Equipment advances on show at 100% Optical

New and returning equipment suppliers exhibited at 100% Optical earlier this month to showcase some of their latest products to practitioners (6–8 February, ExCeL London).

During the show, Carl Zeiss Meditec displayed its Visucam 224 fundus camera, which business development manager, Claire Martin, confirmed is already proving to be popular.

Exhibiting at the show for the first time, Birmingham Optical was on-hand to discuss established, popular and new products with visitors. Labelled as their “key product” by the company’s head of marketing, Zoe Smith, on display was its OCT, as well as the Nidek Tonoref III.

OCT devices were a reoccurring highlight for many exhibitors, with Haag-Streit also showcasing its AngioVue, which includes OCT angiography.

Explaining OCT angiography, Haag-Streit UK national sales manager, Graham Wood, said: “OCT angiography provides the ability to measure blood flow non-invasively in seconds. Traditional methods would involve an injection of dye into the arm which can cause nausea, so the ability for clinicians to measure blood flow non-invasively, very fast to track pathology, is a real big advancement in ophthalmology.”

During the three-day show, Scope Ophthalmics launched its Omega Eye Liquid, which its product specialist, Amy Liddell, said complements its capsules and helps treat the body from within.

For Bausch & Lomb, the show provided a platform to launch a dry eye kit, which includes its Artelac drops, Artelac night-time gel, Biotrue lid wipes and an eye mask.

Education

Both Carl Zeiss and Heidelberg Engineering combined an exhibition presence with education during the show.

Speaking about the lunch and learn sessions hosted by Carl Zeiss, Ms Martin said: “They have been really popular.”

On the Sunday evening of the show, Heidelberg Engineering launched its optometric faculty.

Speaking about the establishment of the faculty, national account manager for optometry at Heidelberg Engineering, Mike Riley, explained: “The optometry faculty is for like-minded opticians who own the Spectralis, who have had them in the practice for a few years, and are keen to learn from each other."

He added: “It’s also an opportunity for new and prospective Spectralis owners to communicate with these people about how they made it work to drive business. It’s communication around Spectralis as a model to allow more people access to it.”