“The Global Specialty Lens Symposium is the world’s premier educational contact lens event,” writes Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, executive chair of the GSLS education committee. “This year’s meeting brings over 40 hours of continuing education, including general sessions, workshops and breakout sessions, so there is something for everyone interested in contact lenses.”
The symposium’s keynote address will be given by Nathan Efron, AC, DSc, PhD, BScOptom at 8:15 a.m. At 9:15 a.m., Professor Efron will appear with Loretta Szczotka-Flynn, OD, PhD, in “Soft vs. GP Lenses: The Great Debate 2.0.”
The full agenda and schedule for GSLS can be found at https://gslsymposium.com, and highlights of the show’s expo floor can be found below.
Be sure to follow the event on social media at LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and look out for the hashtag #GSLS2024. Hope to see you there!
Note: Booth numbers might change by time of publication; for the most up-to-date version of this listing, check optometricmanagement.com.
GUIDE TO THE EXHIBITORS
Below are highlights of the various booths from the expo floor this January.
ABB Optical • Booth 220
ABB Optical offers a single-source optical platform, providing products, services, and solutions to help practices. ABB operates through 3 business pillars: ABB Contact Lens, ABB Labs, and ABB Business Solutions. ABB is a distributor for major soft contact lens manufacturers, and a manufacturer of custom soft and gas permeable contact lenses. Most recently, ABB launched, Abby, an online contact-lens-ordering platform designed to improve the doctor patient relationship.
www.abboptical.com
Acculens • Booth 315
Acculens is a specialty contact lens manufacturer. Its Maxim 3D offers an efficient way to fit scleral lenses using a “free-form” design to improve fit and function. Acculens’ NewVision Daily Wear Ortho-K Corneo-Scleral lens design is indicated for daily wear in an orthokeratology-fitting program to help temporarily reduce myopia in non-diseased eyes.
www.acculens.com
Acuity Polymers • Booth 327
Based in Rochester, N.Y., Acuity Polymers is focused on creating specialty contact lens materials to provide optimal protection of ocular health and superior vision for patients. The company is the creator of the Ultra Dk gas permeable material, Acuity 200, a latheable contact lens material with a Dk of 200 (as measured by ISO/FATT method).
www.acuitypolymers.com
Advanced Vision Technologies • Booth 108
Advanced Vision Technologies, (AVT) provides consultation and customized scleral, GP, and soft contact lens designs. AVT has contact lens designs for normal corneas. Patients include pediatric, myopic, presbyopic, high-astigmatic, those who need prosthetics, as well as those with corneas that have conditions, such as keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration and post-surgical. Also, ATV offers NaturaSOFT, PediaSITE and Naturalens Mini Scleral lenses.
www.avtlens.com
Adventure in Colors • Booth 420
Adventure in Colors offers custom hand-painted opaque prosthetic soft lenses for eye injuries. Adventure in Colors is the manufacturer of the Zeltzer X-Chrom red soft lens for color deficiency. Custom-filtered colored soft lenses are for photophobia, light sensitivity, sport activities, and many more. Enhancement colors are available as well. Painting/coloring is available for only daily wear conventional soft lenses.
www.adventureincolors.com
Art Optical Contact Lens, Inc. • Booth 113
Art Optical offers a wide variety of contact lenses. Its 2023 technology enhancements include custom microvault options in the Ampleye scleral lens and an automated Moonlens software platform for building customized ortho-k lenses. Also offered a 120-day No Worry warranty.
www.artopitcal.com
Bausch + Lomb • Booth 101
Bausch + Lomb offers a wide range of eye health products, including contact lenses and lens care products, pharmaceuticals, IOL, and other eye surgery products. The company invents new materials, engineers new technologies, and creates new products to help improve people’s sight.
www.bauschsvp.com
Boston Sight • Booth 212
BostonSight advances the treatment of diseased or damaged corneas and dry eye. BostonSight Scleral provides diagnostic and free-form fitting, built-in features, and more to help achieve improved vision, comfort, and long-term ocular health for patients.
www.bostonsightscleral.org
Contamac • Booth 307
Contamac manufactures contact and IOL materials. Its line of Optimum GP materials features a wide range of oxygen permeabilities and high-quality wettability to suit a variety of indications and modalities. Also, Contamac offers products that are complimentary to contact lens wear and eye care, including HyClear, a .01% hypochlorous acid solution for daily eyelid hygiene, and Nutrifill, a saline solution for rinsing and filling scleral contact lenses.
