That's precisely what the Brits are beginning to ask themselves, according to a new study. A vast majority of Brits (66%) believe that opticians are ripping them off, and 25% believe that their opticians pressured them into buying prescription eyewear.

In case you were thinking that British opticians were ruffians and hooligans, think again. The study notes that the problem has nothing to do with morality and everything to do with language. Apparently opticians use too much jargon (industry speak) and confuse their customers.

The story is receiving extensive play in the British press.  

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:33 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 31 July 2010 7:38 AM EDT
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Imagine CLs that record your body temp. With the use of nanotechnology, NASA researchers are putting biosensors into CLs. Professor Babak Parviz will present "What If Your Contact Lens Could Show You Images." Parviz will provide an overview of the process it took to build contact lenses.The presentation will be August 3 in the Reid Conference Center at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 6:35 AM EDT
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Some 29 volunteer ophthalmologists examined 499 individuals recently as part of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's first EyeSmart EyeCheck vision screening, a program created to detect eye disease and visual impairment. Because of findings from research conducted by the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES) revealed that Latinos have higher rates of visual impairment, the AAO decided to offer its first EyeSmart program at the Family Health Fair hosted by Lady Queen of Angels Church in downtown Los Angeles. More than 50 percent of the patients were afflicted by some type of visual impairment and 70 percent needed follow-up care.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 9:04 AM EDT
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Four percent of the world's population is blind or vision impaired, even though 80 percent of the blindness is avoidable. For example, a good deal of blindness is the result of trachoma, which affects 84 million people, annually leaving 8 million visually impaired, and river blindness, which infects 18 million people, resulting in blindness for more than a quarter million. The lives of 153 million people, who have no access to eye care, could be changed dramatically.

That could change on October 14 with international support from optometrists and opticians. If you think you may want to help Vision 2020, you can get the low-down by using this link.

Participants in the program include IAPB (International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness), World Blind Union (WBU), International Council of Opthamology, Merck & Company, Carl Zeiss, Light for the World, International Centre for Eyecare Education, and many more. 

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 7:44 AM EDT
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You might be surprised at the finding of a recent study: "Different disinfecting solutions used during storage of silicone hydrogel lenses result in different levels and types of contamination." That's the report on the OSN Super Site. "The unnamed study examined 232 participants wearing one or more of three silicone hydrogel lenses and using one or more of four contact lens solutions. At one month follow-up, between 76% and 92% of all cases were contaminated. Researchers found use of different contact lenses did not affect the contamination rate or the types of microbes," reports the site, home of several ocular journals.Go to the site for more details.

A similar study was concluded about two years ago in Israel with similar results.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 9:54 PM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:14 PM EDT
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The Journal of Consumer Research has discovered the smaller the logo, the higher the retail price. "Only 28 percent of the sunglasses that cost $600 or more had a visible logo as opposed to 87 percent of the sunglasses that cost $100 to $200," according to a story from Bnet.com. The conclusion: The not-rich buy status, the rich buy quality.

In another JCR study, researchers found out that Consumers remember the sounds of numbers in prices and associate certain sounds with value. The researchers studied the ability of number-sounds to convey meaning and influence price perceptions.

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 9:46 PM EDT
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Luxottica's CEO, Andrea Guerra, noted that as the company comes off the second quarter with record sales and profits, he is looking forward to the rest of the year, according to a story in Vision Monday. Reportedly its North American retail brands did well except for Pearle.

The article also noted: "Guerra cited about 10 'special projects' that are underway, designed to help boost second-half results. Included among those are the wholesale division’s upcoming launches of the Chanel Bouton, Prada Swing, Tiffany Key and Burberry April shower eyewear collections. On the retail side, LensCrafters is preparing a strong back-to-school promotional effort, according to Guerra, who also expects sales gains to be generated by the new Sunglass Hut store design launched in April."

Posted by ct3/opticalceu at 6:36 AM EDT
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