Birmingham bound

International experts in presbyopia are heading for the UK later this month, for a special symposium at the annual BCLA Clinical Conference. 'What's new in presbyopia research?' will cover all aspects of presbyopia, from basic research into the mechanisms of accommodation to developments in spectacle, contact lens and surgical correction.
The symposium forms the opening day of the conference, which runs from May 21-23 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel. Among other attractions at this year's event will be a two-hour session, chaired by Dr June Crown, reviewing the opportunities and challenges ahead for the profession as it gains prescriber status, a practice management symposium and a contact lens pre-exam workshop.
Ophthalmologist Dr Sunil Shah will chair a refractive surgery session updating delegates on the technology available to the refractive surgeon and discussing the ethics, risks and training issues involved in optometric co-management.
Keynote speakers for this year's conference are Professor Nathan Efron (UK), Eef van der Worp (Netherlands) and Dr Arthur Ho (Australia).
The Irving Fatt Memorial Lecturer is Dr Carole Maldonado-Codina (UK) and the BCLA Medal Speaker is Professor Leo Carney (Australia).
Platinum sponsors are Bausch & Lomb, CooperVision, Ciba Vision and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Optometry Today is Gold Sponsor and Contamac, Menicon Europe and Topcon are Bronze Sponsors. Bausch & Lomb and Ciba Vision will host parties on the Friday evening and Saturday's gala dinner will have a 1920s theme.
Forty companies have booked stands at the manufacturers' exhibition, and company representatives will be on hand in the Product Pavilion to present their products. The following companies have supplied details of their stands:

Alcon (Stand No: 49)
Alcon will be promoting its flagship brand, Opti-Free Express, and highlighting additional patient benefits with prize draws. ICaps Dietary Supplement for maintaining healthy eyes will also be on show, as well as Clens 100, the lens drop that prevents protein build-up. The company will also be demonstrating the liquid-to-gel action of its new lubricating eye drop, Systane, to complement the recent launch to opticians.

AMO (34/35/36/42)
Centre stage on the Advanced Medical Optics' stand will be a range of products bringing enhanced comfort to the contact lens wearer. These include a new formulation of Complete MoisturePlus with a dual hydrating action to keep eyes moist and protected from dryness, Complete RapidCare Cleaner and a new addition to the Blink Eye Drop range. AMO will also be announcing the launch of a market-building initiative during its product presentation.
Bausch & Lomb (8)
At this year's BCLA, Bausch & Lomb will reveal new research and support recent product launches across its Visioncare, surgical and pharmaceutical portfolio. The Visioncare team will be focusing on the recently launched SofLens Multi-Focal, including a presentation at the Product Pavilion. They will also be highlighting the PureVision family for continuous wear, or for flexible or daily wear with ReNu MultiPlus No Rub.

Benz (38)
Benz Research & Development provides custom lens manufacturers with soft lens materials in a range of water contents, such as the Benz-G 3X (49 per cent), 5X-ES (59 per cent) and G-10X-ES (70 per cent) materials. This year, the company will be highlighting Extreme H2O disposable lenses, made with the Benz G5X material. Lenses are available in the G-60 S (thin) lens design and the new, slightly thicker G-60 S-Xtra, for patients who need extra ease of handling and durability.

Birmingham Optical Group (26)
Birmingham Optical Group will be displaying a range of ophthalmic instruments comprising the Oculus Easygraph hand-held topographer, Nidek ARK9000 autorefractor, keratometer and topographer, Nidek KM500 hand-held keratometer and the Nidek RKT7700, described as the world's first autorefractor, keratometer and tonometer combined. The company will also have other consulting room and laboratory equipment available for demonstration.

BCLA (37a)
Braemar Finance (1)
Braemar Finance provides equipment, IT and vehicle finance, practice and personal loans, all of which can be tailored to fit individual practice, cashflow and tax situations. To discuss your requirements in detail, visit Braemar on stand 1.
Cantor & Nissel (50)
Cantor & Nissel concentrates on the production of hand-painted soft and rigid lenses for prosthetic application and for special effects, artificial eyes and scleral shells, and complex lenses for toric, presbyopic and keratoconic fitting. In addition, lenses can be produced to order with reverse geometry. The company also produces lathe-cut soft and rigid lenses in all materials, along with the ChromaGen range of coloured contact and ophthalmic lenses for managing colour vision deficiency and dyslexia.

