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Recently we have installed a topographer at McDonald Adams. This instrument maps the outer surface of the eye - the cornea. The cornea is responsible for most (70%) of the eye's focussing power. Creating a topographical map of the curvature of the eye is helpful to check the quality of vision and corneal health.
A colourful three-dimensional map is created by a measuring a grid of thousands of points across the cornea. Mapping only takes a few seconds.
Tap Tap See is a camera app for blind and visually impaired people. Anyone can snap a pictures of their shoes, or the tomato sauce bottle. But Tap Tap See will then say out loud, “Shoes,” or “Tomato Sauce Bottle.” Tap Tap See is like a sighted assistant that never grows tired of you asking “what’s that?”
Designed for visually impaired, the app works with Voiceover on your iPhone to speak the results. Voiceover is one of many built-in services which make the iPhone easier to use for people who can’t see well.
With Voiceover on, you just point your phone at something and double-tap the screen. Your phone will tell you it has snapped a picture, “Photo 5 taken.” Then, a few seconds later, it will read out the result. I pointed it at my legs and the app said “blue jeans.”
Technology continues to help people with low vision. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch have some great features. When Bold Text is on, keyboard characters are bolder. Increase Contrast has extra options to “Darken Colours” and “Reduce White Point”. The Button Shapes option introduces background colour to buttons. Change the setting from Off to On and see how it affects the “General” button at the top of the screen.
A common part of an optometrist's clinical consulting life is diagnosing and discussing cataracts. Cataracts are a common condition where the lens in the eye looses its transparency. It is a condition which we should all be aiming to get as cataracts are a sign of longevity. Fortunately, cataracts are easily fixed with a one-off elective surgery, and the result for most people is a big improvement in their quality of vision.
There are two options for cataracts surgery, via the public health system where treatment is free of charge, or privately. This is an update on referral through the public health system, which is Greenlane Eye Clinic for our local Warkworth area.
Greenlane Eye Clinic is a busy place, providing care for 95,000 people each year. Given that volume of people, the response times are mostly pretty good. When someone has an acute eye problem they are seen quickly. Non urgent conditions like cataracts are prioritised in a methodical fashion, and ranked according to the level of vision. How does it work?
As optometrists we enter your clinical data into an online scoring system. The important information is which line of letters you can read on the chart. There is also a questionnaire about how cataracts are impacting on your daily living. The jargon for the questions is a little bit difficult but the intention is good - to try to priortise treatment for people who are struggling the most. We are good at these questionnaires and we can translate for you! Then comes the score. Generated by the online tool and the magical number is 50.
It seems arbitrary, but the online scoring tool is helpful so we can give you a realistic guide to the expected wait time for an appointment at the Eye Clinic.
What happens if the score is too low? Often we can help with advice about improving your vision through updating glasses, or using different tinted fitover glasses to improve clarity of vision when you have cataracts.
by Claire McDonald, Optometrist, Warkworth
We often describe ourselves as independent optometrists. We are of course talking about our business. But does that make sense, what does it mean to people other than ourselves?
I thought about this as I collected my student son from his shift at a local fast food franchise. After two weeks working in this part time job, in his opinion, the opening hours of the business don't make sense, at least not for this Warkworth location. Our hours at McDonald Adams are set to serve our clients here in Warkworth, Wellsford, Snells and the surrounding areas. We open late on Tuesday evening, to be available for commuters, or people who work rurally. Weekday closing at 5.30pm gives more time in the day for people to collect glasses, and fit in the after school and after work eye appointments. Saturday mornings 9.00am to 12.30 is popular and convenient. We are closed for long weekends though, we all need a break and our clients understand this.
This is one example of what it is to be an independent optometrist. We are not dictated to by a set of franchise rules. I think this allows us to provide a service in Warkworth tailored to our unique location and our local community.
by Claire McDonald, Warkworth Independent Optometrist
Every year in autumn in Paris there is a grand Optical Fair, Silmo, a chance to get a first-hand look at the new trends in frame designs, for lenses and new technology in optics.
There was a palpable sense of anticipation as we walked from the train across the forecourt to Silmo. Sporting a limp, courtesy of a collision with a fare jumper hurdling the metro gate, I was not exactly sure what to expect.
The show was as big as everyone had promised; at times a bit overwhelming. The two large halls dedicated to Silmo at the Parc des Expositions exhibition centre in Paris Nord Villepinte had definite themes; Hall 5 seemed colourful with flamboyant frame designers and stands, while Hall 6 had clinical equipment and lots of brands, which were less familiar to me, plus all the lens suppliers.
I walked miles visiting all our suppliers. Making contact with frame designers from the other side of the globe gave me insights into the story of the products we stock and use to help people in Warkworth on a daily basis. For me, however, the true high point was the one-on-one time I spent with some of our key brands: Alan Peterson from Monoqool kindly spent a fascinating hour talking to me about his vision for the company and the challenges of developing his 3D printing process.
Robert Morris, founder and creator of William Morris Eyewear and Claire McDonald
Technology and customisation featured everywhere. I talked with a young IT whiz about his app to put virtual stock onto customers faces. There were frames made from paper and lens cloths made from recycled PET bottles. At the Hoya Lens stand, Hoya executives were scanning faces to design a customised lens with a 3D printed frame, optimising Hoya’s lens’ performance. I am not sure if people will want customisation at the expense of choice in frames however, though it was a nice touch to see all Hoya’s staff wearing the frames, giving a uniform effect.
The stands at Silmo Paris ranged from highly creative to slick; with orange Dutch cows, American milk bars (complete with rock and roll dancers) and a British double decker red bus; call of which is impossible to experience without considering our own street appeal.
by Claire McDonald, Optometrist
Have you ever wondered how do they test lens coatings? A lot of rubbing it turns out. Lenses are rubbed 20,000 times with a 'linear abrader' and microfibre cloth. Then the lens surface is measured in term of contact angle: the higher the score, the better the cleaning properties.
Hoya's Diamond Finish Coating has been selected as the best lens coating by NSL Analytical Services, an independent laboratory in Ohio. The results showed that Diamond Finish preserved its dust-, dirt-, water- and grease-repellent properties even after long use and repeated cleaning.
In rigorous tests of premium coated lenses simulating real-life wearing conditions, Diamond Finish out performed its competitors on all three features shown to be of primary consumer concern: durability, clean ability and scratch resistance. Lens performance is compared to an ISO reference lens and given a value in terms of scratch resistance. The final score, known as the Bayer value, was 29% more durable that the second place getter.
For us this confirms our experience - the Diamond Finish is a good performer, the best Hoya coating we have used.