www.contamac.com
CooperVision • Booth 201
CooperVision manufactures soft contact lenses. The company produces an array of daily disposable, two-week and monthly contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision helps with vision challenges, such as astigmatism, presbyopia, and childhood myopia, and offers spherical, toric, and multifocal products. CooperVision also offers focused practitioner support to further assist practices and patients.
www.coopervision.com
DAC International • Booth 125
DAC International supplies contact lens, scleral lens, and IOL-production equipment, software, and support. Additionally, DAC International offers AlMe Series lathes, which feature several technology options. Optional automation, toric and specialty lens design capability, on-lathe fenestration, and laser engraving are available through the company.
www.dac-intl.com
Dompé • Booth 306
Dompé is an Italian biopharmaceutical company based in Milan with a US subsidiary in the San Francisco Bay area. It has a 100+ year history in the medical industry and seeks to address unmet medical needs in the areas of ophthalmology, respiration, and diabetes. Dompé continues to explore potential new indications through ongoing trials.
www.dompe.com
Dry Eye Foundation • Booth 314
Dry Eye Foundation seeks to assist patients experiencing ocular surface diseases and ocular surface pain disorders, and the functional, financial, and emotional impacts that usually accompany these conditions. Dry Eye Foundation helps patients through its community service, education, research, and advocacy programs. Also, the group offers resources for scleral lens patients.
www.dryeyefoundation.org
Dry Eye Shop • Booth 324
The Dry Eye Shop offers Prose and scleral lens supplies, including preservative-free saline, devices for handling, insertion and removal, and cleaning and disinfection solutions. The Dry Eye Shop ships products worldwide, and has a mailing list providing information and updates. At the company’s show booth, visitors can order free patient literature and coupons, learn about the Dry Eye Shop’s products, and take advantage of a show special.
https://dryeyeshop.com
Eaglet Eye • Booth 416
Eaglet Eye is an experienced ocular profilometry company. The Eye Surface Profiler accurately measures the cornea and sclera, and works with leading specialty lens labs. Sophisticated fitting algorithms enable finding the better-fitting lens more quickly.
www.eaglet-eye.com
Euclid Vision Corporation • Booth 221
Euclid Vision Corporation (Euclid) provides specialty lenses for proactive myopia management, irregular corneas, and dry eye disease. The company uses “Three Factor Fitting” to help integrate Euclid ortho-k into a practice. Each lens is specifically designed for the individual patient’s eyes. No trial set required. The Visionary Optics portfolio features the Europa and Europa Tangent, which offer improved fitting and customization; and Latitude, a freeform scleral lens that offers improved contouring to the eye.
https://euclidlenses.com
Eyefficient • Booth 120
Eyefficient’s flagship product is FireFly, a tool designed to help treat dry eye and other ocular surface diseases. Firefly features color slit lamp imaging, meibography, non-evasive tear film analysis, and can assist a specialty contact lens practice, according to the company.
www.eyefficient.com
Eye Print Prosthetics • Booth 110
EyePrint Prosthetics designs custom lenses based on the shape of the individual patient’s eye. Eye Print Prosthetics’ impression technology products, EyePrintPRO and
EyeFitPRO, use 3D software to create multi-dimensional scleral lenses to match the ocular surface elevations for patients who have complex ocular irregularity due to disease, surgery, or trauma. These lenses offer alternatives to patients who have corneoscleral irregularities, and provide a stable platform for premium optics.
www.eyeprintpro.com
EYEXY Inc. • Booth 216
EYEXY Inc. is the developer of products for specialty contact lens fitting. Its line of products includes the Gaudi scleral lens, Gaudi Lens Design App, Gaudi Profilometer, EYEXY Web Services (EWS), and AI-based Machine Optimized Advanced Scleral (MOAS) trial sets.
www.eyexy.com
GBR Medical • Booth 320
GBR Medical provides solutions and services intended to help improve the health care journey for the patient and the practice.
https://gbrmedical.com
Glaukos Corporation • Booth 209
Glaukos Corporation is an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company focused on therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. Glaukos uses its platform technology to build a thorough, proprietary portfolio of micro-scale surgical and pharmaceutical therapies in glaucoma, corneal health, and retinal disease.
www.glaukos.com
Global Myopia Awareness Coalition • Booth 102
The Global Myopia Awareness Coalition – GMAC – is a diverse group of eye care companies, eye health associations, and providers working together to protect today’s youth from the short-term challenges and long-term effects of myopia.
