This month we will feature how to design, fit, evaluate and troubleshoot corneal GP lenses, including spherical and toric designs. An overview of my webinar on June 14^th will be provided, our first in a series of complimentary COPE-approved courses to occur through the end of the year. We are hoping to initiate our GPLI Eye Care Professional membership program at that time which will include complimentary COPE continuing education. It is evident that how to properly fit and evaluate corneal GP lenses is important for a number of reasons including their multifocal, irregular cornea, and orthokeratology applications as well as serving as an important foundation for scleral lens success. We will also highlight several of our online spherical and toric lens resources. Finally, we will recognize the passing of a true contact lens icon, John De Carle.

On Monday, June 27^th, contact lens pioneer and innovator John De Carle passed away at the age of 96. For anyone with even a passing interest in contact lens correction of presbyopia, he is a household name. He was a true pioneer in rigid bifocal lenses with the introduction in the mid 1950s of what is now termed the “De Carle Bifocal”. It consisted of a corneal concentric lens design with a center-distance portion. However, his legacy is primarily a result of the fact that he is truly the “Father of Extended Wear”. He developed the principles and the material composition that ultimately resulted in the introduction of the first US Food and Drug Administration approved soft extended wear lens in 1981, the Permalens from CooperVision. His numerous honors include receiving the highest honor from the American Optometric Association’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section, the Dr. Donald R. Korb Award, as well as the Founders Award from the American Academy of Optometry’s Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies.

The GPLI would like to acknowledge Advisory Board members Craig Norman and Patrick Caroline and former Advisory Board member Mark Andre, who were the co-recipients of the American Optometry Association Contact Lens and Cornea Section Achievement Award given in recognition of outstanding contribution to the optometric profession in the area of contact lenses and eye care.

(Pssst...Beth would also like to give a shout out to our beloved Dr. Ed Bennett for his National Optometry Hall of Fame induction! He was in good company – with the other 2022 inductees being Drs. Joe Barr, Charles Brownlow, and Don  Williamson.)

Drs. Ed Bennett and Joe Barr,

photo courtesy Dr. Tom Quinn

L to R: Dr. Tom Quinn, Dr. Glenda Secor, Patrick Caroline, Dr. Ed Bennett, Craig Norman, and Dr. Jean Bennett

STAY CONNECTED