VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced visual prosthetic devices, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's Implantable Miniature Telescope (by Dr. Isaac Lipshitz) to improve vision in patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). VisionCare's first-of-kind telescope implant is integral to a new patient care program, CentraSight, for treating patients with end-stage macular degeneration - the most advanced form of AMD in the U.S. and the leading cause of blindness in older Americans.

"This is truly a breakthrough technology for AMD patients as their treatment options have been limited until now," said Kathryn A. Colby, M.D., Ph.D., ophthalmic surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston and an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. "The clinical results from the pivotal FDA trial have proven we can place this tiny telescope prosthesis inside the eye to help patients see better and, for some, even to levels at which they can recognize people and facial expressions that they could not before."

Copyright 2009 Palo Alto Daily News

Palo Alto Daily News (California) 

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News 

November 14, 2009 Saturday 

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS 

ACC-NO: 20091114-PL-VA-hospital-1114 

LENGTH: 820 words 

HEADLINE: VA hospital: State requests probe of VA hospital \\?? 23 glaucoma patients suffered serious vision loss 

BYLINE: Jessica Bernstein, Palo Alto Daily News, Calif. 

BODY:

   Nov. 14--The state consumer affairs department has formally requested an investigation into the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, where 23 glaucoma patients experienced significant vision loss while receiving treatment.

   California Department of Consumer Affairs Director Brian Stiger made the request in response to an administrative petition the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians, the American Glaucoma Society and the California Medical Association filed in September with his agency.

   "As the events at the VA hospital do concern consumers, I am formally requesting that the Board of Optometry, together with the Medical Board of California, investigate the occurrences at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital regarding the eye

   care provided to veterans, including the role of optometrists and physicians in that care," Stiger wrote in a Nov. 10 letter addressed to Dr. James Ruben, president of the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians.

   "To the extent permitted by existing state and federal law, I am also requesting that those boards make public the findings of the investigation," Stiger said.

WVU Expanding Eye Care Services to Rural Areas

The Charleston Gazette

January 21, 2010

By Veronica Nett

West Virginians have fairly convenient access to eye care services, but the issue in rural areas is providing specialized care that is generally centralized in Charleston and Morgantown, said Judie Charlton, chairwoman of WVU’s Department of Ophthalmology.

West Virginians face a “pending epidemic” when it comes to their eyesight, the chairwomen of West Virginia University’s Department of Ophthalmology says.

This rate of state residents with glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy is on the rise, Dr Judie Charlton, said Wednesday in an interview with the Gazette.

Both conditions can cause blindness if not treated early, and occur in conjunction with the aging population, smoking and diabetes, Charlton said. West Virginia has one of the oldest populations in the nation and also has some of the highest rates of diabetes and smoking.