Ocutech's New Image Minifier

The Ocutech Image Minifier is intended for use by patients with restricted visual fields such as Retinitis Pigmentosa to enhance peripheral field awareness. It achieves this effect by reducing the image size, so that in effect, more is seen in the same amount of space. The 50% image size reduction produced by IM is optimal because it reduces the image size enough to enhance the visual field awareness, but not so much as to reduce visual acuity through the aid or to produce bothersome barrel distortion. As compared to reversed Galilean Telescopes, the IM is specifically designed as an image minifying device, providing a flat field, with a wide ocular lens to allow for scanning through the device.

The Ocutech IM can be used in a trial frame for demonstration purposes, handheld with a neck strap, or spectacle mounted for either monocular or binocular use.

Features:

• Crisp, undistorted, flat field
• Wide ocular lens permits scanning through the device
• 50% field enhancement effect with minimal acuity loss
• Prescribe as either spectacle mounted, or handheld with neck strap
• Trial-ring version available for demonstration
• No eye piece correction required
• Adjustable focus allows optimum focus for each patient
• Huge depth of field
• Monocular or binocular applications

For more information contact

OCUTECH Inc.:

800-326-6460

919-967-6460

info@ocutech.com www.ocutech.com

Cynthia Dicks

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Article published: Jun 5, 2009...item.com

Woman's hope for sight rests on eye surgery

Cynthia Dicks hasn't seen the sun, clouds or even the walls of her home for 12 years. On Monday, however, the 51-year-old Sumter native is scheduled for surgery in Boston at a Harvard University-affiliated hospital to transplant a cornea into her right eye. Her doctors have told her the procedure successfully restores vision 95 percent of the time.

Dicks says she hasn't really thought about how she would react if she can see again.
“I don't know how I'm going to feel,” she said. “If I can just see the light on the TV, that would be good with me. If I can just see my finger, at least I tried.”

Dicks once worked in quality control at Madison Industries. She had never been sick enough to be hospitalized. Then 12 years ago she came down with pneumonia so bad she was given Septra, a combination of two antibiotics typically used to treat urinary tract infections. But she had a rare allergic reaction known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Its symptoms include rashes and burns, a persistent fever, blisters and swelling of the eyelids.

“My whole body had peeled in 24 hours,” Dicks said. “The medicine had burned me all through my veins and everywhere.”

She had third-degree burns all over her body. She was blinded and lost her left eye.

“At 39, I was out of work for the rest of my life,” she said.

Dicks is on permanent disability. She lives at Hampton Manor and has a caretaker, friends and relatives providing her food and making sure she gets proper medical care. Skin grafts have covered many of the burn scars. You can still see some scars on her arms and face, but a picture hanging in her living room shows how much more pronounced those scars used to be.

She hasn't shed a tear in 12 years. She can't: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome dried out her tear ducts, saliva glands and sweat glands. She constantly needs a drink nearby to keep her mouth moist, or it dries up and she has difficulty speaking. Despite all this, Dicks easily makes light of her situation, causing her friends to laugh.

After she lost her left eye, Dicks began wearing dark sunglasses. They quickly became a fashion accessory. “I wear shades like I put on clothes,” she said. “I have 20 pairs of shades. I try to match them to my clothes. Some of them aren't in style any more, so I just get new ones when they tell me the ones I have aren't in style any more.” Dicks said her relationship with God keeps her going.

“I wasn't close to God before this happened to me,” she said. “I was going to church, but I didn't really know the reason for going to church. Well, I knew the reason, but I wasn't doing it.
“Now that I've lost my sight, I know who God is.”

Dicks has joined Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church and regularly visits the Sumter Senior Services center, which let her join because of her disability. Both places have been sources of friendship and support.

In late April, Dicks cleaned up in the 50-55 age group during Senior Fitness Week at the Sumter County Recreation and Parks Department. She won trophies for her exploits in darts and the softball and football tosses.

“There wasn't nobody 50-55 but me,” Dicks said with a laugh. “There was one other doing the darts, but me and her weren't throwing nothing. People were telling me, ‘You got more trophies than anyone.'”

Dicks said she is trying her best and not giving up hope, but she also doesn't want to set her expectations too high about what the surgery can do. “If it's for me,” she said of vision, “I will get it.”

Contact Staff Writer Jason Wermers at jwermers@theitem.com or (803) 774-1295.

