A blog about preventive eye care in children
“Working to educate the community about the value of early childhood vision screening with the platform that Miss Colorado has provided me has been a very rewarding experience. By sharing my story, I hope I convince more people to support and participate in screening programs.”
Read more about Meredith’s Story in our today’s new blogpost. Continue reading “Connecting With Community, Sharing the Importance of Good Vision – By Meredith Winnefeld, Miss Colorado”
BY DAVID BROTTMAN, MD
“Really? Now we should photoscreen all kids over the age of 1 year? What else can they put on us.” That was my first thought when the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Optometric Association updated their screening policy statements in 2015 to include recommending photoscreening for children ages 1 to 3.
After our group of five independent pediatricians calmed down and thought about the idea, however, we realized that this new technology was probably far superior to the old methods we employed to screen vision. We researched the available products, seeking the tool that would accomplish screening with the highest specificity and sensitivity. The tools varied in cost and sophistication from cell phone apps to more expensive screening devices. We collected data on the options and presented it to the optometrists and pediatric ophthalmology groups to whom we refer. We asked them, which of these products would you want us to use on your child? They understand that over- and under-referrals are real issues in our community, and they want to prevent them as much as we do. They all picked Plusoptix. Continue reading “VISION SCREENING IN PRIMARY CARE – It is time to get onboard”
Robert “Bob” Fitzgerald manages the KidSight program in his chapter in Louisiana. He had undetected ambylopia as a child and became blind in his left eye. Today, in his KidSight program, 4,000 kids are screened per year with 3 devices of their own. Nevertheless, he has never conducted a screening himself, because he thought he was not able to. But when a friend experienced that his grandchild had a problem with its vision, and was asking Bob for help, he was right there on the spot.
Read more about Bob’s great experience with the Plusoptix Vision screener in his following article: Continue reading ““If I can screen a child; anyone can screen a child!” – an article from Lion Robert “Bob” Fitzgerald”
Welcome to the Plusoptix Amblyopia Screening monthly blog where readers can learn more about the importance of amblyopia screenings and follow-up eye exams in early childhood as well as other key topics related to kids’ eye health.
Vision screening that requires a child to respond to an eye chart has been shown to have poor predictive value, especially in the first 3 to 4 years of life.(1) Instrument-based vision screening, however, can detect abnormalities that could lead to permanent vision loss. Plusoptix, founded in 2001, is dedicated to the development of binocular handheld photorefractors for babies, children, and uncooperative patients. Plusoptix vision devices screen for hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, anisometropia, anisocoria, and strabismus. A number of these conditions are considered risk factors for amblyopia, which can cause partial or full blindness if not treated. The goal of amblyopia screening is to detect vision disorders in the first few years of life and to and treat early when therapy has the best chance of being successful. Continue reading “Welcome!”