Kate Gifford

What’s next for the International Myopia Institute? – with Dr Monica Jong

Podcast summary: Dr Monica Jong, Executive Director of the International Myopia Institute, founded by the Brien Holden Vision Institute, tells us all about the IMI’s big plans for 2020. With the landmark publication of the seven IMI White Paper reports almost a year ago now, we discuss the impact of these reports so far and all of the resources available …

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Myopia Management in Practice – with Philip Cheng

Podcast summary: Philip Cheng, well-known clinical optometrist from Melbourne, Australia and prolific contributor to the Myopia Profile Facebook group, takes us through the twists and turns of myopia management in practice. Philip founded his greenfield independent practice over three years ago with a near-exclusive focus on myopia management, and in this podcast we discuss how he made the leap to …

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More on 0.01% atropine treatment for myopia management – with Prof Mark Bullimore

Podcast summary: Professor Mark Bullimore of the University of Houston, Texas USA, tells us more on the complex topic of 0.01% atropine, including its stability as a compound, and takes us on a short journey through chemistry explaining how current studies are using novel formulations to address this issue. Have you heard of ‘heavy water’? I hadn’t, until now! Mark …

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What MiSight FDA approval means to eye care practitioners – with Prof Lyndon Jones & Prof Debbie Jones

Podcast summary: Lyndon and Debbie Jones from the Centre for Ocular Research and Education and University of Waterloo, Canada, highlight the impact that FDA approval for CooperVision MiSight myopia control contact lens has for eye care practice in the US, and across the world. How does MiSight and the FDA approval fit within the whole ecosystem of myopia control? We …

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Atropine 0.01% for myopia management – with Prof James Loughman

Podcast summary: Professor James Loughman from Technological University Dublin, and the Centre for Eye Research Ireland, challenges us to think differently about low dose atropine. What are we actually getting in the bottle? How should we approach atropine usage in practice? What will future research tell us? The message on 0.01% atropine is complex and perhaps not what you expect. …

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Spectacle lenses for myopia control – Part 2

Back up corrections, clinical considerations and new designs There’s a little more to think about in the important role spectacle lenses play in myopia management. Even if we prescribe contact lenses, our young myopes are most likely to need a back up spectacle lens option. Children prescribed atropine will need the best spectacle lens prescribed for them to minimise the …

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Spectacle lenses for myopia control – Part 1

Progressives, bifocals, binocular vision and more Are progressive addition lenses and bifocals created equal for myopia control? When do they work and when do spectacles have minimal efficacy? How should we pick which lens type to prescribe, and what’s on the horizon for our non-contact lens wearing young myopes? We know that single vision spectacle lenses provide no useful efficacy …

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Assessing risk of myopia onset and progression

Identifying the pre-myope There are four key principles for assessing risk of myopia onset: Family history – one myopic parent increases risk by three-fold, while two myopic parents doubles this risk again1 Visual environment – less than 90 minutes a day spent outdoors increases risk, especially if combined with more than 3 hours a day spent on near work activities …

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An Ode To My Retinoscope

In May 2019 the professional journal Contact Lens Spectrum published my bi-annual ‘Refractive Focus’ column, entitled ‘An Ode to my Retinoscope’. Click on this link to read about how your trusty ret can help with: Pediatric refractions Diagnosing keratoconus and other corneal irregularities Toric contact lens assessment Multifocal contact lens troubleshooting OrthoK assessment Complex contact lens fitting About Kate Dr …

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IMI – Clinical Management Guidelines Supplementary Digital Content

The landmark International Myopia Institute (IMI) White paper reports were published on 28 February 2019. As lead author on the Clinical Management Guidelines paper, I was thrilled to see the work of my 13 co-authors and I shared with a keen clinician audience worldwide. It was drawn to my attention, though, that the promised Supplementary Digital Content had not been …

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