dispensingopticsdispensingoptics Dispensing Optics PO Box 233, Crowborough TN6 9BD Telephone: 01892...

dispensingopticsDispensing Optics

PO Box 233, Crowborough TN6 9BD

Telephone: 01892 667626

Fax: 01892 667626

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.abdo.org.ukFebruary 2009

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

ABDO actively works inconjunction with:

3 Cover point

by Tony Garrett

4 Continuing Education

and Training

Cutting edge: the realm of freeform

lens technology

by Charles Marguet

10 Patient and practice

management

New tax penalties

by Paul Howard

12 Frames

Added value through family values

by Ann Johnson

16 Overseas

ABDO bursary helps DO volunteer

for Zambia

by Helen Denton

17 Book Review

The Study Skills Handbook

reviewed by Jill Elstub

18 Newsbrief

18 News from Ireland

19 Points from the President

26 Letters to the Editor

28 Disjointed jottings from a

DO’S desk . . .

by Keith Cavaye

29 CET answers

Prism thinning progressive lenses by

Darryl Meister

30 BCLA news

31 Diary of Events

February 2009

The Worshipful Companyof Spectacle Makers

Credit CrunchWe clearly live in extraordinary times.The size and speed of the crisis seemsto have taken all by surprise. Wellknown High Street names havedisappeared and many leading bankshave gone from being stars of theeconomy to total dependence onbailouts from the government (orrather us the taxpayer). At times likethis it is inevitable that some will worryunduly whilst others will be faced withsome very difficult decisions. Whichbrings us to ‘What can yourAssociation do for you at a time likethis?’. We certainly cannot solve everyproblem but we may be able to help.If you are facing a really difficult issueyou can always talk to one of the

ABDO membership team or myself, wehave access to a number of supportmechanisms and we have a lot ofexperience in dealing with memberswho face what often seem likeinsurmountable problems. The mostimportant thing to remember is that ifyou need to seek advice do so at anearly stage.

OptrafairThe Association and the ABDOCollege will once again both havestands at Optrafair in April. Allmembers are welcome to visit us andto talk with the President and othersabout current issues of interest andconcern. You can also catch up onthe latest corporate support materialfrom the Association, view the latesttextbooks or find out about newcourse development at the ABDOCollege.

Thank YouTo all members who have paid theirsubscriptions particularly those whohave done so both by direct debitand increasingly online. The number ofonline payments has risen substantiallythis year and if you have yet to payperhaps you would consider using thiseasy-to-manage method. It saves a lotof administration time and money. Topay online visit www.abdo.org.uk inthe secure members’ area.Tony Garrett �

Cover point

C O N T E N T S33 dispensingoptics

Front coverphotograph: Essilor'snew Varilux PhysioShort lens

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

4 dispensingoptics February 2009

This article has been approved for 1 CET point by the GOC. It is open to all FBDO members, includingassociate member optometrists. Insert your answers to the six multiple choice questions (MCQs) on theanswer sheet inserted in this issue and return by 19 March 2009 to ABDO CET, Courtyard Suite 6, BraxtedPark, Great Braxted, Witham CM8 3GA OR fax to 01621 890203, or complete online at www.abdo.org.uk.Notification of your mark and the correct answers will be sent to you. If you complete online, pleaseensure that your email address and GOC number are up-to-date. The pass mark is 60 per cent. Theanswers will appear in our April 2009 issue.

C-9833

Over the last ten years, the design ofophthalmic lenses, in particular of

single vision and progressive power, hasadvanced considerably. This progress islinked to the development ofcomputer-controlled freeformtechnology, which differs fromtraditional lens surfacing.

This article explains the principles offreeform lens manufacture, theapplication of this latest technology inatoric single vision and customisedprogressive lens design, andintroduces the latest relevant lensproducts available from a range ofmanufacturers.

Freeform lensgeneratorsTraditional surfacing machines1 usering-like diamond wheels to form theophthalmic surfaces found inconventional lenses, such as spherical,toroidal and aspherical surfaces.Although this method continues to bea quick, cost-effective and popularprocess, the curves produced bytraditional generators differ slightly

from the original lens design – aneffect called ‘elliptical error’. In orderto reduce this unwanted aberration toa minimum, lenses are polished. Figure1 shows the elliptical error produced intraditional lens surfacing.

Freeform generators use a precisediamond tool that cuts with a singlepoint the curves of a lens. The lens isdesigned point-by-point by computersoftware, which also controls thecutting process. As a result suchsurfacing equipment is usually referredto as CNC (computer numericallycontrolled) technology.

Freeform lenses do not produceelliptical error, and new polishers havebeen created alongside surfacingequipment to perfect the surfacecurves (traditional polishers wouldcreate elliptical error on a freeformsurface).

Bruneni1 explains that the accuracy offreeform surfacing is down to 0.05dioptres compared to 0.12 dioptreswith modern non-freeform equipment,

and that virtually any computer-aidedlens design can be reproduced by thegenerators. We may infer that anyfuture lens designs will have extendedprescription ranges as they arelaunched.

Atoric lens designAspheric lenses were introduced overfifteen years ago in order to producethinner and flatter lenses. This isparticularly evident in the productionof lenses to correct high levels ofhypermetropia, when the asphericity ison the front surface of the lens. Theback surface of the lens is spherical ortoroidal, depending on whether thereis any prescribed cylindricalcomponent. Figure 2 shows thethickness profile of a high plus lens witha spherical and aspherical frontsurface design.

With such designs, the asphericity ofthe front surface is thought to improvethe optics of the lens by reducing theamount of oblique astigmatism2, butby moving the aspheric surface to theback visual acuity is further improved

CompetencIes covered: Optical appliancesTarget group: Dispensing opticians, optometrists

Cutting edge: the realmof freeform lenstechnology

This article by Charles Marguet FBDO (Hons)

SLD looks at how manufacturers are using

freeform technology in their current lens

ranges

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

and helps to thin the lens edges ofhigh minus lenses.

Aspheric surfaces are traditionallyproduced by rotating a non-sphericalcurve about an axis of symmetry,hence called ‘rotationallysymmetrical’, making it impossible toproduce a single surface which is bothaspherical and toroidal. Usually bestform and aspheric lenses thatincorporate a cylinder component usea design with the toroidal surface onthe back surface.

Freeform technology enables any lensdesign to be produced, hence anaspherised toroidal back surfacedesign can be created to improvevisual acuities, reduce unwantedaberrations and control lens thickness.

Atoric lenses have therefore beenlaunched, with each meridian on theback surface calculated to producean aspheric surface, taking into accountthe front surface curve. Atoric lenses areproduced by varying the asphericityfrom one meridian to another.

One of the advantages of using singlevision atoric lenses is that they providea wider field of view, in particular withhigh cylinders.

As far as reducing other lensaberrations, Meister3 claims that atoriclenses outperform their best-form andaspheric equivalents, hence thepatient is very likely to adapt to thelenses easily. Meister explains there hasbeen a high level of patientsatisfaction and success due to thefact that freeform generators controlthe most minute variation inprescription.

Smith3 recommends that atoric singlevision lenses should at least be used forall cylinders above 2.00 DC, and forlow cylinders with high sphericalcomponents.

In contrast Meister2 argues that atoriclens designs provide a superior opticalperformance for all patients, includingthose with astigmatism.

Dispensing atoric single vision lensescan also be considered as acommercial advantage: dispensingthe latest lenses gives the dispensingoptician a competitive edge, andcommunicating the benefits and

between lenses (DBL), monocular pupildistances and fitting heights.

Hoya Nulux EPHoya has developed a bi-asphericlens design using freeform technology,marketed under the brand nameNulux EP. Hoya5 explains that thedesign considers the physiologicalaspects of binocular vision (eg: eyerotation, oblique optics) overtraditional paraxial lens designmethods.

As the term ‘bi-aspheric’ suggests,both front and back surfaces haveaspherised surfaces, and where acylinder is required, a back surfaceatoric lens is produced.

Smith3 explains that Hoya technologyallows for the visual acuity to becalculated at every point on the lens,hence resulting in clear vision fromedge to edge.

Nulux EP is available in the Eyry 1.70,Eynoa 1.67 and Eyas 1.6 materials withSuper Hi Vision coating, and requires

features of atoric lenses becomesessential.

The obvious disadvantages are thetime and costs involved in producingsuch lenses, which are unfortunatelypassed on to the patient.

Norville Norlite UltorNorville4 has designed an extensiverange of single vision atoric lenses,under the brand name Norlite Ultor.Norlite Ultor uses a freeform technologywith a spherical front surface and aback atoric surface, and is providedwith Norville’s Clarity K HP coating.

Norlite Ultor is available in a range ofmaterials with indices of 1.5, 1.56, 1.6,1.67, 1.74 and with the following lensoptions: Drivewear, Sunsensors,Polarised and Transitions.

Norville uses an optimisation processfor edge and centre thickness, asshown in Figure 3. In order to producea Norlite Ultor lens, the followingparameters are required: horizontaland vertical box lens sizes, distance

Continuing Education and Training

Figure 3: Reference 4 courtesy of Norville Group

Continued overleaf

Figure 1 Figure 2

Freeform lens surface

Elliptical error

Conventionalsurface

Asp

he

ric f

ron

t su

rfa

ce

Sphericalor toroidalbacksurface

Sph

eric

al o

r to

roid

al b

ac

k su

rfa

ce

Sphericalfront

surface

Shape of frame(shape of edged lens)

Thickness reduction

Mid point(optimised lens)

Shape of optimised lens

Standard circular non-edged lens

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Add +1.50 with a back-surface toricprogression.

All major lens manufacturers now offerfreeform progressives, which aretailored to the prescription and thepatient’s visual requirements.

Norville Norlite Ultor - insideprogressiveNorville has designed this lens toconfigure the surfaces in line with thepatient’s visual requirements. NorliteUltor can therefore be ordered with a‘general’, ‘outdoor’ or ‘desk’ design,each with a selection of threeprogression corridor depths of 9,11 and13mm. Norville selects the mostappropriate corridor depthconsidering the facial measurementsand frame shape, a process marketedas ‘autoselect’.

Figure 6 shows the stylised visual areasof the three Norlite Ultor designs.Norville4 explains the ‘outdoor’ designis optimised for distance vision,whereas the ‘desk’ design is optimisedfor intermediate and near vision. Assuch the ‘desk’ design should beregarded as an occupationalprogressive, which is not suitable fordriving.

The ‘general’ design is optimised fordistance and near vision and is agood balanced lens for everydaywear.

Norville details the advantages ofdispensing such designs, as they allowthe personalisation of the lens beingachieved without having to purchaseany additional equipment or taking anexcessive amount of facialmeasurements. Additionally the bigadvantages are the reducedperipheral distortion and increasedfield of view.

