DETAILS OF THE 2005 OIA CONFERENCE

Conference Report

OIA conferences are packed with information and fun.

The 20th Annual conference was held at the excellent venue of Eastwood Hall conference centre form 11th-13th November 2005.

The trade exhibition opened at 10.15 with an informative display of ophthalmic instruments and technological developments from all the market leaders in ophthalmic imaging.

At 1pm conference organiser, Mike Geall opened the clinical presentations and introduced the programmes first guest lecturer. Dr Rob Scott gave fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable insight into the world of military aviation and the importance of ophthalmic assessment in pilots.

The afternoon's education continued with an enlightening contribution from Mohit Gupta, who gave a thorough presentation on the subject of glaucoma.
Anil Negi continued this subject by discussing OCT and the use of the RNFL and Optic Disc software.

The imaging of diabetic retinal eye diseases is common practice for many ophthalmic imagers and Nicholas Lee gave an interesting presentation on this familiar but important subject.

Alison Farrow brought the early afternoon session to an end, with a comprehensive presentation on the subject of ICG angiography performed on fundus cameras. Alison gave practical advice on technique, exposure control and management, review and audit of angiography.

Following afternoon tea, Matthew Thomas presented one of the more sobering subjects in his discussion of child abuse and its associated injuries. Non-accidental injury is always challenging for photographers and this lecture dispensed valuable practical and clinical advice for the delegates.

Sandy Taylor lightened the tone and gave an enjoyable and informative presentation on the current trends in macular therapies. As we know, AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the over 60's in Europe. Therefore the development of new ways of treating this and similar disease could not be more relevant to our future.

Ronnie Jackson followed, giving the conference delegates an interesting and thought-provoking guide to Health and Safety in an ophthalmic setting. This subject is obviously one that Ronnie is passionate about and hopefully there will be a copy of his presentation and recommendations on this website soon.

Vignesh Raja and Chee Koon Thum gave us fascinating and clinically rare case studies and Peter Scanlon closed the session with an update in the National Screening Committees guidelines, leaving the delegate time to change into their costumes for the evening's entertainment.

As Nottingham was the venue, it seemed fitting that the theme for the evening's entertainment was that of ‘Robin Hood – Men in tights'

As predicted there were a good many Robins, Friar Tucks of both sexes, (but all equally huge!) and Maid Marions. However, we did miss the company of Little John and Will Scarlet. Mike Geall looked tremendous as the Sheriff of Nottingham and one of the more imaginative delegates came dressed as the ‘Major Oak'.
The winners of the Zeiss/OIA competition were announced and Christopher Mody was given the prestigious honour of Fellow of OIA. An award that is fully deserved for all his efforts in the development of the Ophthalmic Science and technology Foundation Degree that has recently been validated, and is hoped to begin in March 2006.

The meal was delicious, the wine plenty and the merriments and celebrations went on well into the night…

The AGM was planned for 8am the next day and there were a few bleary faces as
our new chair, Richard Cragg, took up his post.

The second day's lectures began with an education update.
Susan Anderton, Chair of the Association of Ophthalmic Science Practitioners (AOSP) and Rosalind Harrison, Chair of the Association of Health Professions in Ophthalmology (AHPO) introduced the eagerly awaiting course in Ophthalmic Science and Technology. This course is revolutionary, the first available in Ophthalmic science. We hope to have more details on this site soon for colleagues who were unable to attend conference. We were urged to fill in expressions of interest forms (there is a link from this site). This will help judge the need for more local delivery.
Terry Johnson explained the role of the Voluntary Registration Committee (VRC) and the Health Professions council (HPC) in the state registration process. Terry reinforced that our professions is changing and that we should embrace this.

‘Imaging without light' was an intriguing title to Peter Goods excellent presentation on the subject of ophthalmic ultrasound. This technique is being used more and more by Ophthalmic imaging personnel.

The final presentation before coffee was an insightful look into the clinical use of the GDx VCC and it's application in nerve fibre layer analysis.

Following the morning break, Tarek El- kashab introduced a subject that is familiar to many of us, in his presentation imaging the macula.

The conference organiser, Mike Geall, then took the podium, providing us with a fascinating insight into adapting fundus cameras for use in theatre. His techniques were developed whilst undertaking a clinical trial looking at the emboli existence pre and post paediatric cardiac surgery.

The trade presentations closed the morning session. These presentations, as always, prove extremely useful in introducing new technologies and highlighting the changes in existing ophthalmic instrumentation.

Following a lunch break, Monique Hope-Ross, our second guest lecturer, gave a wonderful presentation on the subject of ‘Treating the Macula'.

Damien O'Neil began the final stretch by amusing us with the subject of ‘cock ups'.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable presentation, which tackled a serious issue, and gave advice and guidance on how to deal with the clinical mistakes that are sometimes made.

Christian Martin (NHS IT) gave an informative lecture on the structure and specifications of modern day IT solutions for Ophthalmic Imaging. Christian's talk clarified many issues regarding, storage, networks and servers, which continue to become a greater part of our working lives.

Colin Clements from Kings College London then gave a lecture on the subject of DICOM images, and the kind of extra data that can be stored alongside the images.
It was obvious after Colin's lecture that this was a subject that we would have to know well before the implementation of ‘Electronic Patient Records'.

Frank Teige then talked to the delegates about his experience as a fundus camera designer for Zeiss. He enlightened us about the intricate prisms, mirrors and light paths that make up our very familiar equipment.

The closing remarks were made by Richard Cragg, giving well earned thanks to Mike and Mandy, the conference organisers, the trade for their continued support in our endeavours, the lecturers for their fascinating insight into their work, and most of all the delegates for supporting yet another fine event.

Zeiss Competition 2005

Copyright by Carl Zeiss Meditec Systems GmbH 2005. Click on any thumbnail image below to start the gallery image viewer. Onced opened you should close the gallery viewer using the close window. [Tip: use the n key for next image or p key for previous]


Post Segment Angiogram Sequence Mike Geall Clarendon Wing Leeds General Infirmary Belmont Grove Leeds LS2 9NS		Anterior Segment Tim Cole Clinical Imaging Manchester Royal Eye Hospital Oxford Road Manchester M13 9WL


External Eye Owain Hutchings Ophthalmic Imaging Bristol Eye Hospital Maudlin Street Bristol BS1 2LX		New Technology Chris Barry Lions Eye Institute 2 Verdun Street Perth Western Australia


Artistic Lewis Smith Royal Hallamshire Hospital Glossop Road Sheffield		Case Report Phil Rooney Aintree Hospital Longmoor Lane Liverpool L9 7AL


Posterior Segment Colour Chris Barry Lions Eye Institute 2 Verdun Street Perth Western Australia