Leading providers in the eye healthcare sector, Optegra Eye Health Care and ZEISS, have successfully hosted their annual CPD-accredited symposium, ‘All Eyes on the Future’, bringing together experts from across the ophthalmic sector.
The symposium welcomed 90 attendees, including optometrists, nurses, healthcare technicians, and ophthalmic surgeons from both Optegra and third-party clinics across the UK.
They enjoyed an exceptional multidisciplinary event covering the latest developments in cataract surgery, age-related macular degeneration, emerging treatments for retinal diseases, next-generation glaucoma care, the role of AI in shaping the future of ophthalmology, and interactive refractive case discussions.
Optegra Zeiss Symposium in action.
Hosted at Conference Aston in Birmingham, the hands-on workshops were a highlight, including wet labs on cataract surgery and laser vision correction. Attendees also participated in peer review sessions covering acute referrals, independent prescribing, biometry, glaucoma, and corneal topography.
The engaging keynote speaker was Professor Dominik Fischer, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Vitreoretinal Surgeon at The Retina Clinic London and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and at the Centre for Ophthalmology, Tubingen, Germany. He provided insight into the future of retinal disease with some of his fascinating research. This included taking OCT scans at high altitude in poor weather conditions; and seeing the immediate impact of low oxygen on the delicate blood vessels and the back of the eye.
A line up of speakers comprising Optegra surgeons Mr Amir Hamid, Mr Sajjad Mahmood, Ms Nihal Elghryany, Professor Konstantinos Balaskas and Mr Shafiq Rehman – with topics from innovations in cataract workflows and IOL technologies, to implantable devices for blind eyes, to gene therapy for retinal disease, AI assisted monitoring for AMD and the latest in laser vision correction.
Prof Clare O'Donnell and Optegra suregon Fadi Alfaqawi at symposium.
Professor Clare O’Donnell, Head of Optegra Eye Sciences who collaborated with the team at ZEISS to bring the symposium to life, said: “We would like to thank everyone who attended and helped make ‘All Eyes on the Future’ such an inspiring and energising event. We have received such positive feedback including this from optometrist Peter Waite: ‘Thank you, Optegra, for your wonderful hospitality. It was a refreshing and inspirational series of lectures, with a practical hands-on workshop on the various facets of cataract surgery thrown in for good measure. Well done, Optegra — it was thoroughly enjoyable and, of course, educational! We hope to see you all again at next year’s event.”
Charlie Reed, Head of Strategy & Marketing for Surgical & Refractive Laser at ZEISS, commented on the event: “Once again, I was thrilled to see a full room of attendees from both private and public providers across the UK, all actively engaged in learning about the very latest technologies in ophthalmology.”