Norville claims that in a useracceptance test carried out, 98% ofall users adapted to their lenses veryeasily, including some first timepresbyopes. Some patients evencommented that when they first puttheir spectacles on, they thought theyhad been given single visionspectacles in error due to the reducedaberrations and increased field of view!

Like the single vision lens, Norlite Ultorinside progressive is available in arange of materials and options

the following facial measurements:monocular pupil distances and fittingheights (assuming the frame has beenadjusted to adequate vertex distanceand pantoscopic angle) monocularpupil distances and fitting heights.

Seiko Sportstech 1.67An interesting application of the use offreeform technology is the design ofcurved lenses suitable for ‘wrap-around’ frames with high front curves.The design takes into account theeffect of high front curves and frontalangle to calculate the optimumdesign. Without freeform technologyproducing lenses with a 6.00D or 8.00Dfront surface power would makebinocular vision impossible.

The lens is available in the 1.67 impactresistant material, that can becombined with a choice of over 200tints, and have the Seiko SuperCleancoat. The parameters necessary toorder are the interpupillary distance(or PD), the distance between lenses(DBL), the box lens size measurementsand which front curve is required. Thedispensing optician needs to select a6.00D or 8.00D front curve design, andspecify the angle of eye shape (froma line tangential to the front surface atthe optical centre to the horizontal),the inset and lens diameter. These canbe worked out using the fitting chartSeiko provides in their lens catalogue.

Although freeform lens technology is arecent application to single visionlenses, the greater applications are tobe found in the field of progressivepower lenses.

Freeform progressivesTraditionally progressive power lenseswere designed with a concave


spherical or toroidal back surface, anda front convex surface containing theprogression. Figure 4 shows theconventional lens design of theprescription +2.00DS/-1.00DC X 90 Add+1.50.

In 1998, Seiko6 developed a design inwhich the back surface would be aconcave progressive (with cylinders ifnecessary) and a shallow convexspherical front surface. This lens wasthe first in its kind to have an atoricsurface.

The surfacing method (now known asfreeform) uses a computer-aideddesign, which calculates thousands ofdata points on the surface of the lens,and the CNC generators enable thecreation of such surfaces with anincredible precision to produce theexact shape required.

The majority of manufacturers cannow design any lens surface, test andproduce their design without restrictionthanks to freeform surfacingtechnology. This gives rise to a widerange of new progressive lenses,providing wider fields of view on thepremise that moving the progressionto the back surface helps reduce the‘keyhole effect’.

The precision of the surface and itsdesign also contributed to reducingperipheral aberrations as well.

Naturally, the only disadvantages thatcan be found are the increased costof producing the lenses, which arereflected in the lens price, and thetime taken to produce such lenses.

Figure 5 shows the ‘freeform’ design ofthe prescription +2.00DS/-1.00DC X 90

Figure 4 Figure 5

Back surface

Front surface

Back surface

Front surface

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

monocular pupil distances and fittingheights.

Seiko EmblemThe latest addition to the Seikoprogressive lens range is the SeikoEmblem, a new inner-surface freeformlens, whose design is calculated usingMulti-Polar Optimum Design Synergy.This process takes into account eyerotation and astigmatic correction forevery point on the lens surface toproduce a multi-polar design. Figure 7illustrates this concept.

Seiko claims6 that the field of cleardistance vision is increased by up to45% when compared to otherconventional inner surface freeformdesigns, as well as an overall reductionin aberrational astigmatism by up to 25%.

The design includes advanced prismthinning calculations, which furthercontribute to the reduced centresubstance and overall cosmeticappearance of the lens.

The lens design is available in 1.6, 1.67

Figure 9: Reference 7 courtesy of Hoya Lens UK

(Drivewear, Transitions, Sunsensors,Polarised).

Norville has also recently introducedtwo new designs for the relief ofsymptoms of newly acquiredanisometropia, which would not havebeen possible to produce withoutfreeform surfacing.

Norlite Anisometropia Progressive is alens with a visible slab line on the frontsurface, with ‘autoselect’. The lens isdispensed for the eye requiring a slabon of prism base down, from 1 to 20prism dioptres. A Norlite Ultor matchinglens would be required in the othereye.

Norlite Ultor Progressive Slab-off whereup to 5 prism base down can beremoved from any Ultor resin materialis the second unique possibility offeredby Norville.

Norville require the following data toproduce Ultor progressives: horizontalbox and vertical box lens sizes,distance between lenses (DBL),

Continuing Education and Training

Figure 7: Reference 6 courtesy of Seiko Optical UK

Figure 8: Reference 7 courtesy of Hoya Lens UK

Continued overleaf

Figure 6: Reference 4 courtesy of Norville Group

Clearness index map

Far power S

Calculated visual acuity

50.00D Add 2.50D

Hoyalux iD

1.00 0.67 0.45 0.30 0.20 0.13 0.09 0.06

Far power S+C

OutdoorGeneral Desk

Near power S+CNear power S

and 1.74 indices, and feature aselection of three reduced fittingheights: 10, 12 and 14mm.

Seiko Emblem lenses are dispensedusing conventional facialmeasurements (monocular pupildistances and fitting heights).

Hoyalux iD LifeStyleHoya7 launched a new design inJanuary 2007, which in unique in itsconcept: the front surface is afreeform aspheric surface whichintegrates the vertical component ofthe addition, and the back surface isa freeform atoric surfaced whichintegrates the horizontal componentat the back. This design is based onthe previous Hoyalux iD (integrateddesign), but with faster manufacturingtimes.

Hoya has devised a clearness index toindicate the quality of the retinalimage formed by a model eye. Thisindex is mapped across the lens toshow the expected visual acuities forthe various zones of the lens.

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

The answers to ‘Shedding light on reflections’ will appearin our March 2009 issue

The deadline for posted or faxed response is19 March 2009 to the address on page 4.

The module code is C-9833

Online completion - www.abdo.org.uk - aftermember log-in go to ‘CET online’

Occasionally, printing errors are spotted afterthe journal has gone to print. Notificationscan be viewed at www.abdo.org.uk<http://www.abdo.org.uk> on the CET Onlinepage


1. Which one of the followingstatements is incorrect?a. Lenses surfaced using traditional

methods suffer from elliptical errorb. Lenses surfaced using freeform

technology suffer from elliptical errorc. Freeform surfacing generators are

usually called CNC generatorsd. Freeform lens technology relies on

computer software

2. Which of the following statements iscorrect:a. Aspheric lenses were introduced

following the development offreeform surfacing technology

b. Aspheric lenses are produced onlyto thin and flatten plus lenses

c. A lens with an aspherised toroidallens surface is called ‘atoric’

d. Single vision atoric lenses have areduced field of view

3. Which of the following is not abenefit of freeform single visionmanufacture:a. Reduced lens costs and delivery

timesb. Superior optical performancec. Greater surfacing accuracyd. Lens thickness optimisation

4. On which surface is the cylindricalelement of a progressive lenstraditionally found?a. Front and back surfacesb. This depends on the manufacturerc. Front surfaced. Back surface

5. Which of the following can beregarded as an occupationalprogressive lens designa. Norville Norlite Ultor ‘General’b. Norville Norlite Ultor ‘Desk’c. Seiko Emblemd. Hoya Nulux EP

6. On which surface can theprogression of the Hoya Hoyalux iDLifeStyle lens be found?a. Both surfacesb. Back surfacec. Front surfaced. Lower back surface

Multiple choicequestions (MCQs)

• Freeform single vision andprogressive lenses do not necessarilyrequire investing in expensivedispensing terminals, and most aredispensed using conventionalmeasurements.• Selling the latest lens designs givesthe DO a commercial advantage,and offers patients the choice toupgrade their eyewear. If you do notdispense these lenses, chances are,your competitors will before long.• Feedback from lens manufacturersindicates a high level of patientsatisfaction, hence dispensingfreeform could be the key to securecustomer loyalty.

Considering these factors, it wouldseem the benefits freeform lensesprovide far outweigh their relatedcosts.

Author’s noteThe intent of this article is not torecommend any particular lens designor manufacturer, but to highlightrecent product developments.Dispensing opticians are thereforeencouraged to consult manufacturers’data to assist in product and supplierselection.

References1. Bruneni JL. Understanding Freeform.Eyecare Business Magazine 2008.Williams & Wilkins Vision Care Group2. Meister D. Principles of Atoric LensDesign. Lens Talk Magazine1998;27(3)3. Smith RL. Hoya Nulux ep: SingleVision Meets Free-form. Vision CareProducts News. 2008 Vision CareProducts4. Norville. Ultor Free From OphthalmicLens Series Product Guide 2007. 2007.Norville Group Ltd5. Hoya Vision. Hoya Nulux ep [online]2007available from http://www.hoyavision.com [accessed 18-08-08]6. Seiko. Seiko Lens Product Guide.2008. Seiko Optical UK7. Jalie M. New Hoyalux iD LifeStyledesign from Hoya. 2007. Hoya Lens UK

Charles Marguet works as a dispensingoptician in a large optical practice inSwansea, South Wales. He leads thetraining team in-store and is currentlystudying towards his contact lenscertificate. �

Figure 8 shows that areas where theacuities fall below 0.30 are very smalland limited to the edge of a glazedlens.

The back surface of the lens is workedusing freeform technology, and thefront surface is semi-finished with anintegrated +3.00 DC X 180 additioncomponent. For example, theprescription Plano, +1.00 DS Add,would have the surface design shownin Figure9, assuming a +5.00DS frontcurve. In order to produce theprescription, a -5.00 DS back curve isrequired, and the progression will beprovided by a -7.00 DC X 180, -4.00DCX 90.

The vertical power component issurfaced on the convex surface toensure reduced eye movementsbetween distance and near. Thehorizontal power component issurfaced on the concave surface toproduce wider visual zones.

This bi-toric design integrates theprescription to give a balanced view,eliminating swimming effects and skewdistortions. This also enhancesadaptation for new progressivewearers.

As all Hoyalux iD LifeStyle lenses havethe same semi-finished integrated+3.00 DC X 180 progression, thepatient will have the same uniformlens curvature to ensure the sameperception through every stage oftheir presbyopia.

Hoyalux iD LifeStyle lenses aredispensed using conventional facialmeasurements (monocular pupildistances and fitting heights).

SummaryThe introduction of freeformtechnology should be regarded bythe DO as a golden opportunity:• First-time wearers should adaptmore easily to their new lenses, inparticular with wrapped spectacleframes, and with progressives.• Patients who have previously worn ahard-design progressive lens and didnot tolerate softer designs shouldtransfer to freeform-generated designswith ease.

