Also Notable

• AOA is urging companies across the United States to join the #2020EyeExam Pledge, which encourages an annual, in-person comprehensive eye exam with an AOA family doctor of optometry. For additional information, visit AOA.org/2020EmployerPledge .
• Bausch + Lomb has announced exclusive licensing for NOV03, an investigational drug treatment for meibomian glad dysfunction.
• Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has announced its largest-ever participation in the upcoming Global Specialty Lens Symposium* (GSLS), held this month in Las Vegas. GSLS is offering two pre-meeting workshops featuring CORE physicians, and CORE ventures will be represented in the conference’s scientific posters. (*GSLS is overseen by PentaVision Media, publisher of Optometric Management.)
• Contamac US Inc. announced two new senior appointments: Jessica Labriola, vice president, operations, and John Hibbs, vice president, commercial. Both become effective April 1. Ms. Labriola moves to this position from professional services/customer relations, North America, while Mr. Hibbs does so from national accounts manager.
• CooperVision, Inc. announced the launch of its inaugural Best Practices Scholarship Program. The scholarship, offered to outstanding third-year optometry students, is an expansion of the company’s annual Best Practices initiative, which recognizes optometric practices that advance the profession through innovation, industry leadership and exceptional patient experience. Three scholarship recipients will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the 2020 Best Practices Summit.
• EnChroma has launched the Lx Series, a spectacle lens product line to address low vision and age-related conditions. It includes four lenses designed for low-light/nighttime use, glare reduction, color enhancement and extreme glare management.
• EyeQue a device maker, won a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Award for its EyeQue Vision Monitoring Kit. In making the announcement, EyeQue stated, “the tests do not replace a comprehensive eye exam that evaluates ocular health and binocularity.” The company recommends people visit an eye care professional annually for a comprehensive exam.
• Heidelberg Engineering has appointed Christopher Mody as clinical director. In this new role, Mr. Mody will be facilitating scientific information exchange between the company and the global ophthalmic community.
  The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) is looking for IACLE Contact Lens Educators of the Year, awarded to three individuals, one from each of IACLE’s three global regions: (1) 2020 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year, (2) 2020 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year and (3) 2020 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year. The winners will each receive a bursary of up to $3,000 toward the cost of attending Academy 2020 Nashville and permission to use the title 2020 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year for their region. The entry deadline is midnight (EST), February 28, 2020. Entries must be submitted using the application forms at www.iacle.org (Awards).
• Lighthouse Guild has launched an online eLearning program on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and visual dysfunction. The program is designed for health care professionals, and it concentrates on identifying dysfunctions, common associated symptoms, basic assessment approaches, common treatments and the psychological impact of TBI on patients, the organization says.
• NEI has launched the first U.S. clinical trial to assess the safety of a patient-derived stem cell therapy to treat dry AMD. Specifically, 12 patients who have advanced-stage geographic atrophy will receive the therapy in one of their eyes and be monitored closely for at least one year to confirm safety in the phase I/IIa clinical trial.
• Samsung Electronics and IrisVision, maker of a smart, wearable vision-assistive device, announced a partnership to roll out IrisVision’s vision correction software platform worldwide. The technology utilizes Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and XR devices and mobile AI platform to help enable people who have impaired vision to see clearly.
• SECO 20/20, taking place March 4 to March 8, in Atlanta, will offer attendees 80+ advanced learning courses for the optometric staff; 34+ courses on business intelligence and strategy resources (sold out); 14+ hours on planning, purchasing, promoting and selling office frame inventory and others. Visit www.AttendSECO.com .
• The Twin Cities Ocular Surface Disease Symposium will be held March 21 and March 22 in Minneapolis. The program, which is geared toward both optometrists and ophthalmologists, will include lectures covering a variety of ocular surface disease topics, including dry eye disease, neurotrophic keratitis, eyelid disease and more. Attendees can earn up to 12 COPE or CME credits. For more information or to register, visit https://twincitiesosd.com .
• X-Cel Specialty Contacts announced the extension of its Atlantis Scleral product line. The new line offers the ability to independently adjust the central sag (up to 200 μm in 50 μm steps), quadrant-specific landing zone options (up to 250 μm in each quadrant in 25 μm steps) and quadrant-specific limbal vault zone options. Two new fitting sets have been designed: a 15.5mm diameter, 12-lens set for existing set holders, and a 24-lens set for new users containing 14.5 mm, 15.5 mm and 16.5 mm diameters. The company says it is also introducing a new fitting guide. OM