Double take on binocular vision

More than 600 delegates from around the world were treated to an array of lectures, workshops and seminars covering a wide range of optometric and optical subjects (figure 1 and 2). In this first report, I will focus on a session concerned with binocular vision.

Amblyopia Management

In cases of anisometropic amblyopia, occlusion has been the mainstay of treatment for decades. Professor Susan Cotter (Southern California) led a session looking at developments in amblyopia intervention (figure 3). In keeping with much of the conference, the focus was on technological innovations.

Cotter’s own work over the years had confirmed the view that, when it came to occlusion, less is more. Typically two hours a day was used, increasing up to six hours a day for severe amblyopia. She had also found that atropine was an effective alternative to patching, ‘even in older kids aged from nine to 12’.