Carl Zeiss (22)
Carl Zeiss will be showing the new Visucam C non-mydriatic camera, which has video capability and, as well as imaging the retina, can be focused on the cornea to record contact lens movement and store this in the patient's record. Carl Zeiss will also be showing the Atlas corneal topographer, which has a software module (MasterFit) specifically designed for contact lens fitting.

Carleton (10/11)
Carleton Optical's stand will feature the new Pascal Dynamic Contour Tonometer, which measures intraocular pressure independently of corneal thickness, and the Tonojet single-use tonometry prism, which fits the Goldmann housing. The Scout Topographer with Wave contact lens design will also be demonstrated, in conjunction with Northern Lenses. Other instruments on show will include the Canon CR-DGI retinal camera and Takagi SM-90 zoom slit lamp, linked to new software from ARC Optical.

Ciba Vision (25)
Ciba Vision will be presenting its latest round of product and service innovations to help practitioners grow their business in a tough competitive environment. Visitors to the stand will be able to see the Focus Dailies, Night & Day, Focus Aqua and Aquify brands, and discuss the benefits they deliver to patients. They will also hear about new services from Ciba, such as its specialist lens fitting consultancy, and logistics improvements.

Contact Lens Precision Labs (23/24)
Contamac (13)
Contact lens material provider Contamac will be introducing the Optimum range of GP materials. Following on from the Hybrid FS GP materials and Contaflex GM3 soft lens materials, Optimum is described as a significant development in the GP sector. The material properties range from the stability of Optimum Classic, to the advanced wearer comfort of Optimum Comfort, through to the excellent wettability of Optimum Extra and the super-high 125 Dk of Optimum Extreme.

CooperVision (19)
CooperVision plans to simplify the seemingly complex world of disposable multifocal contact lenses, with the BCLA event marking the first anniversary of the Frequency 55 launch.
The company will host a special multifocal workshop on Saturday, May 22 from 8-9am. John Rogers, CooperVision's professional services manager, will identify the various multifocal lenses available today and describe some of the new, innovative designs, including the Frequency 55 Multifocal. Practitioners can decide on the best options for patients' needs, and will be offered a full complimentary breakfast (reservations via Jodie Brown on 023 8060 4501).
CooperVision's main auditorium presentation 'Stop simply dispensing and selling contact lenses. Start marketing them', takes place on Saturday, May 22 at 11.40am. It will focus on moving the mainstream consumer's perception of 'value' away from simply concentrating on price, and demonstrating how to add significant added value to patients by differentiating the practice offering.

David Thomas (14)
David Thomas Contact Lenses will be exhibiting a range of GP lenses and soft FreshCare monthly disposables. As well as the Rose K2 keratoconus system, the company will be promoting the new Optimum range of gas-permeable materials. Joining company personnel from David Thomas will be Jeanne Bear of Paragon Vision Sciences to discuss the latest developments in orthokeratology and the Paragon CRT system.

Elsevier (15)
Elsevier, the world's largest medical publisher and home to Butterworth-Heinemann, Churchill Livingstone, Mosby and Saunders, publishes classic optometric texts such as Jack Kanski's Clinical Ophthalmology. Visit the company's stand to see its range of publications, plus the latest issue of optician. Major new titles at the conference will include Jack Kanski's Clinical Ophthalmology: a Synopsis, optician's clinical editor Bill Harvey and Bernard Gilmartin's Paediatric Optometry, Frank Eperjesi's The Professional Qualifying Examinations: A Survival Guide for Optometrists and the new edition of Nathan Efron's Contact Lens Complications, which will be launched with a signing by Professor Efron.

Grafton Optical (32/33)
Grafton Optical Company will be demonstrating a range of new ophthalmic instruments, exclusive to Grafton. Eyescape retinal and anterior imaging software will be shown linked to a non-mydriatic and anterior camera. Corneal topography will be featured with the Medmont Topographer, and the Reichert range of tonometers, hand held and table versions, will also be shown.

