The Eye Site:

News of Ophthalmology and Vision

Top news headlines:

• Registration tops 7200 for 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress®
  
  
• Scientific program for Hong Kong
  
  
• Details in WOC 2008 E-Xpress
  
  
• January 31 deadline to apply for ICO Assessments
  
  
• New instructions, applications and deadline for Fellowships
  
  
• Teaching materials for medical students on ICO Web site
  
  
• Diabetic Eye Disease Center in Beijing
  
  
• Support for Diabetic Education
  
  
• Sub-Saharan Leadership Group To Focus on Six Priorities
  
  
• Dr. AlRajhi Is MEACO President
  
  
• Council To Name Task Force on Refractive Error
  
  
• ICO Endorses "Durban Declaration" on Refractive Error
  
  
• Plan for Countries with Minimal Ophthalmic Presence
  
  
• Council Decides on WOC 2014, Awards and Name
  
  
• Japanese Ophthalmological Society Will Host 2014 WOC in Tokyo
  
  
• Council Awards Krwawicz and Bietti Medals
  
  
• ICO Approves Strategic Plan and Budget
  
  
• Council Recommends “ICO” as Single Name
  
  
• Focus on Society and Leadership Development
  
  
• ICO To Co-Sponsor Other International Congresses
  
  
• Five New Members of IFOS
  
  
• Focus on Implementation of Curricula

Also see:

• more news from the ICO meeting and other recent news
• the latest ICO Leader Letter.

(The Eye Site is the Internet home for the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), executive body of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS).)

Registration for 2008 WOC tops 7200

More than 7200 ophthalmologists, including 2800 from mainland China, have registered for the 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress®, June 28 - July 2 in Hong Kong.

The deadline for online registration is May 31.

This will be the 31st International Congress of Ophthalmology, the 23rd Congress of Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, the 13th Congress of Chinese Ophthalmological Society and the 20th Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium. We are expecting at least 10,000 ophthalmologists to participate.

For more, see www.woc2008hongkong.org.

Scientific program for Hong Kong

Under the leadership of Steve Ryan, MD, and Clement Tham, MD, the invited scientific program for the 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress® (WOC) in Hong Kong is set, with sessions organized by 28 subspecialty societies, as well as national and supranational organizations.

"The program will offer ophthalmologists an exceptional opportunity to learn about the latest advances in ophthalmology from around the world," according to WOC 2008 President Dennis Lam, MD.

Highlights of the invited scientific program include:

• More than 1000 prominent international speakers in 224 scientific sessions

• A subspecialty day (June 28), with full-day programs on retina, glaucoma and cataract and refractive surgery

• A World Ophthalmology Education Colloquium (also June 28) organized by ICO Director of Education Mark Tso, MD, with 137 speakers in 18 symposia on initiatives to enhance ophthalmic education

• 70 scientific sessions in Chinese for the 3000 or more participants we expect from mainland China.

Details in WOC 2008 E-Xpress

The highlights of the scientific sessions in each subspecialty area at the 2008 World Ophthamology Congress® are being featured in the monthly e-mail WOC 2008 E-Xpress.

You can subscribe at www.woc2008hongkong.org/subscribep.html and review past issues at www.woc2008hongkong.org/woc_eblast_past.html.

Also see: More on WOC 2008.

ICO Assessments on April 10.

The 2008 ICO International Basic Science Assessment for Ophthalmologists and International Clinical Sciences Assessment, which will be offered on April 10. January 31 was the deadline to apply .

Each year the ICO offers the Basic and Clinical Assessments throughout the world to help ophthalmologists evaluate their knowledge in the basic science and clinical sciences related to ophthalmology.

More than 15,500 candidates have taken ICO Basic and Clinical Assessments since their inception in 1995. In 2007, 1647 candidates enrolled for the Assessments at 92 test centers in 61 countries.

Those interested in taking the Assessments in 2008 should contact the Assessments Office.

New instructions, applications and deadline for Fellowships

A revised introduction to the ICO Fellowships, instructions and application forms can be downloaded from www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOFellowship.doc (1.2 MB).

The ICO Fellowships are awarded twice a year, and April 30 and October 31 are the deadlines to apply.

A new directory of Fellowships will be available in March 2008.

The three-month Fellowships were organized to help promising young ophthalmologists from developing nations improve their practical skills and broaden their perspectives of ophthalmology.

Fellows are expected to bring their acquired knowledge and skills back to their native country and participate in programs to preserve vision and prevent blindness.

For further information, contact the Fellowships Office at fellowship@icoph.org.

Teaching materials for medical students on ICO Web site

To support teaching medical students about ophthalmology, the ICO is now offering lectures and images cited in its Curriculum for Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students on its Web site.

