EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/422211
December 2014 CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this device to the sale by or on the order of a physician. INDICATIONS: The AcrySof ® IQ posterior chamber intraocular lens is intended for the replacement of the human lens to achieve visual correction of aphakia in adult patients following cataract surgery. This lens is intended for placement in the capsular bag. WARNING/PRECAUTION: Careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before implanting a lens in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use labeling. Caution should be used prior to lens encapsulation to avoid lens decentrations or dislocations. Studies have shown that color vision discrimination is not adversely affected in individuals with the AcrySof ® Natural IOL and normal color vision. The effect on vision of the AcrySof ® Natural IOL in subjects with hereditary color vision defects and acquired color vision defects secondary to ocular disease (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, chronic uveitis, and other retinal or optic nerve diseases) has not been studied. Do not resterilize; do not store over 45° C; use only sterile irrigating solutions such as BSS ® or BSS PLUS ® Sterile Intraocular Irrigating Solutions. ATTENTION: Reference the Directions for Use labeling for a complete listing of indications, warnings and precautions. © 2013 Novartis 2/13 NIQ14041JAD provide promise for outcomes, Mr. Attias said. Risks With innovation on a project like this, there is a certain amount of risk involved. This project is a good ex- ample of both a risk-taking culture and a way in which entrepreneur- ship is encouraged, Dr. Otis said. "We do want to take risks," he said. "We need to strive for things with a high impact, but we also have to be responsible with the resources we have." It's important to try hard on new ideas, but if something is Alcon, Google continued from page 3 Vision for Mars Challenge announced New initiative will fund "innovative ophthalmology products" to help "identify and advance medical technologies for ocular health in space," according to a release by EyeWorld Staff T he National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, have jointly launched the Vision for Mars Challenge to help identify and advance medical technologies for ocular health in space through collaboration and funding support, the groups announced. The Vision for Mars Challenge leverages an initiative called the Space Medical and Related Technologies Commercialization Assistance Program (SMARTCAP), which identifies and funds small U.S.-based companies developing disruptive medical technologies. Three SMARTCAP grants in this cycle will be awarded to companies with innovative ophthalmology products. The funding will be $100,000 each for up to 3 companies, according to the initiative's website. According to a press release on the initiative, the Industry Forum for the NSBRI initiated the challenge at the Vision for Mars Challenge conference in Houston on Nov. 6. Dorit Donoviel, NSBRI's deputy chief scientist and Industry Forum lead, first announced the initiative last month at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit held before the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting in Chicago. At the OIS@AAO meeting, she said that many astronauts experience visual and ocular health disorders in long-duration spaceflight, and in order to understand these disorders, the NSBRI needs "out of this world" diagnostic capabilities. The initiative is seeking to "mitigate the risk of Spaceflight- Induced Vision Impairment and Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) Syndrome," according the initiative's website. "If we want to explore space, we have to consider an environment that's very hostile to the human body," Dr. Donoviel said at OIS@AAO. Examples of technologies and approaches that NASA needs include the "ability to determine refraction in space"; "visual field testing in space"; and "an easier and more accurate way to measure IOP in space," the initiative's website said. The conference in Houston "brought together distinguished clinical and business leaders within the ophthalmology sector to help identify cutting-edge, space-appropriate diagnostic approaches and devices," to assist NASA in understanding the new ocular issues after spaceflight, the release said. "We don't understand the effects of reduced gravity on the optic nerve," Tim Stout, MD, professor and chair of ophthalmology at Baylor, said in the release. "However, we have some evidence that long-term spaceflight can result in visual field defects in astronauts. This conference is a great step toward bringing the ophthalmologists and scientists needed to answer these questions to the same table." "NASA needs these next-generation clinical diagnostic and research-enabling technologies to provide critical information about ocular health during spaceflight. These technologies must be small, robust, and easy to use by non-experts," Dr. Donoviel said in the release. "This is an excellent opportunity for small U.S.-based companies to receive funding and accelerate the development of their products." Winners of the SMARTCAP Vision for Mars Challenge will be announced in February 2015. For more information on the initiative, visit www.smartcap.org. EW going to fail, make sure it does so quickly, he advised. The smart contact lens project has been going strong for 3 years now, he said. Technical side On the technical side, Dr. Leveiller said that he worries about a couple of factors that need to be addressed. Because it is a medical device that is very intrusive, total biocompatibility with the ocular surface is needed of the material, surface, and lens. In addition, more patient variability can be created depending on the conditions of patients. For example if patients have an ocular allergy, dry eye, or experience certain envi- ronmental factors, these all affect the lens, Dr. Leveiller said. It is important to leverage the complimentary factors between the 2 companies. Google can miniatur- ize the technology and manage the wireless communications, and Alcon can make the product and handle the ophthalmology aspects. "We've worked hard to make this a modular platform," Dr. Otis said. Even though it's only a short time into the partnership, things are moving along quickly on the collaboration side. EW