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

The tax penalty system hasbeen revamped. Paul Howardexplains how penalties arelikely to be higher

If you submit an incorrect tax return to HMRevenue and Customs and, as a result,

your tax liability is understated, you may becharged a penalty and interest, as well asthe additional tax that becomes payablewhen the error is corrected. Nothing newthere, but what is new is that the penaltysystem has been entirely revamped, and anew unified regime will apply to incorrecttax returns or other documents submittedby individuals and businesses in relation toincome tax, capital gains tax, corporationtax, PAYE & NIC and VAT.

Under this new system, many penaltiesare likely to be higher than in the past.Some penalties will be charged wherepreviously there would have been nopenalty and, in certain circumstances,directors and other company officersmay become personally liable forcompany penalties.

Starting datesThe new penalties will apply to returnsthat are due to be submitted on orafter 1 April 2009, that deal withperiods starting on or after 1 April 2008.So the first periods to which the newpenalties will apply are as follows:• Individuals - the current tax year thatstarted on 6 April 2008• Companies - accounting periodsbeginning on or after 1 April 2008• Employers – annual PAYE returns forthe year commencing 6 April 2008• Construction Industry Schemecontractors – monthly returns for

periods commencing on or after 6March 2009• VAT-registered businesses:

• Annual returns for the year beginning on 1 April 2008, for those that account for VAT annually• Quarterly returns for quarters beginning on or after 1 January 2009, for those that account for VAT quarterly• Monthly returns for months beginning on or after 1 March 2009, for those that account for VAT monthly.

MainfeaturesThe key features of the new regimeare that no penalties will be chargedwhere reasonable care has beentaken; for careless and deliberateinaccuracies, tax-geared penalties willbe charged at fixed percentage rates,which will only be reduced if theindividual or business has disclosed theinaccuracy to HMRC; that there will bea minimum level for all penalties,except where a taxpayer discloses acareless inaccuracy to HMRC beforethey discover it; penalties for carelessinaccuracies can be suspended for upto two years, after which they may becancelled; and HMRC will be able tocollect all or part of a company’spenalty for a deliberate inaccuracyfrom a director or other companyofficer who is responsible for theinaccuracy.

Reasonable careNo penalties will be charged where ataxpayer has taken reasonable care.HMRC states that ‘reasonable care’varies according to the person, theparticular circumstances and theirabilities, but everyone should keeprecords that enable their tax liability tobe accurately calculated. If, despitetaking reasonable care, an error resultsin tax being understated, no penaltywill be charged provided the amountinvolved is not significant in relation tothe person’s overall tax liability for therelevant tax period.

HMRC states that this would includearithmetical errors that are notsignificant, and a situation where ataxpayer takes advice from acompetent adviser or HMRC whichlater proves to be incorrect, providedthat all the relevant information andfacts were given to the adviser orHMRC.

Careless and deliberateinaccuraciesPenalties will be charged wherecareless and deliberate inaccuraciesresult in tax being understated. Theapplicable percentages will dependon whether the inaccuracies areconcealed. These fixed penalties canonly be reduced if the individual orbusiness has disclosed the inaccuracyto HMRC, and the amount of thereduction will depend on whether the

New tax penalties


2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

disclosure was prompted orunprompted.

HMRC states that carelessinaccuracies would include thoseresulting from inadequate records orsystems, or doing somethingincorrectly without asking for advicefrom an adviser or HMRC. ‘Deliberate’means that the taxpayer knew whathe was doing, and intended tounderstate his tax liability.

Scale ofpenaltiesThe Table 1 outlines the penalties thatwill be charged, in terms of apercentage of the ‘potential lostrevenue’. The potential lost revenue isnormally the additional tax that ispayable after correcting theinaccuracy, but there are special ruleswhere the inaccuracy involves a lossclaim, or is reversed in a later period.

DisclosureTo obtain a reduction for unprompteddisclosure, taxpayers must informHMRC of an inaccuracy before HMRCdiscover it (or are about to discover it).The maximum reduction for anydisclosure will only be given if there isfull co-operation with HMRC inquantifying and correcting theinaccuracy.

A disclosure will be regarded asprompted if it was made after HMRC

had contacted a person to informthem that it wished to make acompliance check of a return, or hadarranged to visit their premises tomake a compliance check of theirrecords.

Suspended penaltiesHMRC can suspend part or all of apenalty for a careless inaccuracy forup to two years, if it considers thatcompliance with a condition of thesuspension would help the taxpayer toavoid incurring further carelessinaccuracy penalties. HMRC would setconditions for the taxpayer to meet,and the penalty would be cancelledat the end of the suspension period ifthe taxpayer could satisfy HMRC thathe had complied with the conditions.If the conditions were not met, part orall of the penalty would becomepayable. The suspended penaltywould also become payable if thetaxpayer incurred another penalty fora careless or deliberate inaccuracyduring the suspension period.

HMRC has stated that it will considerthe taxpayer’s general compliancebehaviour, the level of disclosure andthe nature of the inaccuracy beforedeciding whether to suspend apenalty. If a careless inaccuracy isdue to poor record keeping, one ofthe conditions of suspension could bethat specified improvements aremade to the way records are kept.

Personal liability of directors andother company officersHMRC will be able to collect all or partof a company’s penalty for adeliberate inaccuracy from a directoror other company officer who wasresponsible for the inaccuracy inquestion. HMRC will probably considerdoing so where there is evidence thatthe individual gained personally from

the inaccuracy, or where thecompany is insolvent or likely tobecome insolvent.

Action points• Businesses may need to review thequality of their records and systems tominimise the risk of incurring penaltiesfor careless inaccuracies, particularly ifthere is a history of corrections beingmade following the discovery of errors.• Individuals and businesses shoulddisclose any inaccuracy as soon as itcomes to light, and co-operate withHMRC in correcting it, in order toobtain the substantial penaltyreductions for disclosure.• Particular care should be takenwhen correcting errors in VAT returns,as there will be much less scope tomake informal corrections in laterreturns.• Taxpayers and their advisers shouldalways request HMRC to suspend apenalty for a careless inaccuracy ifHMRC do not offer to do so.

Paul Howard is associate director ofBDO Stoy Hayward LLP, CharteredAccountants. �

Patient and practice management

Penalty (percentage of potential lost revenue)Type of inaccuracy

Starting Maximum reduction for Minimum point disclosure penalty

Careless inaccuracy, or failure to 30% Unprompted 30% Nilnotify HMRC of an under-assessment Prompted 15% 15%Deliberate but not concealed 70% Unprompted 50% 20%inaccuracy Prompted 35% 35%Deliberate and concealed 100% Unprompted 70% 30%inaccuracy Prompted 50% 50%

Table 1

EXPIRY OF CET onABDO CDs

The CET available on all ABDO'sCDs will expire in December2009 in line with the end of thecurrent CET period. The date ofexpiry will be 12 December, toallow results to be uploadedbefore 31 December. Updatedversions of each title will bereleased in January/February2010 in a new CD format. �

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

A family business has built itsreputation on producing highquality ‘bespoke’ frames,offering exclusive creativedesign, hand-made in France

Since the mid-1970s, Lafont frameshave been manufactured in the

Jura region of France, near the Swissborder. It is one of the few remainingFrench companies to retain theknowledge and skills required toproduce high quality acetate andmetal frames involving specifictechniques and hand-finishedprocesses, with an emphasis on finedetail and precision.

Lafont is very much a family company.Matthieu Lafont is the marketing andcommunication manager, brotherThomas is the artistic director and theirfather Philippe is the chief executiveofficer and founder of the firm. But itwas Laurence Lafont, who sadly diedin 2008, who was largely responsiblefor developing the look of the brand.

Matthieu explains, “The first thingwhich is very important to understand,

Added value throughfamily values


Left: Many different materials are used to createframes

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

is that the Lafont name and history islargely based on two people:Laurence and Philippe Lafont. Myparents have equal importance in oursuccess story. My mother developedthe style and the look of the brandand my father worked on the businessside, creating its global policy andselling the frames.

“Laurence Lafont created the brandfrom scratch at a time when nothingelse existed. The Lafont brand wastrademarked in 1972, making thecompany one of the first in the‘creator-designer’ category. As artisticdirector of the company, Laurencedeveloped and managed everyaspect of the Lafont name, from theframe design, to the business cardartwork.”

Laurence originally studied graphic artin London before working for anumber of different bed linen designstudios. She established her owndesign studio in 1979, working on theLafont range as well as for severalother companies in the interior designindustry, producing carpets, bed linen,and tableware. She continued thisway for nearly 20 years beforedeciding ten years ago toconcentrate on the frame side.

Matthieu says, “We see our brand asan expression of the ‘French art devivre’. This is why we exclusivelydevelop 70 per cent of our colours. Fornearly 10 years, my brother Thomasworked with our mother in thedesigning studio, learning the jobalongside her. Brand values such as

our way of creating frames by puttingas much into the shape as well as thecolor, or by drawing the shape firstinstead of prototyping it immediately,were established and implemented bymy mother. We think that our valuesand those of the brand are in thehearts and minds of everyone involvedin the company – around 110 peopleworldwide.”

The company sells approximately350,000 frames each year andproduces around 300 new framestyles. Thirty per cent of the turnover isin France, 30 per cent in NorthAmerica, 20 per cent in Europe and 20per cent in Asia.

The production processThe production of a Lafont acetateframe takes 150 operations over aperiod of eight weeks. This canincrease to 200 operations, taking upto 13 weeks for a metal/acetatecombi frame. Between these 150 and200 operations are many differentprocesses, such as stamping,soldering, polishing and laserengraving.

MaterialsMany different materials can be usedto create frames. Lafont uses mostlyacetate, stainless steel, or titanium.Acetate is based on the cotton flower,it can be worked in two different ways- laminated and extruded. The colourcombination for laminated acetatecan only be done by hand. Lafontcreates is own acetate colours and 70per cent of the colour range isexclusive.

There are only a few acetatemanufacturers who reach the level ofquality requested by Lafont. Once theacetate sheets are delivered to thefactory, they are stored in a specialroom where the level of humidity andtemperature is constantly controlled. Araw acetate sheet is never as shinyand soft as a finished frame and thematerial at the beginning of theprocess is opaque and rough. Squareacetate blocks are cut out from thesheet; one is for the front of the frame,and two are for the temples. Theseblocks are then applied to theautomatic robots. For the metalframes, the colours are applied at theend of the stamping/cutting process,and soldering process. The metalmaterial is also delivered in sheets.

Frame cuttingOver the years the frame industry hascreated increasingly complex models.Thirty years ago frames were shapedby hand but today, automatic robotsare used to cut 100 per cent of theacetate frames. These robots giveprecision and reliability for theproduction of the collection. They millseparately the front and templesblocks but they can also drill, or etch.Once the front and temples are cutthey go to polishing and assembly.

