50 years of imaging excellence
The Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society will celebrate this milestone throughout 2019.
By Timothy J. Bennett, CRA, OCT-C, FOPS
The Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society is celebrating 50 years. The coordinated group of imagers began in 1969, when a few professionals held their first formal gathering at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Chicago to establish an organization to share technical information, collaborate on new techniques, and set standards of practice.
Founding members included: Lee Allen, Earl Choromokos, Ogden Frazier, Johnny Justice Jr., Roger Lancaster, Yvonne Magli, Mary Manella, Terrance Tomer, Anna Wiley, and Don Wong.
From the very beginning, the Society fostered an environment of collaboration, innovation and education by acting as a central forum for the exchange of information via programs, such as national and regional education and webinars, and publications, such as the peer-reviewed Journal of Ophthalmic Photography.
All of these programs and member benefits are accomplished through efforts of dedicated volunteers from the OPS ranks, along with generous philanthropic support from sustaining members.
“From its inception, the OPS has been built on volunteerism,” says Michael P. Kelly, OPS president. “Our altruistic founders set in motion an example that exists to this day and benefits all who seek the knowledge and skills needed to perform exceptional ocular imaging. Through each new technological advancement over the years, OPS members have lead the way in pushing the limits of new imaging device capability and then sharing their expertise, volunteering their time and energy in this passion, which is ophthalmic photography.”
The OPS also offers two certifications in ophthalmic photography: the Certified Retinal Angiographer and the Optical Coherence Tomography-Certified. These successes are a testament to the vision of the founders of the OPS 50 years ago along with the commitment of time, talent, and energy of our members throughout the years.
“I have been so blessed by the friendships and the camaraderie of so many supremely talented people in this discipline, assisting the early days of the designs for certification, and guiding so many skilled photographers into the wonders of ophthalmology,” says charter member Richard Alan Lews, M.D., M.S.
OPS will be celebrating throughout 2019. Details and other OPS information may be found atopsweb.org , Facebook page, or by contacting Barbara McCalley, executive director, at ops@opsweb.org.
Founding OPS member Johnny Justice Jr. (bottom left) demonstrating fundus photography at an OPS workshop in 1978.
IMAGE COURTESY OPS PHOTO ARCHIVES
OPS Scientific Exhibit of award winning photographs on display at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Meeting in the 1980s.IMAGE COURTESY OPS PHOTO ARCHIVES
IMAGING TIMELINE
1960s The advent of fluorescein angiography revolutionized the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of retinal diseases.
1970s Improvements in techniques and instrumentation for angiography as well as the adoption of the Seven Standard Field protocol for the Diabetic Retinopathy Study (DRS) and other clinical trials.
1980s Several companies developed digital angiography systems, and the scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) was introduced.
1990s Indocyanine green (ICG) video angiography and the early days of optical coherence tomography (OCT).
2000s At the turn of the century, time-domain OCT (TD-OCT) exploded on the clinical scene and within a few short years was surpassed by spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT). We have seen advances in ultra widefield imaging, multimodal imaging, and OCT-angiography (OCT-A). There have been similar advancements in anterior segment imaging over that time span as well.
If I knew then what I know now
Recently, OP asked ophthalmic professionals: What is the one lesson you learned that you wish you knew when starting your career? As part of an occasional series, we present their answers.
PERFECTION ISN’T POSSIBLE
When I first started in my role 10 years ago, I was young and green. At the time, I saw my inexperience as a total weakness (little did I know that my “fresh eyes” would eventually prove to be a great asset), so I did everything within my power to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. I read everything I could get my hands on, surrounded myself with brilliant mentors, and put in ridiculous hours — FOR YEARS! I was on a “pursuit of perfection” to prove to those who believed in me that they made the right decision, to prove to those who doubted me that they should have bet on me to begin with, and to prove to myself that I was going to be the perfect person to lead my legacy practice into the future.
It all sounded good at the time, and it has been for the most part; however, I now know that being perfect is impossible to accomplish. Over the years, I have learned that perfection isn’t an attainable human quality, no matter how much time or effort I put into it. I have also learned that nobody, except me, expects me to be perfect. I now accept that all I can do each day is make the best decisions possible with the information I have at the time. If/when new information presents itself, I can then consider the new information and adjust the decision if necessary.
I have learned that this kind of responsiveness in my decision-making, as well as my willingness and ability to let those I lead know when and why I am making an adjustment (leading with humility, transparency, and vision has resulted in trust, respect, and loyalty from my team), is as close to perfection as I’ll ever reach in this life. And I now know, and finally accept, that this approach is just perfect for me!
Hayley Boling, MBA, COE, is the CEO of Boling Vision Center and INSIGHT Surgery Center in Elkhart, IN.
In Brief
Eylea (aflibercept, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals) injection was recently approved by the FDA for treatment of all stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The VEGF inhibitor is approved with two dosing options for DR, at either every eight weeks following five initial monthly injections, or every four weeks.
Lacrivera recently launched the Vera180 Synthetic Absorbable Lacrimal Plugs, which offer extended temporary occlusion lasting approximately 180 days. The Vera180 is designed to be effective for treating post-surgical dry eye and dry eye components of various ocular surface diseases. Available sizes for the plugs are 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm. They come packaged in single-pair and 10-pair boxes (20 plugs).
SecondSight says it plans to accelerate the development and commercialization of its Orion Visual Cortical Prosthesis System. This decision follows positive results of an Early Feasibility Study for the Orion, an implanted cortical stimulation device intended to provide artificial vision to those with diseased or injured eyes. SecondSight will continue to support its existing Argus II retinal prosthesis system, though production of future Argus II systems will be suspended in the near future.
Diopsys announced the new ffERG/Flash Plus Photopic Negative Response vision test, a full field electroretinography protocol designed to aid in the detection of early signs of glaucoma. The test provides objective information on the function of retinal ganglion cells, primarily damaged by glaucoma, and their axions.
ZEISS Medical Technology Segment launched the PLEX Elite 2.0, which will scan at 200kHz in addition to 100kHz, providing doctors with a deeper and more detailed view into the retina and enabling visualization options for various diseases, according to the company.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved transitional pass-through payment status and established a new reimbursement code for Ocular Therapeutix’s Dextenza (dexamethasone ophthalmic insert). The code, C9048, is scheduled to become effective July 1, 2019. A C-code is a unique temporary product code used to report claims for hospital outpatient department and ASC services and procedures.
Akorn launched TheraTears SteriLid Antimicrobial eyelid cleanser, an antimicrobial hypochlorous acid eyelid cleanser available in retail stores, including Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens and Amazon. According to Akorn, TheraTears offers an OTC alternative to prescription formulas.
CLARIFICATION
The photographer for the May/June cover profile was misidentified. The photos of The Eye Associates used for May/June cover, feature article and table of contents were taken by Lori Sax Photography. The editors of Ophthalmic Professional apologize for this oversight.
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