The educational materials include:

• selected clinical images from the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Ophthalmic Images v.3, donated to the ICO to support education of medical students
  
  
• a series of PowerPoint lectures for medical students contributed by Susan Lightman, FRCP, FRCOphth, PhD, Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

There are also other useful resources for teaching medical students available on the Web at no charge. Medical student education was theme of the July 2007 issue of the ICO Leader Letter.

Diabetic Eye Disease Center in Beijing

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and Peking University Eye Center launched the Peking University Eli Lilly Diabetic Eye Disease in 2007 in Beijing, China.

The Diabetic Eye Disease Center is dedicated to decreasing avoidable visual impairment and blindness due to diabetes through early detection of diabetes, medical control and prevention measures. The Center will provide diabetic eye care to patients and help train local professionals, particularly in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

The Eli Lilly and Company Foundation contributed US $150,000 to the ICO Foundation for the establishment of a model diabetic eye disease center in partnership with the ICO. The ICO selected the Peking University Eye Center to host the Center from among a number of candidates.

“With the prevalence of vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy destined to increase, formation of the Peking University Eli Lilly Diabetic Eye Disease Center is a major breakthrough in establishing medically coordinated, accessible and sustainable eye care,” said Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, president of the ICO Foundation.

There are an estimated 246 million adults with diabetes worldwide, and that number is projected to increase to 380 million by 2025. In China, 30 million people have diabetes, 12 percent of the world total.

The risk of blindness is 25 times higher among people with diabetes, but experts suggest that nearly 90 percent of diabetes related blindness can be prevented by applying currently available medical and eye care.

For more information, see the news release on the launch of the Diabetic Eye Disease Center.

Support for Diabetic Education

At the launch ceremony for the Peking University Eli Lilly Diabetic Eye Disease Center (above), Sidney Taurel, Lilly chairman and chief executive officer, announced an additional grant of $US 35,000 from Lilly to the ICO Foundation for a related Global Diabetes Education Program.

The ICO Diabetes Education Program will help develop diabetic retinopathy prevention and treatment as well as education materials in local languages for diabetes patients, nurses and ophthalmologists.

At the same time, Lilly is launching a nationwide diabetes education campaign in China. The campaign will invite 900 diabetes experts from 30 key cities in China to give lectures on diabetes knowledge and education through 30 radio channels. The goal is to promote diabetes awareness and knowledge and to improve the diagnosis and treatment level of diabetes throughout China.

Sub-Saharan Leadership Group Focuses on Five Priorities

With support from the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) and the ICOFoundation, the ICO invited 21 current and potential future leaders from 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to Dubai at the end of March to participate in its second World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) and the MEACO IX International Congress.

The “ICO/MEACO Advisory Leadership Group on Sub-Saharan Africa” that met in Dubai formed working groups to focus on five priority areas:

• Enhancing Subspecialty Training
• Enhancing Residency Education
• Equipment and Materials for Training and Practice
• Advocacy for Increased Support for Eye Care
• Society Development/Continuing Professional Development.

At a second meeting of the Advisory Leadership Group (jointly sponsored by the ICO, MEACO and the ICOFoundation) in Nairobi, Kenya on October 27 - 28, 2007, the working groups defined long-term and short-term objectives and action plans to achieve them. A sixth working group was formed to develop a training program to help members of the Group acquire additional leadership skills.

“I am inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment of all those involved,” said ICO Council Member and Advisory Leadership Group Chair Daniel Etya’ale, MD. “If we can keep the momentum going, I believe our meetings will prove to be a groundbreaking event for ophthalmology and eye care in Africa.”

Dr. AlRajhi Is MEACO President

At the Opening Ceremonies of the IX International Congress of the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) in Dubai in March, ICO President Bruce Spivey, MD, praised Akef El-Maghraby, MD, for his exemplary leadership since founding the supranational society in 1989.

Council Member Abdulaziz AlRajhi, MD, took office as the new MEACO President at the end of the Congress.

MEACO awarded its

• Prince Abdulaziz Ahmed Al-Saud Prevention of Blindness Award for contributions to prevention of blindness in the developing world to Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, President of the ICOFoundation
  
  
• Dr. El-Maghraby International Award for advancement in ophthalmology to H. Dunbar Hoskins, MD, Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
  
  
• Dr. Labib Award for development of international relations and friendship between ophthalmologists to BGK Ajayi, MD, Past President of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria.

Council To Name Task Force on Refractive Error

In March 2007, the International Council of Ophthalmology decided to form a task force to recommend what ophthalmology should do, in cooperation with others, to address the problem of uncorrected visual error.