Tumbling and hand polishingOnce the frame is cut, the front andtemples are put in three different typesof tumblers for four days to bepolished. During this process, theangles becomes rounder, the acetateof a softer feel, and the surface

Tumbling and polishing is a lengthy and complex processFrame cutting - precision and reliability

Frames

Continued overleaf

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

becomes shiny. The tumbling durationdiffers in the factories, the exactcontent of the tumblers being specificto each factory.

After the tumbling, front and templesare hand polished on tumbling wheels.This process isn’t carried out routinely -it’s more expensive to do but it doesoffer a better quality product.

This lengthy and complex process of

polishing is specific to acetate frames -the metal models are polished in adifferent way.

Hand made in FranceThe whole Jura area is known forframe and watch manufacture. It isfamous in the frame industry as one ofthe last regions in Europe where aspecific specialist knowledge in framemanufacture is carried out. Forexample, the brushing effect on the

RAY and SAM frames can only bedone by very few people in thefactory. These people have the skilland experience to be able to handbrush the front and temple withoutflattening the shape of the frame.

All the final shape adjustments, thedemo lenses assembly, and of coursethe frame assembly is carried out byhighly qualified workers. The differencein quality can be seen in the handadjustment and hand polishing of theframe, but also in every littledecorative detail.

Quality controlLafont brand philosophy means thereis no compromise on quality. Its framesmust offer an irreproachable productin all areas - adjustment, polishing andcolour matching. The frame must beperfect.

To guarantee this consistently highquality level, the company hasimplemented an auto-control process.At the end of every manufacturingprocess, all pieces are auto-controlinspected by the operator, thedepartment manager and, before thepackaging stage, one last time byspecially trained people. This qualitycontrol has been an important part ofthe manufacturing process since thebeginning and remains a key issue ofproduction.

For more information about the Lafontframe range telephone 0800 96 54 87or email [email protected]

Ann Johnson �


Much of the process is carried out by highly qualified workers Quality control is a key issue in production

Burlesque optical frame for women, is a fullacetate frame, available in six colours fromLafont Paris

Bahia women’s sunglass - acetate frames withgraduated lenses - comes in four exclusivecolours. From the Lafont Paris collection

Timeless charm, relaxed elegance

The Lafont spring/summer 2009 Riviera global collection covers severalindividual ranges and consists of over 170 new frames and sunglasses.Inspired by the timeless charm of the 1930s and the relaxed elegance ofsummer on the Cote d’Azur, the Riviera collection offers around 40 new andexclusive colours, including chic textile effects comprising lacy looks forwomen and tweedy designs for men. There are new combinations ofprecious materials, aluminum alloy corner pieces with rhinestones andacetate fronts with beta-titanium temples and wood temples with rivets.

The ranges comprise : Lafont reedition, Lafont pour les enfants, Issy et là(young urban/trendy) and Lafont Paris (optical and sunglasses). The Parisrange is at the most exclusive, high end of the collection.

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2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Earlier this year, VAO volunteer anddispensing optician Helen Denton applied forand was granted a bursary from ABDOtowards funding her placement on a projectto help the development of eye care inZambia. Here she describes her experience

Since qualifying as a dispensingoptician in 1988, I had always

wanted to do some charity work andvolunteer for Vision Aid Overseas. Nowthat my children were moreindependent, I felt the time was rightto go. For my first project, I was luckyenough to go to Zambia.

Encouraged by colleagues, I firstbecame a member of VAO. I thenwent along to one of their trainingdays and talked to various key peopleinvolved with the charity. After that, itwas a case of waiting for the phonecall . . . I was so excited when AnneHull, a dispensing optician who hascompleted no less than 16 VAOprojects, phoned to invite me on theproject to Zambia.

In the run up to the trip I gavepresentations at work, church services,church groups, schools and Girl Guideunits to raise funds and spreadawareness. I organised a dinner and acolleague from work arranged abarbeque. I also applied to ABDO fora bursary which I was kindly grantedand which helped fund the venture.

The team consisted of two DOs andseven optometrists, with Anne Hull asteam leader, DO and country leaderfor Zambia. The optometrists were LucySanderson (deputy leader), Claire

McDonnell, Humza Tahir, MashuculMannan, Itsham Hussain, Ria Bremnerand Hammad Mansoor. Unfortunately,Lucy was unable to come as, 72 hoursbefore we were due to leave, she felland badly injured her knee.

Cateract extractionOur first clinic was at Kapiri MposhiDistrict Hospital. One patient inparticular who stays in my mind is alady who arrived at the clinic on Friday25 July. After waiting patiently in thequeue to be seen, she had her eyestested by Ria, who then came andspoke to me. The lady had undergonea cataract extraction about sevenyears previously but had not receivedan implant. So, although her cataracthad been removed, she was stillunable to see. I moved her to the frontof the queue and dispensed her withdistance glasses of +12.00D, andreading glasses of +16.00D. On beingfitted with her distance glasses sheleapt up, praising the Lord andembracing me, so delighted was sheto see again. Via an interpreter shetold me that, with her reading glasses,she would now be able to read thebible and sew once more.

I felt very fortunate to have witnessedthis lady’s rejoicing and clear delightand to know I could make someoneso happy by providing glasses.

We also visited outreach clinics to ruralvillages. For some patients an illiterate‘E’ chart was used if they were unableto recognise letters. At this clinic someof us went to a local school to see ifwe could help. Presbyopia occursapproximately 10 years earlier inZambia, so most of the teachersrequired reading glasses and many ofthe children also needed spectacles.At the end of the day they all sang tous wearing their new glasses.

No electricityIn order to make glasses fit better formany of the patients, I had to use myhands to warm the frames in order toalter the length to bend. We carriedsome basic tools and a frame heaterbut we had no electricity in any of thedispensing areas over the project.Fingers came in very useful foradjusting the pads too.

A large percentage of the dispensingwas reading glasses but, during our firstweek, we dispensed non-prescriptionsunglasses for patients with varioustypes of acute conjunctivitis. Thiscondition was seen in both adults andchildren.

In addition to the direct service, weprovided training to nine ophthalmicclinical officers (OCOs) as part of anongoing training programme. This was

ABDO bursary helps DOvolunteer for Zambia


2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

the final instalment of six sets oftraining over a period of 16 monthscovering refraction and low visionwork. During our project they workedwith the team and, at the end of thetwo weeks, they passed the courseand were awarded their certificates,qualifying them to carry outrefractions.

Thanks to a workshop based in thecapital which was set up by VAO last

year, the patients they see can nowgo to Lusaka and have bespokespectacles made up. This processforms part of VAO’s ambition tomake Zambia self-sustainable in eyecare.

We saw 2864 patients in nine days anddispensed 2104 pairs of spectacles.We were kept busy with the clinics, butwe also managed to do some sightseeing during the middle weekend,

visiting Livingstone and the VictoriaFalls. I felt the whole experience wasvery worthwhile and I hope to go onone again in the future. My advicewould be that if you want to getinvolved, don’t just think about it - goand enjoy the experience!”

For more information on volunteeringfor Vision Aid Overseas contact themon 01293 535016 or visitwww.vao.org.uk �

Overseas

. . . and dispensed 2014 pairs of spectaclesHelen Denton and Ria Bremner with a youngpatient

Helen and her VAO team colleagues saw 2864patients in nine days . . .

The Study Skills Handbookby Stella Cottrell, published by Palgrave MacMillan, ISBN 978-0-230-57305-5

ABDO COLLEGE BOOKSHOPThis book, plus numerous other titles, can be purchased from the ABDOCollege Bookshop at www.abdo.org.uk or by contacting Justin Hall on

01227 733904, email [email protected]

This book has been recently added tothe ABDO College essential readinglist. It was initially introduced for thefoundation degree course, however,as I have started to use it I haverealised it is a very useful book foranyone new to academic study.

There are chapters that are useful forfoundation degrees; for exampleacademic writing, research andplanning dissertations as well as a lotof information for everyone else.

The Study Skills Handbook is easyreading and uses cartoon illustration tomake complicated issues easy tounderstand and implement. Forstudents preparing for their ophthalmicdispensing exams for the first timechapter 14 will be extremelybeneficial. This chapter covers avariety of revision techniques includinghow to manage time and stresseffectively. There is advice on how tobuild in time to relax withoutcompromising exam success.

Alongside the revision techniques thischapter looks at the common pitfallsin exams and how to successfullyavoid them.

Not only does this book preparepeople who are starting to study forthe first time, it also includes handyhints for real life. The final chapterwhich is entitled ‘Planning your nextmove’ covers personal developmentand how to plan your career includinghow to develop a good CV.

Finally, The Study Skills Handbook is notspecific to optics so it can be utilisedby the whole family for any academicneed.

Reviewed by Gill Elstub FBDO CL whois a lecturer at ABDO College. �

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Browers toast30 years

Apple ofDax’s eye

Area news-round News from IrelandArea 5 (Midlands): Top speakersat the RiversideABDO Area 5 has finalised the line-upfor its forthcoming CET day, takingplace at The Riverside Centre, Derby,on Monday 2 March. The team isdelighted to have signed up some ofthe best speakers on the current ABDOCET presentations list; Kevin Gutsellfrom Nikon, Andy Hepworth fromEssilor, and ABDO’s own Elaine Grisdalewill speak about professional conduct.Also on the agenda will be Sue Parryfrom Seiko Optical UK and DuncanCounter, who will discuss: “Who wantsto be a dispensing optician?”

As per previous CET days, delegateswill gain six CET points if they attendthe whole day from around 9.30amuntil 5pm. The cost is £20 per ABDOmember, which includes the full day ofpresentations, coffee, tea and biscuitsat each interval, and a hot and coldbuffet lunch. For bookings or furtherinformation, email Ian Hardwick [email protected] ortelephone 07814 558343. Numbers arerestricted due to the size of venue soplaces are booked on a first come,first served basis. �

9.10am Introduction9.15am Red eye or real emergency:

anterior segment pathology by Dr Anna Kwartz

10.15am Contact lens materials: innovations and problem solving by Professor Steve Parrish

11.15am Tea/coffee11.45am Progressing with progressives

by Paul McCarthy12.45pm Lunch1.45pm Workshop/tutorials - 1 hour

each: Glaucoma by Dr Anna Kwartz; Slit lamp by Professor Steve Parrish; orPractical dispensing skills by Paul McCarthy

2.45pm Tea/coffee5.15pm Close

Finally, don’t forget ABDO and Boardretention fees should be up to date bynow. Any member who hasn’treceived an invoice should contactABDO or Bord na Radharcmahstoirí.

Agus sin é an nuact Eireannach. Slán

Jill Flaherty FBDO MIADOTo contact Jill telephone 087 2661649 oremail [email protected] �

Hi All and can I just take this opportunityto wish all members at home and in theUK a very Happy New Year.