www.myopiaawareness.org
GP Lens Institute/Contact Lens Manufacturers Association • Booth 225
The GP Lens Institute (GPLI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing eye care practitioners with educational and practice-building resources to enable them to fully benefit from the advantages of GP and custom specialty soft contact lenses. It is the educational arm of the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA), which is made up of contact lens laboratories, and material, solution and equipment manufacturers in the United States and abroad. The mission of the CLMA is to increase awareness and utilization of custom-manufactured contact lenses.
https://gpli.info
Johnson & Johnson • Booth 224
Johnson & Johnson MedTech offers technology to assist myopia patients, including the Acuvue Abiliti family of myopia management products.
www.seeyourabiliti.com
K & Y Diamond • Booth 316
K&Y Diamond provides diamond tools for machining contact lenses, IOLs, and molds. The company provides standard and custom tools either on rigid tool shanks or on 35° or 55° carbide inserts. All tools come with a measurement report, and drawings of tools are provided when an order is placed.
https://kydiamond.ca
Lambda-X • Booth 308
Lambda-X Ophthalmics develops wavefront measurement for ophthalmic inspection devices. Nimo instruments provide lens manufacturers, universities, and research institutes with power mapping, MTF, lens aberrations, and toric axis deviation, while in full compliance with ISO and ANSI standards.
https://ophthalmics.lambda-x.com
May Eye Interrupt • Booth 301
This is an eye care round table discussion show that explores questions and topics of interest with industry-leading experts.
www.youtube.com/@mayeyeinterrupt
Medmont • Booth 104
Medmont is a privately-held company with a goal of advancing eye health, while also improving customer experiences and patient outcomes.
https://medmont.com.au
Menicon • Booth 211
Menicon’s product portfolio supports specialty lens practice with lens materials, such as the hyper-Dk Menicon Z material and a GP lens care system, featuring the Ph multipurpose solution Progent protein remover, and LacriPure non-preserved saline. For keratoconus patients, the Rose K lens is offered in seven different designs, all of which are fit using a five-step system. Menicon will host a breakfast session and breakfast workshop, where more information on its products will be available.
www.meniconamerica.com
Metro Optics • Booth 310
Metro Optics is a custom contact lens manufacturer serving eye care professionals throughout the US since 1973. Metro Optics offers an extensive portfolio of soft, GP, and scleral contact lens products to help satisfy patients.
www.metro-optics.com
Nexgen • Booth 312
Nexgen provides machinery, instruments, and consumables to its clients to assist them in the production of contact and IOLs.
www.nexgenoptical.com
Nidek • Booth 426
Nidek offers a wide array of diagnostic and surgical equipment designed with simplicity, functionality, and reliability to assist patients who have anterior and posterior disorders or diseases, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, visual dysfunction, and other vision-impairing afflictions.
https://usa.nidek.com
OCULUS, Inc. • Booth 107
Oculus provides ongoing training and educational resources, accessible 24/7 in an online library or offline during in-house training sessions offered throughout the year. Oculus’ products include the Pentacam, Keratograph 5M, and Easyfield C.
www.oculus.de/us
Ocusoft • Booth 311
Ocusoft assists with routine eyelid hygiene to improve comfort for contact lens wearers. Ocusoft Lid Scrub Eyelid Cleaner is used to clean oil, debris, and other contaminants associated with eyelid irritation; Ocusoft HypoChlor spray can then be used to take action against microorganisms.
www.ocusoft.com
Ovitz • Booth 313
The Ovitz xwave aberrometry system helps streamline the aberrometry process, from initial higher-order aberration measurements, to the final delivery of a custom, wavefront-guided scleral contact lens.
www.ovitz.us
Performance Vision Technologies • Booth 222
Performance Vision Technologies, manufacturer of Altius contact lenses, is entering its official launch phase. Altius lenses can benefit patients in whom light sensitivity can cause medical and quality-of-life issues. The company has expanded its team to include education, practice management, and eye care support specialists.
https://altiusvision.com
Rotlex • Booth 213
Rotlex has been serving the ophthalmic industry since 1986. Over nearly four decades, the company has regularly updated its technology and kept up with developments in lens design and fabrication to better provide a range of solutions for practices’ metrology needs.
www.rotlex.com
Scleral Lens Education Society • Booth 115
The Scleral Lens Education Society teaches contact lens practitioners the art and science of prescribing scleral contact lenses. It supports public education that highlights the benefits and availability of scleral contact lenses.
https://sclerallens.org
Shanghai VisuScience Meditech Co., Ltd • Booth 117
VisuScience is the professional manufacturer for the
meibomian gland-imaging camera MeiboVue, and smartphone eye-imaging adaptor QuikVue/InstVue for special lens fitting. The company also offers the iFlo eye mask for home care of the meibomian gland dysfunction patient.
