Eye surgeons and medical technology innovators took the ‘operating theatre’ to Australian Parliament House (APH) earlier this month.
The Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (ASO) hosted its second Eye Surgery Showcase at APH, where participants learned how ophthalmologists and the medical technology industry are working together to save the sight of Australians.
A media release from the ASO said the event was opened by co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Eye Health Group, Ms Libby Coker MP and Senator for Victoria, Ms Jane Hume.
A welcome address was delivered by Associate Professor Kris Rallah-Baker, Australia’s first Indigenous ophthalmologist.
Medical technology innovators Alcon, Apellis, Astellas, Device Technologies, Glaukos, Lumibird Medical,
Rayner, and ZEISS brought the tech, with local Canberra ophthalmologists guiding politicians through complex eye surgery.
ASO CEO Ms Katrina Ronne said ophthalmologists were leaders in addressing eye health diseases and conditions through surgical intervention.
“Close to one in two Australians have one or more long-term eye conditions that impact upon the quality of their day-to-day life,” Ronne said.
“A further nine in 10 of us say that sight is our most valued sense, yet an estimated 90% of all cases of blindness and vision impairment in Australia are preventable.
“This showcase puts the leading causes of blindness and vision impairment – cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and geographic atrophy – under the microscope with the added benefit of first-hand exposure to ‘experience’ eye surgery to truly understand it,” she said.
ASO president Dr Peter Sumich said the rate of unaddressed and treatable blindness and vision impairment would continue to increase in Australia if something did not change.
“By bringing global leaders in medical technology and local Canberra-based eye surgeons together at Australian Parliament House, we are taking a hands-on, experience-it-yourself approach to educating our elected representatives and healthcare policymakers on what is at stake,” he said.
“It is an opportunity for them to speak to the medical technology industry and everyday eye surgeons to learn how they can better support the constituents in their local electorate or state.”
The ASO said it was aiming to increase understanding of the prevalence of eye disease, awareness of the critical role of ophthalmologists in access to world-class eye health technology and surgical treatments, and appreciation of the innovative surgical technologies used in the prevention of blindness in Australia.
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