Unfortunately, the recent IADO AGMand CET day was extremelydisappointing in terms of turnout bydispensing opticians. This day was heldas a joint venture with the Associationof Optometrists and offered dispensingopticians an opportunity to top up CETpoints and catch up with colleaguesthey only meet once a year. By sharinghotel expenses with the AOI, it allowedour members to attend the full day,including lunch at NO COST. A superbrange of lectures was on offer to thosewho made the effort to attend. It isdiscouraging for the committee whoput time and effort into organising thisday on behalf of the members.

There are two CET events in February asfollows:February 17CET evening - Cork, Kingsley Hotel,6.30pm, three lectures, 4.5 contact lenspoints. The full programme will beadvised soon and all are welcome.February 22Tullamore Study Day - Tullamore CourtHotel. The day’s programme is as follows:

Jennifer and David Brower Dax Jenkins (right) receives his newApple Mac from Keith Sheers, OptisoftMD


Jennifer and David Brower raised atoast to each other and their team atD&J Brower Opticians recently as theyclocked up 30 years of successfulpractice. The Browers, who run athriving practice in Croxley Green,Hertfordshire, were delighted toreceive a congratulatory bottle ofchampagne at the recentRodenstock Club Luncheon. �

Independent optometrist Dax Jenkins,who practises in Pontnewydd,Cwmbran, is the happy owner of abrand new Apple Mac loaded withOptisoft’s Recall system.

One of hundreds of independentsfrom around the country whosubmitted entries for the nationalOptisoft IT survey, Mr Jenkins was first

out of the bag and so won the newtechnology which will sit in pride ofplace within the practice, RJDJenkins Opticians.

Mr Jenkins, who set up the SouthWales practice eight years ago, said:“I am just delighted with such afabulous prize. It is so easy to use andvery intuitive.” �

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Marking the bicentenaryof Louis Braille

Points from thePresident

Barry Duncan

Organisations across the globe are planning specialprogrammes of events this year to mark the bicentenaryof Louis Braille born 4 January 1809.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) will beusing the year to raise awareness of braille andencourage more people to learn braille. So far, theInstitute has started an advertising campaigndemonstrating how braille has changed people’s lives,and launched a new-look website with up-to-dateinformation, podcasts and videos. In March there will be ahigh profile signature event attended by patron DavidBlunkett.

In late spring, RNIB will publish the results of a major pieceof research on the issues facing adults learning braille. Itwill also launch two key products. The first, a grade onebraille course, is for both sighted and touch learners. Thekit will contain braille-writing equipment so that learnerscan immediately start to label things and write short notes.The second product is the innovative 'upward' writingframe, which means that braille no longer has to bewritten using the reverse mirror writing method.

To keep up with events and the latest news, visitwww.rnib.org.uk �

MP highlights home testingThe benefits of home sight testing was highlighted whenDoug Naysmith, MP for Bristol North West, invited themedia to join him on a visit to the home of one of hisconstituents, Arthur Cox. Mr Cox’s living room wastransformed into a consulting room and he had his sighttested by Ed Bickerstaff Optometrist.

The MP said: “I think it is excellent that people who find itdifficult to get to the optician can have the test at home.Regular testing reduces the risk of falls and helps peoplemaintain their independence and there are nearly oneand a half million housebound people over 65 who couldhave free tests and have their glasses fitted at home.Sadly, many do not know about this service. It is reallyimportant that people have their eyes checked regularly,not just to make sure they have the right glasses but tolook for underlying disease.” �

Newsbrief

With the current economicclimate creating muchuncertainty, there is nodoubt that 2009 will presentfurther difficulty for manyeyecare professionals upand down the country.However, as professionalswe must continue to offerthe best service we can toall our patients - and bydoing so we will hopefullycome out the other sidehaving learned from ourexperiences.

A phrase I heard when I wasa student dispensingoptician struck a chord withme - and I have adopted itin my way of thinking eversince. The comment, whichwas made during apresentation I attended,went: “If you think you can,you probably will. If youthink you can’t, youprobably won’t”.

Inevitably there are times inour life where the ‘can’t’situation arises, often attimes when we question ourdesires and enthusiasm tosucceed or perhaps whenwe have becomedisillusioned with situations inour lives. I would hope thatall of us have started theNew Year with the ‘can’mentally as we will definitelyneed this approach if weare to have a successful ‘09.

Having been the Presidentfor just over four monthsnow, many challenges havepresented themselves andmore will be lying in wait. It is

the task of the Board andstaff of ABDO, to ensure thatwe tackle these issues headon. Our members deservemore recognition from theDepartment of Health andthe devolved governmentsin the UK, and we mustmake absolutely every effortto make gains this year.

Dispensing opticians are anintegral part of eyecareservices in this country andfurther afield - this is not inquestion. Currently we areresponding to severalconsultation documentsfrom the General OpticalCouncil (GOC). It is essentialthat we put our pointsacross very strongly, as thedecisions made by theGOC now will almostcertainly have a bearing onthe imminent revalidationprocess and regulation inthe future.

I spent a few daysexamining in January andwould like to applaud thework of the examiners wehave. We are now in aposition where we examinein excess of 15 weeks of theyear in Aston, Kuala Lumparand more recently inSingapore. There is no doubtthat we have many veryskilled and committedindividuals who work veryhard for the Association,and I would like to thankeach and every one fortheir continued efforts.

Barry [email protected]

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

VAO recognisestrustee’scontributions

Double celebrationat Bradford

Independents Day 09 will be looking atways practitioners can ride out therecession at its fifth annual event in July.The theme of the conference, organisedby Proven Track Record (PTR), is ‘DrivingRetail Sales in a Recession’. It will be heldon Thursday 2 July at the NationalMotorcycle Museum, Birmingham.

The conference will offer delegatesadvice for surviving the current economicdownturn. The keynote speaker is DennisReid, chairman of Retail PerformanceSpecialists. An internationally renownedauthority on increasing and sustainingretail sales and service performance, MrReid has extensive experience of theoptical sector.

For the first time there will be a parallelprogramme for optical assistants tocomplement the CET workshops, fromsponsor companies including Essilor,Eyeplan and CIBA Vision.

Other highlights of the day will be a talkby optometrist and iTeddy inventor ImranHakim, as well as a roundtable sessionwith successful DO and optometrist

independent practice owners who willshare their tips for success.

DO and PTR co-director David Goadcommented: “Having seen a trend forowners bringing along other members ofthe practice team as well as feedbackfrom our post event research, we will beputting on an interesting programmetailored specifically to the non-opticalmembers of the practice team.”

The 40 or so conference sponsors andexhibitors will cover a wide range ofproducts and services including finance,professional fees, VAT, frames, equipment,contact and ophthalmic lenses.

“We are delighted so many companiesare prepared to put ‘their money wheretheir mouth is’ and support theindependent sector by supporting ourconference,” commented Nick Atkins, PTRco-director and ABDO Board member.“Particular thanks go to companiesattending for the fifth consecutive year.”

Visit www.independentsday09.co.uk for‘early-bird’ discount bookings. �

IDO9 takes on the recession

Bradford’s prizewinners clutch their awards Brian Mitchell (centre) receives hisaward from Tym Marsh and FelicityHarding, VAO chairman


There was a doublecelebration at BradfordCollege recently. As thelatest graduates werehonoured for theiroutstanding achievements,the college celebrated 60years of ophthalmicdispensing.

Guest presenters at theawards ceremony includedHami Seehra from Essilor,Tanya Henderson-Storey

from Shamir Optical, NickEasey from Nikon and PaulDavies from Norville, whopresented 32 students withdiplomas at the annualceremony.

The prizewinners were:Emma Haycock (BradfordCollege Cup); Kim Lilley(Essilor Prize); HuffsaMahmood (Shamir OpticalPrize); Fazila Makkan (NikonPrize); Emma Haycock

(ABDO Prize); AneshaSeenath (Norville Prize);Kristina Ward (LuxotticaPrize); Wesley Hall (BBGRPrize).

Marking the college’s 60-year milestone was guestspeaker Stan Topliss, whodeveloped a part-timeevening course in January1962 using the BOA andSMC syllabi.

Julie Lees FBDO �

Former Vision Aid Overseas(VAO) trustee Brian Mitchellhas been awardedHonorary Life Membershipof the charity.

Tym Marsh, VAO director,said: “Brian joined theBoard of VAO in 1996 as thetreasurer, investing vastamounts of personal timereturning the charity tofinancial stability and goodorder. Together with theother trustees he called forthe organisation to beplaced on a moreprofessional basis and solay the foundations for theway the VAO is governedand managed today.

“Using his skill and wideexperience in the charitysector, he played a leadingrole in the charity’sdevelopment. When hewas Master of theWorshipful Company ofSpectacle Makers he nevermissed an opportunity toadvance VAO’s cause. Heensured that manygenerous donations camefrom the Trust, which bearshis name.”

Mr Mitchell, who had along and distinguishedcareer at senior level in oneof the large accountancycompanies, left the Boardin 2007 at the end of histenure. Added Mr Marsh:“Honorary Life Membershipis an accolade reserved forindividuals who have madean outstanding contributionto VAO and our cause.Brian is a very worthyrecipient of this award.” �

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Club members receivespecial thank you

Heats begin for the EssilorChallenge Trophy 2009

Acomputer-based test forglaucoma has won a top

international research innovation award.

Developed by experts at MoorfieldsEye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, inpartnership with the UCL Institute ofOphthalmology and City UniversityLondon, the Moorfields MotionDisplacement Test (MDT) has beennamed overall winner in the MedicalResearch Council transitional researchinnovation award category of the2008 Medical Futures competition.

The MDT, which tests a patient’s field

of vision, is designed to run on astandard computer, which means thatit might offer an affordable, portablemethod of detecting glaucoma in thecommunity. The patient is simply askedto look at a central white spot and toclick the computer mouse each timea line on the screen is seen to move.

The idea was originated by ProfessorFred Fitzke at the UCL Institute ofOphthalmology and has beendeveloped into a clinical tool byresearch teams led by Ted Garway-Heath at Moorfields and Dr DavidCrabb at City University London.

“We are all thrilled to have been giventhis award,” said Dr Gay Mary Verdon-Roe, glaucoma research fellow atMoorfields and UCL. “We hope thatour innovation will facilitate earlierdiagnosis, and that winning thisprestigious award will help to raiseawareness of glaucoma and also giveus the backing that we require to makethe motion displacement test a reality.”

