EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/99908
36 EW FEATURE February 2011 ahead December 2012 Innovation: A look Innovators continued from page 35 and his responsibility with his new company, CamPlex. However, his current projects are not necessarily focused on ophthalmology but on neurosurgery and the spine. He said he often spends the week doing surgery before flying to California or Arizona for the weekend to do design work on his computer or study engineering for new projects. ���I���ve operated in 25 countries and I���ve lectured in 50,��� Dr. Charles said. ���I���m huge on education, but not on recreation.��� For future innovators or those interested in entering into ophthalmology, he stressed the value of a deep understanding of some areas coupled with knowledge in other areas, and the importance of being educated and current on technologies. ���Don���t have some scientist or marketing person hand you a slide set and memorize how to pronounce the words,��� he said. ���Dig in and learn the technology and figure out how the stuff works and keep current on it.��� Stephen Wilmarth, M.D. Dr. Wilmarth is a renowned laser vision specialist and eye surgeon in California. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley before attending the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was a founding member of an ophthalmic group practice, Medical Vision Technology in 1989, and then established Wilmarth Eye and Laser in California. He is also a founding member of the Horizon Vision Centers in Northern California. He said he was drawn to the ophthalmology field when he was at Stanford Medical School and took a rotation in ophthalmology and ���thought it was fascinating.��� One of Dr. Wilmarth���s most recent focuses is on his work with NovaBay Pharmaceuticals to create Aganocide compounds, a new class of non-antibiotic antimicrobials, which would be a disease-fighting alternative to antibiotics. He is the chairman of the Ophthalmic Drug Development Committee of NovaBay. Dr. Wilmarth���s involvement with the Aganocide compounds goes back over a decade. He was attending a meeting for investors in Sacramento, Calif., in late 2001 when he ran into someone giving a presentation on the antimicrobial properties of hypochlorous acid, one of the chemicals in white blood cells that kills germs. That was when he first thought it would be a good idea to use this on the eye. In 2002, he began working with NovaBay on the antimicrobials, most notably with Ron Najafi, Ph.D., who is the founder and CEO of NovaBay. Dr. Najafi had invented not only a method to produce ���pure��� hypochlorous acid, but even more importantly, had developed a new expansive portfolio of proprietary antimicrobials, which the company named Aganocides. Dr. Najafi���s sister, Katy Najafi, M.D., an ophthalmologist, was also involved with the project, and it was she who first tested the Aganocides on rabbit eyes. ���When I joined NovaBay, I went out and asked some of the largest ophthalmic organizations in the world to come in and meet with us,��� Dr. Wilmarth said. Eventually, this effort culminated to a $100 million collaboration and licensing agreement with Alcon, which was a precursor to NovaBay���s successful initial public offering in 2007. Dr. Wilmarth credits not only himself, but Dr. Najafi and his sister, Wavefront Optimized RefraXion The OPD-Scan III Wavefront system maps a patient���s total visual system by projecting 2520 data points of light and harvesting a total of 23 diagnostic metrics in just 20 seconds. This data is instantly transferred to the digital refractor where a majority of patients will only require a basic re���nement. Acuity and comparison to glasses is virtually instantaneous. Graphic depiction of OPD-Scan III light transmission of 2520 real data points across a 9.5mm pupil Most patients, as selected by OPD-Scan III, will exhibit a ���clean��� optical system and can be quickly veri���ed/re���ned with the digital refractor. Others may require a more traditional full refraction. NOW, the OPD-Scan III shows you and the patient a clear depiction of their optical system. The TRS-5100 then completes basic re���nements or traditional, full refractions (HOAs, pathologies, Rx shifts from central-4mm), and patients can compare old vs. new Rx.