Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry
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The three-dimensional optometer (TDO III) was used to measure accommodative responses when gazing at a spotlight that changed its diameter in an otherwise completely dark room. Three emmetropic females served as subjects and the stimuli were presented at 33 cm (-3 D) from the subjects. ⋯ This means that the eye accommodated less, although the spotlight was felt to be nearer, and contradicts the common belief based on the subjectively measured data reported earlier. By conducting several supplemental experiments, we infer that this phenomenon comes from the effort in reducing accommodation lag dynamically in order to see the smaller target more clearly.
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Defining the scope of practice of optometry is difficult, but important for the profession and optometric education. Even though the scope of practice can be defined in various ways and is constantly changing, the schools and colleges of optometry must have some sense of the boundaries of the profession in order to develop educational programs which will prepare students to practice well into the future. The use of three-dimensional diagrammatic models creates a visual representation of the elements which define the scope of practice. Additionally, these models can assist schools and colleges to improve their understanding of the various dynamics which must be considered in developing the most appropriate methods to analyze the competencies required for entry into the practice of optometry.
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Part 1 of this report presents an overview of U. S. ophthalmic research in general and of optometry research in particular and identifies the National Eye Institute (NEI) as the dominant funder of both types of research. Part 2 examines how NEI funding has been distributed among the U. ⋯ Information is presented to indicate that the schools of optometry account for about 3% of all NEI funding and produce about 3% of all published ophthalmic research. Published optometry research results mainly from the activities of four schools and the VA Optometry Service, which has rapidly become the leading source of articles published in The Journal of the American Optometric Association and presenter of continuing education at the Academy's annual Ellerbrock Lectures. This study suggests optometry needs to husband its relatively small research base and, in the author's opinion, concentrate on the support of clinical trials and research directly relevant to primary eye care rather than basic biologic or physiologic research.
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Recently the American Academy of Optometry conducted a 2-year trial in which abstracts submitted for presentation at the Annual Meeting could be transmitted to the Academy in electronic form. Electronic submission has many advantages for the author as well as for the Academy and therefore has now been endorsed as the preferred method of submission for future meetings. Step-by-step procedures for electronic submission are described.
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We studied the changes in retinal correspondence for 32 constant strabismic patients whose ocular alignment was altered either surgically or spontaneously over a period of time. Patients having normal retinal correspondence (N = 10) generally maintained normal correspondence after the change in ocular alignment. ⋯ For the patients who developed normal correspondence, the direction of the strabismus also changed. We conclude that normalization of retinal correspondence is more likely to occur in strabismic deviations that are overcorrected.