by Laura Williams
The National Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Conference – the industry conference organised by Topcon Healthcare – went ahead as an in-person event for the first time in three years. It was a widely welcomed return to in-person clinical education, and more than 30 CPD points were available.
Organisers reported that they welcomed 117 delegates over the one-and-a-half days of the Conference, and the clinical programme was split with one day fully dedicated to OCT and the other focusing on myopia management.
On day one, Christiana Dinah, Consultant Ophthalmologist & R&I Director at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, gave the opening keynote on OCT and OCT-angiography in diabetic eye disease, setting the bar for the rest of the clinical programme.
Professor Pearse Keane, Consultant Ophthalmologist / Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence, gave the closing keynote for the first day, and spoke on the challenges and opportunities in eyecare in the 21st Century.
There were also nine different OCT-related workshops across three tracks, and an opportunity to join clinical case discussions, which provided invaluable insight into cases that attendees may not yet have had experience of in their own practices.
Clinical lectures from Lorcan Butler, Winfried Amoaku, Professor David Henson, Professor Nick Rumney, Matilda Biba and Professor James Wolffsohn covered topics including the latest research in OCT and insights to improve myopia management.
The six case discussion workshops were with some of the biggest names in primary practice with Edward Farrant, Andrew Thornton, Maged Nessim, Professor Paulo-Eduardo Stanga and Samer Elsherbiny as facilitators on the OCT-fest day. Sarrah Farrant facilitated the session on day two, ‘Myopia Monday’, and Topcon’s own clinical affairs specialist Danielle Lee ran the skills track.
The two peer reviews were with Keyur Patel and Sarah Farrant. Catherine Chisholm was one of the four panellists during the closing panel discussion who spoke on how to make myopia management work for you, along with Professor James Wolffsohn, Sarah Farrant and Professor Nick Rumney.
Held at the luxurious Celtic Manor Resort, the setting was exceptional. The Topcon team made my colleagues and I feel very welcome and looked after. The quality of the lectures was excellent, and it was lovely to catch up with some familiar faces.
The highlight for me was learning new clinical pearls when using OCT to investigate for signs of papilloedema as well as getting a more detailed overview of how we can use the equipment in practice to a further level when managing pathology.
It was also great to be provided with an overview of the current research that is ongoing regarding myopia and to have a small group discussion on using the Myah in practice to help aid management of these patients.
National OCT Conference website: https://topconhealthcare.eu/en_UK/events/national-oct-conference