www.visuscience.com
Specialty Tint • Booth 408
Specialty Tint is a soft contact lens-tinting service for eye care providers. It offers therapeutic, prosthetic, and sport tints for patients who may have photophobia, scarred corneas/damaged irises, are seeking to enhance their eye color, or simply want sharper contrast sensitivity while enjoying their favorite pastime. Tints are available in both prescription and plano powers.
https://specialtytint.com
Sterling Ametek • Booth 326
Sterling manufactures lathes (Optoform) for contact lens and IOL production. The Optoform, coupled with the FTS-5000, enables fast, accurate manufacturing of a variety of lens designs, including reverse geometry, multifocals and torics, according to the company. Surface roughness of 4 nm or less enables no-polish lens finishes and compression mold inserts.
www.sterlingint.com
Tangible Sciences • Booth 402
Tangible Sciences seeks to improve the contact lens experience for patients, eye care professionals, and contact lens manufacturers. Tangible Sciences’ family of products is designed to add comfort, deposit resistance, and convenience for wearers, allowing eye care practitioners to offer a helpful solution for their patients’ needs.
https://tangiblescience.com
Thea Pharma • Booth 121
Thea Pharma Inc. is the United States subsidiary of Théa. Its product offering is comprised of a portfolio of eye-care products approved by the FDA, including Zioptan, AcellFX, Cosopt, CosoptPF, Azasite, Akten, and Betimol, iVizia dry-eye drops, eyelid-hygiene products, and Iyuzeh.
https://theapharmainc.com
TruForm • Booth 321
TruForm focuses on creating specialty lenses.
It specializes in the science and technology of scleral designs for dry eye and ocular surface disease management, myopia management with orthokeratology, bifocal and multifocal lenses, and traditional GP designs.
www.tfoptics.com
Valley Contax • Booth 215
Valley Contax, Inc. features the Custom Stable Scleral lens, which is fit for regular and irregular corneas that require improved comfort and performance. Visit the Valley Contax booth for more information, as well as a fitting set offer. Orders for a 12-lens Custom Stable Elite set will receive the first pair free.
www.valleycontax.com
Visionary • Booth 303
Visionary is a full-service specialty contact lens manufacturing lab with more than 30 years of experience, providing optometric practitioners and their patients with specialty contact lens products and related services. The company emphasizes professionalism, efficient teamwork, and quality manufacturing to improve patient outcomes.
https://visionarylens.com
Visionix • Booth 322
Visionix is the manufacturer, sales, service, and training provider of Optovue OCT, Visionix screening and refraction systems, as well as Briot and Weco lens finishing equipment in North America. The company, which has more than 100 years of experience, offers high-speed OCT and OCTA technology designed to facilitate the diagnosis and management of a range of ocular diseases.
www.visionix.com/us
WAVE Contact Lens System • Booth 106
The WAVE Contact Lens System was founded in 1999 by two professionals dedicated to improving contact lenses. Specifically, they engineered a contact lens design software system to develop and sell custom contact lenses. The software has continuously evolved over the years and is an effective system for designing rigid custom contact lenses.
www.wavecontactlenses.com
Wavefront Dynamics • Booth 123
Founded in 2019, Wavefront Dynamics is a privately held medical device company that has decades of experience in wavefront-sensing technology for use in measuring and improving visual performance. The Wavefront Dynamics team has developed a system called the WaveDyn Vision Analyzer to expand treatment options designed to provide diagnostic data to enhance the quality of vision, according to the company.
Woo University • Booth 325
Woo U is a 501c3 non-profit organization committed to providing high-quality education to eye care professionals. Woo U hosts more than 50 CE events every year, providing more than 100 hours of CE. The majority of the events are completely free. Go to the Woo U website to join the online community and learn more about the education it can offer the eye care industry.
www.woou.org
X-Cel Specialty/Essilor Custom Contact • Booth 116
X-Cel is a specialty lens-focused company, whose specialty contact lenses include the Atlantis Scleral and the new REMLens, for overnight orthokeratology. X-Cel also offers personalized training for optometrists and staff, practice management tools, online-ordering capabilities, “hassle-free” no-return warranties (including paperless credits), and a consultation and management team to assist customers. Essilor Custom Contact Lens Specialists (Essilor CCLS) offers a wide product portfolio. Custom gas permeable (GP) contact lenses manufactured by Essilor CCLS include: spherical, multifocal, scleral, orthokeratology, and surgical GP contact lenses, all made from premium GP lens materials.
www.xcelspecialtycontacts.com
https://essilorcontacts.com