The test is currently undergoingvalidation in an international studywith the University of Toronto,Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canadaand the Bietti Foundation in Rome. �

Award for innovative glaucoma test

The winning team from ABDO College were presented with the EssilorChallenge Trophy by Andy Hepworth from Essilor at last year’s ABDOConference in Manchester


Following the success ofABDO College at last year’sinaugural Essilor ChallengeTrophy, heats for the 2009event have been finalisedand will be held at each UKuniversity/college deliveringthe dispensing opticiancourse on the followingdates: ABDO College - 10February; Anglia RuskinUniversity - 19 February;Bradford College - 3 March;City & Islington College - 12March; and GlasgowCaledonian University - 19March.

Each heat will last around90 minutes with multiplechoice questions being putto student DOs who will beself selected teams of three.Essilor will be providing food

and drink along with spotprizes throughout theevening and the two topteams will take home cashprizes.

Most significantly thewinning team will representtheir university/college atthe national final to be heldat the ABDO conference inBrighton and be in with achance of winning an allexpenses paid trip to LasVegas in 2010 to enjoy theNational US challengetrophy final.

Detailed information will beadvertised at eachuniversity/college. Essilorlooks forward to welcomingall DO students to theevents. �

Rodenstock Club’s 18thannual awards ceremonybrought a glittering array ofprizes, including trips toCasablanca for 18practitioners and staff.

Rodenstock managingdirector, Barry Dibble,welcomed guests to theDorchester Hotel in Londonand complimented ChrisHunt, honorary RodenstockClub president, for creatingsuch a wonderful communityof practitioners. He gave anassurance that thecommitment to the conceptwould remain a cornerstoneof future strategy.

Rewarded for theirexcellence across the entireproduct portfolio, the

winners saw new faces andlongstanding Rodenstockpartners receiving accolades.Mr Hunt said that he wasdelighted to take on therole of “doting godparent”with such a young,committed team.

He said: “There is suchtremendous loyalty in ourcustomer base, which mustbe pretty unique to optics.These awards are our wayof saying a very special‘thank you’ to ourRodenstock Club members.”

The highest accolade of theevent was the award ofNational Centre ofExcellence, which went forthe fourth time to BurnettHodd & Jenkins, Sidcup. �

Rodenstock Club members celebrate in style

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

CBE honour for optical‘elder statesman’

New faces Rebecca Oscroft (left)and Louise Bailey

Changes are proposed to 14 areas, withissues under consideration including: shouldpractitioners be legally obliged to reportconcerns about their own or a colleague’sfitness to practise?; what kinds of behaviour,whilst practising or not, should put aperson’s registration at risk?; and do theCodes of Conduct do enough to promoteequality and diversity?

Jon Levett, GOC director of standards, said:“The Codes of Conduct are thefundamental guide to professionalstandards and conduct, so these changesare important and far-reaching. I wouldencourage all registrants and other

stakeholders to read about what we areproposing and let us know their views.”

The consultation is being promoted with awide range of interested parties includingregistrants, optical bodies, patient groups,charities, campaign groups, governmentdepartments and other healthcareregulators.

Consultation documents can bedownloaded from the GOC’s website,www.optical.org. An online survey form isalso available so that consultees canrespond easily. The consultation closes on24 April 2009. �

awareness of theprofession.

“I have been involved onnumerous committees andcouncils of the professionfor over 40 years. As wehave grappled with thechallenges facing theprofession, it has been myprivilege and pleasure towork with many dedicatedand inspirational people. Itis thanks to them that Ihave enjoyed those years,and anything I may havehelped to achieve hasbeen the result of a teameffort.”

Tony Garrett, ABDOGeneral Secretary, said:“Everyone is delighted that

Views sought on Codes of Conduct

The profession is being asked to give its views on proposed changes to theGeneral Optical Council (GOC) Codes of Conduct for both individual and

business registrants.

Newsbrief

Michael has received thishonour. His contribution tooptics has been immense,in particular his leadershipin bringing ABDO, FODOand the FMO togetherunder one roof.”

Paul Carroll, chairman ofthe Federation ofOphthalmic and DispensingOpticians (FODO) added:“Everybody who knowsMichael knows that he isthe very epitome of theelder statesman. Hiscontribution to the eyecareof generations of patients,and his unequalledcontribution to theprofession, make himuniquely deserving of thisrecognition.” �

Edmonds and SlatterOpticians has welcomedthree new members of staffto its Leicestershire practice.Louise Bailey and ShelleyGoodall have joined asdispensing opticians whileRebecca Oscroft hasstarted as receptionist.

Having already masteredthe practice’s Optomapsystem, Ms Goodall said:“The Optomap is able totake pictures of the back ofthe eye covering a 200degree span, enabling earlydetection of many eyediseases. The machine isquite unique as there arerelatively few of them inLeicestershire.”

Commenting on the newstaff members, partner TimCole, said: “I am reallypleased that Shelley andLouise have joined ouralready experienceddispensing team. It is rarethese days to see so manyqualified dispensingopticians employed by onecompany but it will help usto continue to provide thequality service andprofessional advice that ourpatients have beenaccustomed to over the last22 years.”

Mr Cole said he was alsopleased with Rebecca’sappointment: “She joins astrong team and as well asbeing an asset will gainvaluable knowledge.” �

Fresh faces inthe practice

Michael Bateman, who hasreceived a CBE

Shelley Goodall gets to grips withthe Optomap system

Michael Bateman has beenawarded a CBE in theBirthday Honours “Forservices to the opticalprofession and to charity”.Mr Bateman received theaward from HM The Queenat an Investiture on 11November, which in abreak with tradition washeld for the first time atWindsor Castle.

Mr Bateman said: “I couldnot have been moresurprised when I heard thatI was to be awarded a CBEin the Birthday Honours.Surprised, but of courseabsolutely delighted – notonly for myself but becausethis must, in some smallway, help to raise

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Shamir changesits Attitude

Promotion couldmean prizes

The Sight Care Group will celebrate its10th annual business conference on2 March at the Metropole Hotel, NECBirmingham. More than 650 delegatesare expected to attend theconference, which is themed ‘TheChoice is Yours’.

Sight Care chief executive PaulSurridge said: “We have reached amilestone to be proud of - 10 years oforganising what has becomeEurope’s largest business conferencefor independents and withoutcharging anyone to attend.”

The conference theme was chosenalmost a year ago to reflect the

decisions the Group believesindependents need to make if theyare to weather the economicstorm.

Mr Surridge explained: “I firmlybelieve that we are only nowbeginning to see recessionarypressure brought to bear on the HighStreet. Our own sector will not beimmune to economic pressure, andthose independents that have failedin the past to invest in their practicesand introduce modern daymanagement techniques willinevitably suffer. I am confident ourspeaker programme will address anumber of key issues.”

Speakers will include: motivationalspeaker Nigel Risner; Mark Draper ofCIBA Vision; James Perry, chairmanof ‘Cook’ retail outlets; andpractitioners Ian Jarvis, ChristopherCox and Garrey Haase. Alsoincluded on the programme willbe trainer Simon Burgess, andanother international speaker KeithWarren.

The sponsors are CIBA Vision(Platinum), Topcon, Fabris Lane,Ocuco and Grafton Optical (Gold)and Continental Eyewear, Bausch &Lomb, Mid-Optic and De-Rigo(Silver).

Reserve a free place by [email protected] or telephone 01 256 781522. �

Group celebrates conference milestone

Essilor’s Crizal Forte lenses withScotchgard

Michel Crombé Marketing poster for ShamirAutograph Attitude


To celebrate the launch ofCrizal Forte lenses withScotchgard, Essilor is givingindependents the chanceto win a brand new MiniOne, one of five holidays ofa lifetime or Marks &Spencer gift vouchers. Tojoin the promotion, whichruns until 31 March,opticians must register withEssilor.

Thanks to a new scratch-resistant booster layer thatcreates a gradual increasein hardness, new CrizalForte lenses withScotchguard are said to beas scratch resistant as ARcoated glass lenses andcome with a two-year

guarantee againstscratching. According toEssilor, the optimisation ofthe AR stack layersincreases AR efficiency,which means a reduction invisible reflection by 30 percent and reduced bloom.

Michel CrombéAfter 10 years in the UK,Michel Crombé will returnto Essilor International as aconsultant. Mr Crombé wasmanaging director atThornbury-based EssilorLimited until 2007, when hewent on to work for EssilorInternational at Europeanlevel as vice president ofthe Northern EuropeanZone. �

Shamir AutographAttitude is now availablewith a choice of twocorridor lengths.

Shamir AutographAttitude has a minimumfitting height of 18mm,while Shamir AutographAttitude Short has aminimum fitting height of15mm.

In addition to launchingthe short corridor, Shamirhas added to thematerial availability,which now includes: 1.5Hard Resin Clear andDrivewear Activated byTransitions; 1.53 TrivexLens Material Clear and

Transitions VI; 1.59Polycarbonate Clear,Transitions VI andPolarised; 1.6 SuperLiteClear, Transitions VI andPolarised; and 1.67SuperLite Clear,Transitions VI andPolarised.

Shamir Smart Attitude hasalso been extended toinclude: 1.53 Trivex LensMaterial Clear andTransitions VI; 1.59Polycarbonate Polarised;1.6 SuperLite Polarised;and 1.67 SuperLite.

For full details of Shamirlenses telephone 01954785100. �

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

NEG makes acharitable stand

Optrafair bags sixCET points

Congratulations to Edward Ukleja FBDO and his wife Annie BSc MCOptomwho have both recently been made Liverymen of the Worshipful Companyof Spectacle Makers at the splendid Apothecaries Hall in London

A late application charge of £20 willapply to anyone returning theirretention form after 15 March, butbefore 31 March, increasing the costof retention from £219 to £239.

Acting GOC Registrar Dian Taylorsaid: “We’re encouraging registrantsto respond early and avoid incurringthe extra fee. The GOC isn’t out tomake money out of these charges.Processing late applications comes ata cost. We don’t believe that the

majority of registrants, who get theirforms and payments in on time,should have to foot the bill.”

Registrants are also being asked foran up-to-date email address anddaytime telephone number. This willenable the registration team to dealwith any problems quickly, and keepcosts down.

Ms Taylor added: “If there is aproblem with your retention form and

we can’t get hold of you, we haveno choice but to post the form back.As the deadline approaches, time isof the essence – you run the risk ofbeing removed on 1 April if we can’tresolve problems in a timely way.”

Equality and diversity monitoringforms are also included in theretention packs. The GOC isencouraging registrants to completeand return the form with theirretention application, although theyare not obliged to do so. Theregistration team can be contactedon 020 7580 3898 (option 1), or [email protected]. Registrants can alsocheck address details or download aform online.

The National Eyecare Group (NEG) has joined with otherleading companies by making Optometry Giving Sight(OGS) its supported charity.