Our efforts to help Ali Ghazi

General

Appeal launch to fly sick four-year-old boy to UK By 18.02.2009 From: Newquay Voice www.newquayvoice.co.uk PARENTS from across the Atlantic have come together to appeal for help in saving a young boy's life. Ali Ghazi, a four-year-old from Karachi in Pakistan, is fighting for survival after contracting Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and needs £5,000 to fly to England and obtain life-saving treatment. SJS is often caused by a reaction to various medical drugs and is devastating, blistering the skin outside and in. Matt and Claire Way, from Newquay, lost their four-year-old son Joe last May as result of this syndrome. Mr Way said: "The pain that Ali must be going through is terrible and until he has help there is little hope for his survival. We know how much care Joe needed and urge someone to come forward and help Ali, not just to have the chance for his sight to be saved but to be relived from the pain the blistering leaves you with." Joe's parents were contacted by Helen Milne, founder and president of the Milne Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Society in Canada, after she came across their fundraising website at www.joeway.co.uk. Mrs Milne's child has also suffered from SJS and was approached by Ali's parents asking for assistance. Eye surgeon Sheraz M Daya and his colleague Raman Malhotra have offered to treat Ali free of charge but £5,000 is needed to cover medical facility costs, travel and accommodation. Mr Daya said: "The first step in Ali's case is to perform an examination under anaesthetic to understand the extent of his condition and decide what can be achieved in terms of intervention." Helen Milne spoke to Ali's parents on February 13. They told her he had now been diagnosed with entropian, which means further surgery is required to repair the turning in of the eyelids. Linda Harcourt-Smith has also offered to help after being contacted by Mr and Mrs Way. She has had over 15 years' experience caring for her son Ian who has SJS and is the first point of contact for anyone wishing to help. Mr Way said: "We are appealing to community leaders as this family will need cultural support such as translators. We would also ask for the support of an airline so that any money raised can be used purely for medical expenses." To donate the £5,000, or any other amount, please make cheques payable to the "Centre for Sight Trust" and write "Ali Ghazi fund" on the back. These should be posted to: Dr Daya, Centre for Sight, Corneoplastic Unit & Eye Bank, Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3DZ.

An international mystery solved as TEN

Investigators say Russian reporter wasn't murdered

Thu Apr 9, 2009 5:15pm GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors said on Thursday they would close a criminal inquiry into the 2003 death of investigative journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin after finding no evidence to back up the claim he was poisoned.

Shchekochikhin's death, like that of colleague Anna Politkovskaya, became a symbol of a media crackdown in Russia under former president Vladimir Putin. His successor Dmitry Medvedev has promised to do more to protect civil society.

The initial autopsy said that Shchekochikhin, a 53-year-old reporter for independent daily Novaya Gazeta, died of an unidentified malady. Investigators on Thursday said they found no evidence to back up the claim he was poisoned, as his colleagues suspect.

"Medical tests showed that there were no narcotics, psychotropic, strong poisons or heavy metals in the body of the deceased," the investigations committee of the prosecutor-general's office said in a statement.

"No traces of poisoning or damage to the body that would indicate Yuri Shchekochikhin died a violent death were found," it said. Rather he died of "toxic epidermal necrolysis (Lyell Syndrome)," a severe skin disease.

The investigators' conclusion is unlikely to appease opposition activists, who have seen two more Novaya Gazeta journalists killed since Shchekochikhin's death.

Politkovskaya, who like Shchekochikhin won fame for her tough criticism of the Kremlin's record on democracy and human rights, was shot dead on the doorstep of her home in 2006.

Anastasia Baburova, who wrote about neo-Nazi and skinhead groups in Russia, was shot dead in a street attack in November together with renowned human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov.

Putin denied any involvement in Politkovskaya's death but refused to offer public condolences, saying she was a marginal figure. Medvedev invited Novaya Gazeta editors to the Kremlin and promised them a proper investigation into Baburova's death

Raptiva (efalizumab)

Audience: Dermatological healthcare professionals, patients

Genentech and FDA notified healthcare professionals of the voluntary, phased withdrawal of Raptiva, a medication for treatment of psoriasis, from the U.S. market due to a potential risk to patients of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). By June 8, 2009, Raptiva will no longer be available in the United States. Prescribers are being asked not to initiate Raptiva treatment for any new patients. Prescribers should immediately begin discussing with patients currently using Raptiva how to transition to alternative therapies. The FDA strongly recommends that patients work with their health care professional to transition to alternative therapies for psoriasis.

Read the complete MedWatch 2009 Safety Summary, including links to the Dear Healthcare Professional letter, the Dear Patient letter and the FDA statement, at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2009/safety09.htm#Raptiva

There have been reported cases of SJS from Raptiva

Preservatives in Eye Drops

http://preservative.free.fr/English/indexen.htm

For a very interesting article click on the link. Using any form of preservative in SJS or dry / compromised eyes is just asking for trouble.

Congratulations to Jean McCawley

A huge congratulations to Jean McCawley, founder of the Stevens Johnson Syndrome Foundation who was awarded $5,000.00 from the Extreme Homemaker American Dream program. The award was given to the foundation to help Jean with her ongoing work supporting SJS patients and their families. It's a quick blurb and just in case you can't read it, Jean is the lady in the red shirt.