Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 26 June 2017 a few months and picked it back up in 2015, finishing it with the help of his son Nils Koenig, a Navy reservist with prior experience in the film industry. The film, which has been hon- ored with three peer-review Telly Awards for documentary, writing, and cinematography, covers every- thing from the structures of the eye and how it works with the brain to give sight, to various ocular dis- orders, to the therapies available and coming down the pipeline to help rescue sight. From uncorrected refractive error—the second leading cause of blindness in the world, ac- counting for $272 billion per year in global productivity loss—to digital eye strain, to corneal diseases, to cataract, macular degeneration, and more, SIGHT aims to give a broad overview of various ocular condi- tions and what's being done—and what's still to be done—to combat them. "It's amazing when you look at all the things that can but usually don't go wrong with the eye," said Alan Crandall, MD, John A. Moran Presidential Professor and senior vice-chair of ophthalmology and visual sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and an advisor on the SIGHT project. Though geared toward the lay audience, Dr. Crandall said his oph- thalmic colleagues can learn quite a bit from a historical standpoint from the film, and they could use it as a resource for educating their patients or the general public. Films like this can get people interested in their own care, Dr. Crandall added, which is a value to society as a whole. "Ophthalmology is a true sub- specialty but it's one that everyone is going to need," he said. Sumit "Sam" Garg, MD, medical director, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine, said he thought the film was an "interesting opportunity to discuss a technology that I am involved with, namely, the implant- able miniature telescope. I also had an opportunity to discuss age-related macular degeneration and how this technology would fit into treatment paradigms." Juan Batlle, MD, professor and chairman of ophthalmology, Elias Santana Hospital/Centro Cristiano de Servicios Médicos, Santo Domin- go, Dominican Republic, who was featured in the film, felt the story SIGHT told was one that needed to get out there. "The reason I did what I did ... is that eyecare should be available to Usher syndrome patient Rebecca Alexander overcomes near blindness to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Source: Koenig Films Inc. Post-cataract surgery in India Award-winning continued from page 25 Retina animation

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