The UK’s largest purchasing group for independentopticians, NEG will ask its 900 members to help supportOGS and add a donation to their bill or make a monthlydonation either personally or through their business. Thiscan be done simply by adding a couple of pounds to aproduct line such as spectacles and asking patients tomake a small donation for no fee services such as screwrepairs.

NEG business development manager Phil Mullins said: “Asa group NEG will give its support to Optometry GivingSight and the great work that it does to help the 300,000plus people who are blind or visually impaired justbecause they do not have a pair of spectacles. Just £2.50can provide someone with an eye exam and a pair ofspectacles. Just think if every optician in the UK donatedjust £10 per month for a year, we could help give sight tothousands of people!”

For more information about NEG and Optometry GivingSight visit www.nationaleyecare.co.uk �

Time to get retention forms in

Registrants are being urged to return their General Optical Council (GOC)retention forms and payment as early as possible, before 15 March, to

avoid penalties.

Newsbrief

Practitioners attendingOptrafair 2009 will have thechance to gain six CETpoints. This is the first timethe show has beenaccredited and organisershope it will boostattendance.

Visitors can gain points byfollowing a trail of 36posters, with 12 per trail,within the exhibition hall.When successfully followed,the trail will provide two CETpoints for dispensing, twofor contact lens knowledgeand two points foroptometry. Each of theposters will draw visitors tosee new products ortechnology in situ.

Malcolm Polley, FMO ChiefExecutive, said: “This is

fantastic news as at longlast Optrafair is recognisedas an importanteducational experience.The opportunity to makedirect comparisons withproducts and technologydoes not come withanything other than a liveshow.”

According to the FMO,stand bookings for theshow are defyingrecessionary fears with 75per cent of availablespace already booked anddeposits paid. Recentspace orders have comefrom America, Holland andGermany.

Keep up withdevelopments atwww.optrafair.co.uk �

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Outrage at GOC fee hike

New focus atUK operation

It has been my pleasure over the past six years, themaximum term of office, to have served as a trustee ofVision Aid Overseas. This worthwhile fast expandingorganisation, currently ABDO's charity of choice, is nowsadly without a dispensing optician on its Board ofTrustees.

DOs are invaluable in direct service projects and in theteaching of local students and their input should be fromthe top.

I write to ask colleagues, especially those who are VAOmembers, to seriously consider standing for election in2009. Please feel free to telephone or email me if youwould like further details of the extent of the involvementrequired. It is not onerous and seriously makes a differenceto thousands of lives.

Ros Kirk FBDO, telephone 0118 9871020, [email protected] �

DO VAO trustee needed

Silhouette’s new MD, Mark Hobson


The increase of £50 to theGeneral Optical Council(GOC) retention fee, alongwith the leaflet attemptingto justify the amount,caused me outrage.

In 2003/04 the fee was £115- now just six years on it hasvirtually doubled yetsalaries have barely risen inthis time. Recent legislationchanges ensure extraincome is being generatedby the GOC, as all studentsnow need to register at £20each.

The intention of thecomparisons of thedifferent regulators is thatthe GOC fee compares toother healthcare regulators.How is this possible whenDOs are expected to payprecisely the same asoptometrists – and yetbased on the 2007 NationalPay survey, optometristsearn nearly double a DO’ssalary (43, 755 vs 23, 379);the DO not even earning asmuch as the medianannual salary.

The General Dental Councilcharges a dentist £438 anda dental care professional(hygienist, technician andtherapist) £96. The RoyalPharmaceutical Society ofGreat Britain (RSPGB)charges £413 for apharmacist and £135 for apharmacy technician. TheGeneral Medical Counciland RPSGB both make areduced fee for salaries

below a certain threshold.

Why is the GOC the onlyregulator of the four thatpenalises lower earners?

In the leaflet the reasonspecified in any detailabout the increasedspending is the introductionof prescribing rights foroptometrists. So why areDOs expected to subsidisethis? There clearly shouldbe a tier structure of feesrelative to the occupationas there is with the otherregulators. Do rememberDOs bear the brunt offinancing their CET with nogovernment funding (it isdisappointing thatOptometry Today has now

withdrawn all free journalCET for DOs).

I note renewal commenceson 1 April and yet the GOCwants payment by 15March. Surely no financialpenalty (of £20) should beissued until the scheme hasactually expired!

I wonder . . . if the GOCfails to address its currentset-up of standardisation offees, should all dispensingopticians boycott theretention renewal paymentout of protest (or at leastdelay the payment until thelatest opportunity)?

Donna Mortimer FBDOAddress supplied �

Letters to the Editor

Silhouette UK’s newmanaging director, MarkHobson, has pledged tointroduce new marketingstrategies to strengthen itsthree brands.

Silhouette UK is responsiblefor sales and marketing inthe UK and the Republic ofIreland (ROI) for Austria-manufactured collections,Silhouette, Adidas Eyewearand Daniel Swarovskicrystal eyewear.

“Right now, our main focusis on optimising thedistribution channels,” saidMr Hobson. Other prioritiesinclude making the brands“more visible” at the point-of-sale and strengtheningtheir profile.

Arnold Schmied, executivedirector and co-owner ofSilhouette International,added: “The UK is one ofthe most importantEuropean markets for us.One reason is that we havea long history in this market.Another is its enormouspotential that we must nowexploit – for all three of thebrands.”

Silhouette UK was foundedin 1980 and has 33employees. Mark Hobsonbegan his career at Bausch& Lomb and Luxottica, thenadvanced to generalmanager at De Rigo UK in2005. �

We welcome contributions to our Letters to the Editor page which we reserve the rightto edit. If you would like to air your views please write to The Editor, Dispensing Optics,

PO BOX 233, Crowborough TN6 9BD or send an email to [email protected]

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

Disjointed jottings from a DO’s desk . . .

Keith Cavaye, has been re-elected to theABDO Board. He reflects on an eventful 12months which included tea at the palace,marriage - and a novel qualification

Well Christmas is now just amemory on the credit card and

evenings are getting lighter, but still Iwould like to reflect on what was anastonishing year for me generally andin optics in particular.

2008 started badly with the untimelydeath of my friend John Coxon. Hewas a huge supporter of ABDO,serving on various committees andwas heavily involved in the contactlens exam process. I remember himmore for the fun we had over yearsworking together and his wicked senseof humour. It would give him greatpleasure to let a waiter hear him callme “Dad” at the dinner table,particularly as he was seven yearsolder than me!

In July, I was asked by the BCLA to helpexamine in the Viva section of thefellowship diplomas. On one occasion,I was interviewing a noted colleaguewith Professor Roger Buckley when allthe lights went out in the hotel. Wehad no windows, so were in totaldarkness. What did we do? Carriedon, of course – we’re British aren’t we?For the next few minutes nobodymentioned the problem at all, until werealised that we could not continuewithout reading our notes, so we finallyhad to give in and move.

The summer saw two fantastic eventsfor me. You may be wondering about

my new qualification BCCL at the endof this article? This was bestowed uponme at the GOC 50th anniversarycelebration which took place on aThames river boat. Professor Mo Jaliewas introducing me to one of hisesteemed friends, not quite knowinghow to explain my place in optics(something that I frequently havetrouble with) when he decided todescribe me as a “Big cheese incontact lenses”. Well Mo, I liked thatvery much, so have decided to retainthe title as it was conferred by anacademic such as yourself!

The summer also brought an invitationto the Queen’s Garden party atBuckingham Palace. Really, it’s notalways like this, I’m more likely to befound in my local Indian restaurant.What a place! Standing under themain balcony looking out at thecrowds who are looking in through thegates and railings is a strange feeling.Behind the magnificent building are 17acres of wonderful gardens and alarge lake. Quite a back garden togrow up in, so long as you have somechums to play footy with. The foodwas remarkable, considering thethousands of guests to cater for.Naturally, we had cucumber and mintsandwiches with crusts cut off. Wouldyou believe that each of the tinycakes had a crown motif on them -just in case you forgot who madethem.

The conference at the end ofSeptember, culminating in a superbdinner at Manchester town hall with allits Gothic splendour, was by far thebest and most enjoyable ABDO eventthat I have attended. The lectures,both CET and non-CET were wellaccepted, but the social programexceeded expectations. Many thanksto all sponsors, and please come toBrighton this coming October. At theAGM in Manchester, it wasannounced that I was fortunateenough to win a place back on theABDO Board. I would like to sincerelythank all who voted for me. I’ll do mybest for you. One of the down sides ofholding these positions, is that youhave to have your photo taken forvarious reasons. In Manchester, thephotographer made it clear that therewas too much reflection coming frommy dome for a good picture. BarbaraDoris was sent for with her powderthingy to dull me down. Barbara,thank you, but I think you should knowthat most of us consider you to be MissMoneypenny.

As autumn arrived, things became lessoptical and more personal. Finally,Angela McNamee agreed to marryme, which we did quietly in October. Isit wise to marry someone who is a DO,CLO and optometrist? You can justhear that pillow talk can’t you? “Haveyou read that new article on siliconehydrogels yet dear?” Well, we’ll see

Powder puffs, puff adders, andthe Queen’s cakes


2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

how that goes! We landed up in SouthAfrica in November as we are luckyenough to have friends who keepinviting us and we are unlikely to comeup with a better reason than now.

What a country. Apart from theamazing scenery, it’s so big. You candrive for six hours and cover an inchon the map. I know that’s not veryscientific, but take my word for it.However, you do have to take care asa troop of baboon are quite likely towalk out in front of the car at anytime. We felt some concern whenarriving at our friend’s house, as thefirst thing we saw was a large noticestating ‘Armed response unit withinfour minutes’ and then they tell us tobeware in the garden as puff addershave just been seen. These are highlydangerous and have just killed theneighbour’s dog!

So, down to the beach; must be safethere eh? The notice on the café says‘Shark attack kit - key in restaurantoffice’. What happens if the restaurantis closed? What is in this kit? Wedecided it was likely to be a final willand testament along with a body bag.

So maybe the UK is not so bad afterall. Let’s hope for another eventful, buthappy year.

Keith Cavaye FBDO(Hons)CLSMC(Disp) FBCLA BCCL �

CET answers

1. Which of these statements is true regarding the process of prism-thinning?a. Vertical or horizontal prism is ground into the lens blankb. The amount of prism-thinning is determined only by the near additionc. Vertical prism is ground into the lens blankd. It cannot be measured at the prism reference pointc is correct. Although most commonly prism-thinning involves grinding basedown prism into a progressive lens, in some cases base up prism may beappropriate.

2. For which types of progressive lens prescriptions will the maximum benefitsof prism-thinning be seen?a. High positive distance powers with high additionsb. Low negative distance powers with high additionsc. High positive distance powers with low additionsd. Plano prescriptions with high additionsa is correct. Prism-thinning will reduce the thickness difference between theupper and lower edge of the lens, and reduce the centre thickness, savingconsiderable weight and improving cosmesis.

