Mortimer Hirst Welcomes New Optometrist

Mortimer Hirst is delighted to welcome Optometrist Emilie Langley to the clinical team. Emilie has worked part time for Mortimer Hirst over the past two year and has recently joined us full time. Emilie is a Therapeutically Qualified Optometrist and works from both High Street and St Heliers practices.

Emilie completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science majoring in Functional Human Biology, studying at the University of Otago. The neurophysiology that Emilie was exposed to during the biomedical degree along with Emilie’s passion for working with and helping people were the driving forces to further study Optometry.

Emilie then completed her second degree, Bachelor of Optometry with Honours and Ocular Therapeutics, from the Department of Optometry and Vision Science (DOVS), University of Auckland.

Emilie tailored her Optometry studies around her interest in myopia progression and Orthokeratology (OrthoK).

In 2011, Emilie was chosen to be part of the Antipodeans Abroad Healthcare Volunteer Team to Nepal. This included Rural Outreach clinics and a 6 week internship at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Optometry and Ophthalmology Department, Pokhara, Nepal.

In 2012, Emilie was awarded a summer studentship scholarship from the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO) to help further research the theory of myopia progression inhibition, which her results are contributing to a paper that is soon to be published.

In 2014, Emilie was part of a team that completed leading research on OrthoK regression, supervised by Grant Watters and Dr. Wanda Lam, which won a New Zealand College of Optometrists (NZCO) award.

Emilie is a member of the NZAO and the Cornea and Contact Lens Society (CCLS). Emilie has a particular interest in contact lens practice including Ortho-K and ocular therapeutics.

Honorary Appointment

The team at Mortimer Hirst would like to congratulate Optometrist, Contact Lens Specialist and Business Partner Grant Watters on his latest appointment “Honorary Academic in Optometry and Vision Science” at the Department of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland (DOVS).

Grant has been involved with the University dating back to the mid 1980’s when Grant accepted the position of Visiting Lecturer. At this time Grant was also training and an examiner to the Optometry students. In early 2000 Grant was promoted to Visiting Senior Lecturer and in 2010 oversaw undergraduate student projects through DOVS, Clinical Research Outreach Programme for final year optometry students. Most recently Grant supervised final year projects for final year undergraduates.

Earlier this year Grant was also appointed as an “Honorary Research Fellow” in the Dept. of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland, working with Associate Professor Jennifer Craig on a project to develop a novel new Manuka Honey-based eyelid cream to treat Blepharitis (inflamed eyelids).

Mortimer Hirst Websites

Mortimer Hirst has a number of professional web sites, we thought we would use this opportunity to share / remind you of them all as listed below:

The Official Mortimer Hirst web site: www.mortimerhirst.co.nz

The Official Mortimer Hirst OrthoK web site, OrthoK is also referred to as :Myopia Control, Orthokeratology, Corneal Refractive Therapy and O.K: www.orthok.co.nz

Optometrist, Contact Lens Specialist and Business Partner Grant Watters professional web site: www.grantwatters.co.nz

Optometrist and Contact Lens Specialist Varny Ganesalingam professional web site: www.varnyganesalingam.co.nz

Optometrist and Contact Lens Specialist Kerry Atkinson professional web site: www.kerryatkinson.co.nz

Optometrist and Contact Lens Specialist Alan Saks professional web site: www.alansaks.co.nz

And finally coming soon is our new web site dedicated to Keratoconus, Mortimer Hirst has specialised in Keratoconus since its inception. This is continued today with our industry leading Optometrists and Contact Lens Specialists: www.mykeratoconus.co.nz

NEW TECHNOLOGY CONTACT LENS NOW AT MORTIMER HIRST

As a pioneering contact lens practice since the 1940s, Mortimer Hirst continues to practise at the leading edge of contact lens care. We are regularly asked to participate in clinical and premarket contact lens trials for the world’s leading contact lens manufacturers.

We are pleased to advise that we are one of the few practices in Australasia who have been fitting and supplying the latest breakthrough in contact lenses.

Dailies Total 1 from ALCON is a unique daily disposable contact lens that has gained widespread acclaim and superior results in Europe over the past two years. It has in fact been so successful that the manufacturers had difficulty meeting demand. Despite our repeated requests to obtain this lens it was delayed until such time that supply could be guaranteed.

Dailies Total 1 has a unique ‘gradient water content’ where the lens ‘core’ consists of a high oxygen transmitting silicone-hydrogel material which then gradually transitions to a high water content (over 80% water) hydrogel surface. Like a surrounding envelope. This unique structure makes for a lens which has a very smooth, highly lubricated surface. The lens has been shown - in our experience and by colleagues overseas - to provide improved comfort and reduced dryness throughout the wearing day while providing excellent vision and deposit resistance.

Value for money, hassle free convenience, improved safety, compliance, reduced allergic reactions and deposits that single use lenses provide, are additional benefits.
If you are thinking about contact lenses or have symptoms of dryness , discomfort or variable vision with your regular disposable or other one day disposables, please make an appointment to see one of our contact lens specialists. As part of our usual thorough optometric examination, we will assess your suitability for Dailies Total 1 and fit and provide some trial lenses so you can judge for yourself.

At present Dailies Total 1 lenses are only available for myopic (short-sighted) eyes requiring ‘minus’ lenses but we expect hyperopic (farsighted) ‘plus’ lenses later in 2014 and potentially astigmatism correcting (toric) lenses and presbyopia correcting multifocals in  2015.

SynergEyes hybrid Contact Lens improves Keratoconus comfort

The exciting new SynergEyes™ hybrid contact lens for keratoconus: I have finally got this into New Zealand with already fantastic results. This innovative design incorporates an 8mm rigid centre zone to provide crisp vision, and a 3mm soft “skirt” all around to provide soft lens comfort. This lens does not slip around like a traditional (small) rigid contact lens and gives very stable vision. It is available on the NZ contact lens subsidy and is no more expensive to replace than normal lenses. Please look at http://www.synergeyes.com/ for more information.

Latest news on Ortho-K

Recent research in Sydney has strengthened the evidence that Ortho-K lenses slow down progressive myopia (short-sightedness) in teenage children. These specially shaped rigid lenses are worn overnight to re-shape the cornea in a non-invasive and reversible fashion, to provide clear vision the next day without spectacles or normal contact lenses. They are excellent for correcting mild to moderate myopia up to about -4.00DS, and now with the bonus that we can intervene with deteriorating vision for the first time. Please look at http://www.paragoncrt.com/ for more information.