 027 579 5499 or via chris.rickard@specsavers.com 

VIEW ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE ON SPECTRUM-ANZ.COM 

Voted by New Zealanders 

Reader’s Digest 

Quality Service 

Award 

2017 

Best Talent 

Development 

Program 

2017 

Best Customer 

Service in NZ 

Optometry 

2017 

Millward Brown 

Research 

No.1 for eye tests 

2016 

Excellence in 

Marketing 

Award 

2016 

Retail 

Store Design 

Award 

2016 

Retail 

Employer 

of the Year 

2015 

Overall 

National 

Supreme Winner 

2015 

Franchise 

Innovation 

Award 

2015 

NZ Franchise 

System of 

the Year 

2014 

Retail 

Innovator 

of the Year 

2014 



27

MORE CLASSIFIEDS ON PAGE 26 

OPTOMETRIST 

6-12 MONTH CONTRACT 

Grant & Douglas Optometry 

& Eyewear is looking for an Optometrist to join our team on a 

6-12 month fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave. 

We are an independent optometry practice providing excellent 

eye care with a personalised service. We have two locations; 

Hastings and Havelock North, within a 10-minute drive of each 

other. Our practices are busy, modern and well equipped enabling 

full scope clinical optometry. You will be supported by a friendly, 

experienced and professional team. 

Starting ASAP! We operate Monday to Friday only. No weekends! 

If you would like the opportunity to enjoy the lovely climate and 

lifestyle of Hawkes Bay then please email your application to 

Anna Byers: abyers@grantanddouglas.co.nz 

OPTOMETRIST REQUIRED 

ASHBURTON 

Our team at Ashburton Eyecare is looking for a TPA qualified 

optometrist with skills in all areas of the patient journey. 

We pride ourselves on the development of long-term patient 

relationships, so this may be ideal for a person who has had 

enough of the corporate world. 

Great inter-personal communication skills and an understanding 

of the importance of the patient experience are essential. 

Applicants must have a sound knowledge of both contact lens 

and spectacle lens options plus dispensing skills would be useful. 

This is a full time position with an option for partnership and/or 

ownership in the near future. 

Applications to eyeguy@xtra.co.nz 

EQUIPMENT 

FOR SALE 

Near new SC-1600 Nidek SC- 

1600 Smart LCD Acuity Chart 

with Remote $3200 + gst (or 

near offer) 

Keeler All Pupil II Wireless 

Binocular Indirect 

Ophthalmoscope with 

charger $2200 + gst (or near 

offer) 

Both in excellent working 

condition. Further discount 

offered if purchased 

together. Email Keaton at 

k_daya1@hotmail.com if 

interested for further details. 

For all your optical and ophthalmic needs 

nzowa.org.nz 

OPTOMETRIST WANTED 

NEW PLYMOUTH 

Judd Opticians require a full-time optometrist 

to join the dynamic team in the heart of New 

Plymouth city. 

Please contact Andrew on 027 458 1421 or email 

info@juddopticians.co.nz for further information. 

DISPENSING OPTICIAN OR 

OPTICAL ASSISTANT PART-TIME ROLE 

We are on the hunt for that special someone to join the team in 

our busy Lower and Upper Hutt practices. 

Experience in the industry is essential but we don’t require a formal 

qualification. We’re looking for a person with a passion for fashion 

eyewear, a commitment to providing exceptional customer service 

and a high-level of professionalism and team spirit. 

If this sounds like you, please email us confidentially at 

nburbery@visique.co.nz with your CV and cover letter. 

ZEISS HUMPHREY MATRIX FOR SALE 

Matrix for sale. In good condition, approx 5 years old and in good 

working order. Only selling as we have upgraded. Asking price 

$7,000 or sensible offer. Please contact Tracy on 

0272 555 305 for more information. 

DREAM OF 

TRAVELLING 

At OPSM, we are passionate about opening eyes to 

the unseen. Our advanced technology enables us to look 

deeper to ensure we give the best care to every customer. 

OPSM in New Zealand is looking to expand their Locum 

Optometrist network. 

LOCUM OPTOMETRISTS – NEW ZEALAND 

As a locum you will be your own boss, you will have 

the flexibility to set your own hours and will be exposed 

to lots of different patients and locations across New 

Zealand all while gaining lots of skills and experience. 

We are looking for Optometrists who share our passion, are 

willing to learn quickly and want to join our customer focussed 

teams in making a difference to how people see the world. 

WHAT’S ON OFFER: 

• Great working environment 

• Fantastic locum rates $$ 

• Accommodation and flights 

• Latest technology 

• Luxury brands 

• New friends and having fun 

JOIN OUR TEAM 

For a chance to be your own boss and part of an amazing 

team, contact us for a confidential, no obligation chat. 

CONTACT: 

Jonathan Payne 

Jonathan.Payne@opsm.co.nz 

OPSM.CO.NZ/CAREERS 

WE SEE YOUR 

FUTURE WITH US 

At OPSM, we are passionate about opening eyes to 

the unseen. Our advanced technology enables us to look 

deeper to ensure we give the best care to every customer. 

OPTOMETRISTS 

NORTH & SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND 

Our New Zealand business is looking for passionate 

Optometrists to join the team. 

• Thames, Thames-Coromandel 

• Lower Hutt, Wellington 

• Mt Maunganui, Tauranga 

• Dunedin, Otago 

When you join OPSM, you work within a team who 

are committed to providing the best possible eyecare 

solution with exceptional customer service. You will work 

with world class technology including our exclusive 

Optos Daytona ultrawide digital retina scanner. You 

will have many opportunities for continuing professional 

development and can enjoy career flexibility through 

our extensive store network. You can also make a 

real difference in the way people see the world by 

participating in our OneSight outreach program. 

JOIN OUR TEAM 

Start your journey with us today! 

Recent graduates are very welcome to apply. 

CONTACT: 

NZ – Jonathan Payne 

Jonathan.Payne@opsm.co.nz 

OPSM.CO.NZ/CAREERS

Feb 2018

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