In October 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new estimates that 153 million people around the world have uncorrected refractive errors. That includes at least 13 million children (age 5 to 15) and 45 million working age adults (age 16 to 49).

WHO estimates that 90 percent of those with uncorrected refractive errors live in low- and middle-income countries, where they lack access to eye testing, glasses and contact lens, with severe personal, social and economic consequences.

“While ophthalmology by itself can certainly not solve the problem of uncorrected visual error,” said ICO President Bruce Spivey, MD, “we must work within the context of VISION 2020 and other initiatives to be part of the solution.

ICO Endorses "Durban Declaration"

The Council also endorsed a statement on uncorrected refractive error drafted at the First World Congress on Refractive Error and Service Development in Durban, South Africa on March 14 to 16.

The delegates to the Durban Congress supported the VISION 2020: The Right to Sight global initiative and pledged to:

• work together in developing comprehensive eye and health care services for the correction of refractive errors and provision of high quality and affordable glasses.

• Prioritize communities, countries and regions in greatest need and school age children and adults above 45 years, especially women.

You can download the Durban Declaration from www.icoph.org/pdf/DurbanDeclaration2007.pdf.

Plan for Countries with Minimal Ophthalmic Presence

The ICO will work in cooperation with WHO, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and major Non-Governmental Development Organizations (NGOs) to stimulate the development of ophthalmic education in five countries in Africa with minimal ophthalmic presence.

The ICO Committee on Countries with Minimal Ophthalmic Presence met in Cape Town in March 2007 and reviewed data on 32 countries worldwide with no more than two ophthalmologists or one ophthalmologist per million population, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Committee Chair Jacob Pe'er, MD, presented a long-term action plan to help establish affordable and accessible eye care services in those countries to the Advisory Committee to the Council, which recommended focusing first on several countries that meet specific criteria. The Council agreed to focus on five.

Following site visits to each country, the plan calls for training of ophthalmologists and allied personnel to establish eye clinics or services that can do further training.

Council Decides on WOC 2014, Awards and Name

 Also at its meeting in Cape Town, the Council voted to:

• accept a bid from the Japanese Ophthalmological Society to host the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress® in Tokyo
  
  
• award the Tadeusz Krwawicz Gold Medal to Douglas R. Anderson, MD, and Bietti Medal to Narsing A. Rao, MD (to be presented at the 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress® in Hong Kong)
  
  
• approve the proposed ICO Strategic Plan and plans for implementation
  
  
• recommend to the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) that the organization have a single name in the future: the International Council of Ophthalmology
  
  
• co-sponsor international congresses in years when there is no World Ophthalmology Congress®
  
  
• approve five subspecialty societies and related organizations as members of IFOS
  
  
• adopt a $US 1.1 million budget and $600,000 reserve fund.

The Council also:

• heard progress reports from the WHO, IAPB and VISION 2020 global initiative and the directors of the ICO Education, Assessments, Fellowships, Clinical Guidelines and Advocacy programs

• reviewed plans for future World Ophthalmology Congresses in 2008 in Kong Kong and 2010 in Berlin.

See below and more news for more details on the Council meeting.

Japanese Ophthalmological Society Will Host WOC in 2014

Tokyo will be the site of the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress® (WOC), tentatively scheduled for cherry blossom time in late March.

The Council selected a bid from Japanese Ophthalmological Society to host the 2014 Congress in Tokyo over proposals from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand (for Bangkok) and All-India Ophthalmological Society (Delhi). “There were three compelling proposals, which made it very hard to choose,” said ICO President Bruce E. Spivey, MD. “Sincere thanks to all three societies, which put a lot of effort and heart into their bids.”

The Council changed its policy to consider proposals for future World Ophthalmology Congresses® six years ahead of time, rather than eight. As a result, it will not consider bids for the 2016 World Ophthalmology Congress until 2010.

When considering potential sites for the World Congress in the future, Council members suggested that an important criterion should be the extent to which the Congress will stimulate the development of ophthalmology in the region, particularly in developing countries.

Council Awards Krwawicz and Bietti Medals

The Council voted to award the Tadeusz Krwawicz Gold Medal to Douglas R. Anderson, MD, professor at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, a leader in research on the impact of glaucoma on the optic nerve.

The Krwawicz Medal recognizes an “ophthalmologist who has significantly contributed to the advance of ophthalmology, especially diseases of the anterior segment and/or introduction of new technologies and to the advancement of international relationships among ophthalmologists.”

The Council awarded the Bietti Medal to Narsing A. Rao, MD, Professor and Director of the Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory and Uveitis Service at the Doheny Eye Institute in Los Angeles.

The Bietti medal is awarded every four years to “a distinguished ophthalmologist in recognition of scientific and educational contribution in ophthalmology and for facilitating international communications in the ophthalmic community.”