Haag-Streit (5)
Haag-Streit is the UK distributor for Canon, Heidelberg, Octopus and EyeCap Digital Imaging. Visit stand 5 to see the new Canon DGi retinal camera, the HRTII optic nerve head analyser and Haag-Streit slit lamps. There will also be a selection of trial frames, reading tests, colour tests, Welch Allyn ophthalmoscopes (including the PanOptic), retinoscopes and fixation bars, for sale at the exhibition.

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (9)
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care will be showcasing the new Acuvue Advance lens with Hydraclear on its stand Ð the Comfort Zone Ð and at other events on each day of the conference. The company is holding a launch presentation for the product in advance of the conference on May 20 at 3.30pm, a Platinum Sponsor's presentation on May 21 at 3pm, as well as a product workshop on May 22 at 1pm.
Keeler (27/28/29)
Keelerwill be displaying the new wide angle twin mag ophthalmoscope, which provides two fields of view Ð 17.5 degree and 25 degree. In addition there will be the Kowa Non-Mydriatic Digital Fundus Camera, which is described as compact, fast and easy to use. Also on show will be the Non Contact Tonometer, the Pulsair EasyEye and the Tearscope-plus. For further information, contact Keeler at www.keeler.co.uk or visit stand 27-29.

Mainline Instruments (37)
Mark'ennovy (6)
Menicon (43/44/47/48)
Visit the Menicon stand to learn more about Menicon UK, the new sales subsidiary created by Menicon Holdings Europe, and discover Menicon Z, the hyper-transmissible RGP contact lens range for up to 30 days' continuous wear. The Menicon Z aspheric, Menicon Z-a sphero-aspheric and the new Menifocal Z for presbyopes will all be on display, and the Menisoft 72 per cent monthly replacement lenses will be launched at the conference.

No7 (4)
Specialist RGP lens supplier No7 Contact Lens Laboratory will be introducing one of the UK's first locally-manufactured lenses for accelerated orthokeratology. Called simply Ortho K, the lens utilises 'DreamLite' technology and software that enables empirical lens fitting from any leading topographical system. The company's monthly payment plan, Ortho Kare, provides customers with a new pair of Ortho K lenses dispatched every six months, priority access to the No7 technical and clinical advice team, and ongoing availability of the DreamLite software.

Northern Lenses (12)
Using the Keratron or Keratron Scout Topographer and free software enables the automatic design of contact lenses suitable for orthokeratology, as well as multifocal, toric multifocal, keratoconic, multi-toric and post-surgery designs. For those who wish to have input to the design there is a manual override facility. The design is then sent by email to the lathe. Call in at stand 12 and see the system in action.

Nova (39)
Nova Contact Lenses will be presenting niche products such as the Rose K2 lens and Post Graft lens, the Essential GP multifocal lens and the Rinehart Reeves ortho-K design. Also on show will the MagniVue MF soft multifocal monthly replacement lens. In addition, Nova has a new, competitively priced corneal topographer, the PCT-100, which is particularly useful for those interested in ortho-K lenses and comes complete with contact lens fitting software.

Ocuco (30)
Ocuco's demonstration of Acuitas will place particular emphasis on clinical recording and scheme generation for contact lenses. These features have been designed by ophthalmic professionals and developed to allow individual customisation. Integrated drawing tools and digital imaging are available alongside clinical records. Acuitas software offers practitioners a variety of solutions, including savings on mobile calls by sending text messages to patients when their lenses are ready for collection.

Ocular Sciences (16)
Ocular Sciences will be exhibiting a full line of products under the Biomedics brand and introducing an extended range for the Biomedics Toric. Also featured will be the Biomedics 55UV monthly disposable, the mid water UV-blocked Biomedics 1 Day, Biomedics 73 Multifocal and Biomedics Colors. Further developments include opportunities to enhance profitability by combining the Biomedics' All-in-one multifunction solution with monthly disposables.

Ophtecs (2)
Following a successful first appearance at the BCLA in 2003, Ophtecs returns this year with a range of contact lens care products. The Ireland-based associate of Ophtecs, a Japanese company, will feature the eye comfort product Tiar