3. Prism-thinning most commonly introduces:a. Prism from the near zone onlyb. Base up prism across the whole lensc. Prism from the distance zone onlyd. Base down prism across the whole lensd is correct. Removing base up prism will mean that base down prism will bemeasured at the prism reference point.

4. Where should prism be measured on a progressive power lens?a. Midway between the horizontal alignment engravingsb. 1.5 mm below the fitting crossc. At the fitting crossd. Where the add is engraveda is correct. The relative positions of the fitting cross and the prism referencepoint (PRP) may vary with lens type, but the PRP is always halfway betweenthe engraved alignment circles.

5. What is 'yoked prism'?a. The combination of prism-thinning and prescribed prismb. Prism which produces no disjunctive ocular movementc. Horizontal prismd. Total prism applied to one lens onlyb is correct. 'Yoked prism' is the term for equal vertical prisms, right and left.

6. Which type of bifocal is often prism-thinned?a. Flat-top bifocalb. Round segment bifocalc. Executive bifocald. All of the abovec is correct. Prism-thinning is sometimes applied to minimise thickness in pluspower executives. The centre thickness of an executive bifocal is governedby its near power in the same way as a progressive power lens. In the otherbifocal choices, the centre thickness is governed by the distance power.

The answers to ‘Shedding light on reflections’ will appear in ourMarch 2009 issue

Answers:Prism thinning progressive lenses by Darryl Meister

Angela outside the beach café

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A host of new features and a great venuewill make this year’s BCLA ClinicalConference and Exhibition the one eventthat no contact lens optician can afford tomiss, as Vivien Freeman reports

Essential information to help you stayahead and the chance to meet withcontact lens professionals from alldisciplines are just some of the reasonsfor attending the world’s largestcontact lens meeting, which runs inManchester from 28-31 May.

This year’s conference will be evenmore affordable with a new initiativeto attract those starting out on theircareer. All delegates may bring alongjunior colleagues who have beenqualified for five years or less to theSunday sessions of the conference forhalf the normal day delegate rate,from just £72.50 per day.

BCLA members and new membersjoining before the event alreadybenefit from saving £100 - more thanthe usual annual BCLA membershipfee - on a full delegate package, butattending as a member is even moreattractive this year.

The cost of membership can now bespread over the year for just £25.25 perquarter and new members can join atany time, to take advantage of all thebenefits of belonging to the BCLAthroughout the year.

Among the conference highlights for2009 will be a special session on 10years of silicone hydrogels, with six of

the original speakers from the launchof these lenses at the BCLAConference in 1999. Other sessions willexamine whether one-day, two-weekly or monthly is the optimuminterval for lens replacement andprovide the latest information onmultifocal lenses and how to fit them.

International speakers includeProfessors Debbie Sweeney, NathanEfron and Brien Holden from Australia,and Drs Ray Applegate, Ian Cox, LisaKeay and Jason Nichols from the US,as well as leading experts from the UKsuch as keynote speaker ProfessorHarminder Dua.

Running alongside the lectureprogramme are six clinicalpresentations, a workshop on teamleading, poster and photographiccompetitions, and a speciallydesigned course in contact lens fittingfor ophthalmologists. Themanufacturers’ exhibition will also beexpanded, with more stand spacethan ever before, and visiting theExhibition is free of charge.

Social events are an important featureof any BCLA conference. This yearthere will be a welcome receptionand Friday night party hosted by theConference Patrons, a glittering GalaDinner and a full programme foraccompanying persons.

Patrons of the 2009 Conference areCIBA Vision and Johnson & JohnsonVision Care, Platinum Sponsors areAlcon and Bausch & Lomb, and GoldSponsors are AMO, CooperVision andTopcon.

Last year’s programme was approvedfor a total of 30 CL CET points withadditional points for attending clinicalpresentations. To download abrochure for the Clinical Conferencewith the full programme, visitwww.bcla.org.uk, where registrationand hotel bookings are now open.

The Clinical Conference is the BCLA’sshowcase event for 2009 but placesare also available on the Association’shands-on educational courses runningaround the country this spring. �

BCLA news


The Fellows party at last year’s BCLA conference

Would you like to join the BCLACouncil and play your part in theAssociation’s future direction? We’relooking for two dispensingrepresentatives to join the Councilfrom June. Contact the BCLA formore details and a nomination form.

2 February 2009.qxd:1 26/1/09 10:47

at the Manchester Velodrome. Formore details email Richard [email protected].

March 8 and 9The College of Optometrists - AnnualConference, Optometry Tomorrow2009, featuring a diverse range oflectures, seminars, and hands-on, smallclinical workshops. For further detailscontact Janna Wilkinson on 020 77664343 or email [email protected] or visitwww.college-optometrists.org

March 18BCLA - One-day hands-on CETcourses, ‘Getting up to speed withcontacts’ and ‘Enhancing expertise incontact lens practice’, CardiffUniversity. For further details visitwww.bcla.org.uk or contact VivienFreeman on 020 7580 6661 or [email protected]

March 22BCLA - One-day hands-on CETcourses, ‘Getting up to speed withcontacts’ and ‘Enhancing expertise incontact lens practice’, GlasgowUniversity. For further details visitwww.bcla.org.uk or contact VivienFreeman on 020 7580 6661 or [email protected]

March 23Louis Braille Bicentenary - RNIB, Torch,Blind Catholics, Guild of Churchbraillists, St John's Guild, and others areorganising a Louis Braille thanksgivingservice to be held at St Martin's in theFields, London. For further informationemail [email protected]

April 4-6Optrafair - The NEC, Birmingham. Forfurther details visit www.optrafair.co.uk

May 2009Louis Braille Bicentenary - Traveleyes, acompany specialising in holidays forblind and partially sighted people isorganising a trip to France with a LouisBraille theme. For further informationemail [email protected]

May 28-31BCLA - 33rd BCLA Clinical Conferenceand Exhibition, Manchester Central,Manchester. For further details visitwww.bcla.org.uk or contact VivienFreeman on 020 7580 6661 or [email protected]

October 3-5ABDO - 2009 ABDO Conference andExhibition, Hilton Brighton Metropole,Brighton. For further details contact theABDO Conference Office (EventExchange Ltd) on 01225 869 000 oremail [email protected] orvisit www.abdoconference.co.uk �

February - MarchIdentity Optical Training - Pre-Registration Dispensing Programme fortrainee DOs, those returning to theprofession and pre-registrationoptometrists, 5-week course, 11am-4pm Mondays, £300, London. Forfurther details contact Sally Bates on020 8504 0967 or [email protected]

February - MayIdentity Optical Training - OpticalAssistants VRQ (Vocationally RelatedQualification) Level 3, 5 sessions, 1pm-6pm Mondays, £300, London. Forfurther details contact Sally Bates on020 8504 0967 or [email protected]

February 25Area 12 (Scotland) - Kevin Gutsell fromNikon Optical will speak at a meetingat the Two Bridges, South Queensferrry.Another speaker and topic are to beconfirmed. For further details contactBrenda Rennie by [email protected]

February 9BCLA - European Day, ‘Eurovision:Contactology across the United Statesof Europe’ chaired by Dr PhilipMorgan, Cavendish ConferenceCentre, London. For further details visitwww.bcla.org.uk or contact VivienFreeman on 020 7580 6661 or [email protected]

February 16 WarringtonFebruary 17 LondonFebruary 19 BristolFebruary 23 BirminghamFebruary 24 LeedsFebruary 26 Egham, SurreyThe Vision Care Institute - UVroadshows 2009, the free lectures willfocus on UV, ocular health and UVprotection and they will be presentedby Professor John Marshall. For furtherdetails visitwww.visioncareinstitute.co.uk ortelephone 0845 3105347

March 2Area 5 (Midlands) - CET day at theRiverside Centre, Derby. For moredetails contact Ian Hardwick on 07814558343 or [email protected].

March 2Sight Care Group - ‘The choice isyours’ conference, Metropole Hotel,NEC, Birmingham. Independents areurged to reserve their free places byemailing [email protected] bytelephoning 01 256 781522.

March 8Area 3 (North West) - CET Sundaytraining day, Sports Vision is the theme

ABDO members are welcome to attend Area meetings in any area they wish

The Professional Journal of the Associationof British Dispensing Opticians

Volume 24 Number 2

EDITORIAL STAFFEditor Sir Anthony Garrett CBEAssistant Editors Jane Burnand and BarbaraDoris BScProduction Editor Sheila HopeEmail [email protected] Editor Ann JohnsonEmail [email protected] Editor Nicky CollinsonEmail [email protected] Manager Deanne GrayEmail [email protected]

ADVERTISEMENT SALESTelephone 01892 667626Email [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONSApply to Katie DockerABDO, Godmersham Park, GodmershamKent CT4 7DTTelephone 01227 733902Email [email protected]

ABDO CETCET Coordinator Paula Stevens MA ODE BSc

(Hons) MCOptom FBDO CL (Hons) AD SMC(Tech)

ABDO CET, Courtyard Suite 6, Braxted Park,Great Braxted, Essex CM8 3GATelephone 01621 890200Fax 01621 890203Email [email protected] [email protected]

CONTINUING EDUCATION REVIEW PANELJennifer Brower FBDO (Hons) LVA Cert Ed

Andrew Cripps FBDO (Hons)

Richard Harsant FBDO (Hons) CL (Hons) LVA

Angela McNamee BSc (Hons) MCOptom

FBDO (Hons) CL FBCLA Cert Ed

Elvin Montlake FADO (Hons) CL LVA FFDO

Linda Rapley BSc (Hons) FCOptom Cert Ed

Alicia Thompson FBDO (Hons) SLD SMC(Tech)

JOURNAL ADVISORY COMMITTEENick Atkins FBDO (Hons) CL

Richard Crook FBDO

David Goad FBDO (Hons) CL

Kevin Gutsell FBDO

Ros Kirk FBDO

Angela McNamee BSc (Hons) MCOptom

FBDO (Hons) CL FBCLA Cert Ed

Gillian Twyning FBDO

Dispensing Optics is published byABDO, 199 Gloucester Terrace, London W2 6LD

Dispensing Optics is printed byLavenham Press, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RN© ABDO No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form or by any means whatever without thewritten prior permission of the publishers

Dispensing Optics welcomes contributions forpossible editorial publication. However,contributors warrant to the publishers that theyown all rights to illustrations, artwork orphotographs submitted and also to copy whichis factually accurate and does not infringe anyother party’s rights

ISSN 0954 3201

Average circulation 2008: 8654 per issue - ABDOBoard certification

Diary of events

dispensingoptics

www.abdo.org.uk

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Presented by Stepper UK

Tess wears frame style Xtreme 1011

For more information or a copy of our

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