Both medals will be presented during the opening ceremonies of the World Ophthalmology Congress®, on July 28, 2008 in Hong Kong.

See www.icoph.org/ic/regsaward.html for the criteria for selecting each medal. The ICO voted in 2006 that members of the Council should not be eligible for the ICO medals and awards.

Council Approves Strategic Plan and Budget

The Council approved the proposed ICO Strategic Plan, which defines critical future directions for the organization, including:

• expanding and deepening its emphasis on enhancing ophthalmic education, particularly training of ophthalmologists, subspecialists, medical students and allied personnel to serve in developing countries and underserved areas
  
  
• making a new commitment to increasing access to eye care and improving advocacy for preservation and restoration of vision
  
  
• doing more to help ophthalmologic societies and individual leaders develop.

You can review the Plan at www.icoph.org/plan/part1.html or download it from www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOStrategicPlan.pdf.

Individual Council and Advisory Committee members and committee chairs have defined action plans to carry out the highest priority objectives in the Plan.

The Council approved a $US 1.13 million budget for 2007, with an additional $600,000 allocated to a reserve fund. Treasurer Yasuo Tano, MD, reported that previous Treasurer Balder Gloor, MD, left the ICO in excellent financial condition.

Council Recommends “ICO” as Single Name

The Council will recommend that IFOS approve changes in the Statutes next year to make “International Council of Ophthalmology” the single name of the organization.

Currently, the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) is the official name, and the ICO is the executive body. But “ICO” has become much better known than “IFOS” in recent years, and the relationship is confusing to many. Participants in the strategic planning process had recommended moving to a single name. The Council considered “World Ophthalmology Council” as an alternative but decided to recommend staying with “ICO.”

If approved at the IFOS General Assembly on June 27, 2008 in Hong Kong, societies that are members of IFOS will be come members of the “Council,” and the current Council will become the Board of Trustees.

Focus on society and leadership development

President Bruce E. Spivey, MD, outlined a new ICO program, inspired by the Strategic Plan, to stimulate and support development of ophthalmologic societies and leaders.

He reported that 36 ophthalmologists from 15 countries participated in first ICO "World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD)", at the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress in Lahore, Pakistan in February.

Another 21 ophthalmologists from Sub-Saharan Africa participated in the second Roundtable, during the congress of the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) in Dubai at the end of March.

The Council discussed relationships with the major supranational ophthalmologic societies and agreed to explore how the ICO could help and work with them more closely.

ICO To Co-Sponsor Other International Congresses

The Council will consider co-sponsoring international congresses with supranational, national or subspecialty societies in years when there is no World Ophthalmology Congress® (i.e., 2009, 2011, etc.).

The idea was proposed during the strategic planning process, and the Officers considered various options and preliminary guidelines for co-sponsorship when they met prior to the Council in Cape Town.

The Council agreed to limit co-sponsorship to regions where there is no World Congress the year before or after. So, for example, with the 2008 WOC in Hong Kong and 2010 in Berlin, the ICO would not co-sponsor a congress in 2009 in the Asia Pacific or Europe.

If your ophthalmologic society may be interested in co-sponsoring a congress in 2009 or 2011, please contact ICO President Bruce Spivey, MD, at spivey@icoph.org.

Five New Members of IFOS

The Council voted in Cape Town to approve applications for membership in IFOS from the:

• American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Club Jules Gonin
• European Association for Vision and Eye Research
• International Strabismological Association.

These societies join 18 other international subspecialty societies and related groups whose applications for membership were approved in 2006. Prior to that, only national ophthalmologic societies were members of IFOS.

Focus on Implementation of Curricula

ICO Education Director Mark Tso, MD, reported to the Council that there has been an enthusiastic reaction to publication and distribution of four ICO curricula:

• Principles and Guidelines of a Curriculum for Education of the Ophthalmic Specialist (PDF - 2.4 MB)
  
  
• Principles and Guidelines of a Curriculum for Ophthalmic Education of Medical Students (PDF - 2.1 MB)
  
  
• Principles and Guidelines of Curriculum for Para-ophthalmic Vision Specialist Education (PDF - 2.2 MB)
  
  
• Principles and Guidelines of a Curriculum for Continuing Medical Education in Ophthalmology (PDF - 2.1 MB).

The Education Committee is forming six international Task Forces that will focus on stimulating implementation of these curricula and enhancing ophthalmic education in other ways. National ophthalmologic societies are encouraged to translate the curricula as needed and adapt them for use in their countries.

Next: More News from the ICO meetings in Cape Town and other recent news.

Also see:

• Other recent news.
• the latest ICO Leader Letter.