The American Academy of Ophthalmology launched a new campaign called eyeSmart to educate adults on the importance of regular eye exams as they age since few people know about age related eye disease. Nearly 75% of adults in the United States correct their vision: 50 percent of them will suffer from either cataracts or glaucoma by the time they are 80 years old.

The EyeSmart™ public awareness campaign emphasizes the need for Americans to know their risk factors for eye diseases, infections and injuries, and how to prevent, diagnose and treat eye conditions.

At the same time, new research from the Academy finds that most Americans believe they are not at risk and are woefully unaware of the risk factors for eye disease.

EyeSmart will initially focus on raising awareness of five major eye diseases – age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye and glaucoma – and the rise of these diseases among the baby boomer generation. The goal is to limit the impact of eye diseases tomorrow by raising awareness of risk factors today.

For more information on the campaign and the Academy Recommendations, visit geteyesmart.org

Siepser Laser Eyecare recently opened a new state-of-the-art facility in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. But, as anyone who has participated in such a project will tell you, putting everything together prior to ribbon cutting day is never an easy process.
With an equipment budget in place, Dr. Siepser approached us about outfitting his six new exam rooms. Since the doctor enjoys using the Haag-Streit pendulum table system at his other centers, he asked for a quotation for those products, combined with slit lamp imaging capability, room lighting control, and provisions for computerized phoroptors.

Unfortunately, considering the current unfavorable exchange rate vs. the Swiss Franc, the cost for new pendulum tables and slit lamps far exceeded the allocated funds. A real budget buster scenario loomed.

It was time to rethink the situation and move to plan “B”.

Dr. Siepser already owned pendulum tables, exam chairs, and slit lamps that were previously used in his Norristown office. However, this equipment was over 20 years old and in need of a facelift.

With a new direction, our service department removed the equipment, completely disassembled the pendulum tables and phoroptor columns and rebuilt everything using new, fashionable laminates, paint finishes, and modern electronic components. New digital slit lamps were adapted and now transfer images to an EMR system. The old Reliance chairs were overhauled and reupholstered with genuine Italian leather. Beautiful!!

By using a combination of service capability, trade-in opportunity and new instruments, we were able to provide Dr. Siepser with a quotation he could live with. Bell’s regional focus allows us to work closer with customers to provide creative solutions to individual problems and challenges.

Don’t lose a fleeting image again because it’s beyond the human reaction time. Haag-Streit’s IM 900 offers advanced capabilities for perfect images.

• Freeze Technology for high speed capture and data transfer.
• History Trigger.
• Identify the shot area, and slightly depress the trigger. Digital video capture automatically begins.
• Depress the button all the way to shoot.
• Review on the monitor, choose from images before and after you depressed the trigger, and pick the best shot.
• Unique aperture control for depth of field.
• Still imaging with high resolution video.
• Easy Touch – precise image-control.
• Compact design and easy integration with any BQ 900 slit lamp.
• The IM 900 can be supplied with EyeCap or EyeSuite software for image data management.

Show your patients precisely what’s happening with pristine video and still photography. The Haag-Streit Camera Module CM 900 retrofits to any existing Haag-Streit BP 900 or BD 900 Slit Lamp:

• Freeze technology captures images at the precise moment you press the trigger.
• The History Trigger not only captures one image but records the last few seconds in real time and lets you return to select the optimum image.
• The CM 900 does not require a specially equipped or modified slit lamp. The modular design of the BD 900 and BP 900 slit lamps make conversion to imaging a simple process.

The CM 900 does more in one click than conventional cameras accomplish in 50 or 100 clicks.