Paris, France (November 19, 2024) – EssilorLuxottica, in partnership with the World Council of Optometry (WCO), is pleased to announce a virtual event with a series of live sessions, titled ‘Presbyopia and Aging Eye’ from December 4-6, 2024. This initiative builds on EssilorLuxottica and WCO’s commitment to establishing a global standard of care for presbyopia, which was launched to provide comprehensive guidelines for eye care practitioners. This educational series will provide them with the tools to adopt these standards in their practices, enhancing patient outcomes.

The virtual event aims to elevate awareness and education on the mitigation, measurement, and management of presbyopia and aging eye care. The event will feature three live sessions designed to enhance understanding and improve care standards for eye care practitioners worldwide, featuring insights from nine internationally renowned speakers recognized for their expertise in the field. Each live session will be hosted on EssilorLuxottica’s learning platform, Leonardo (link).

Event Overview: Presbyopia and Aging Eye

- Session 1 - Presbyopia and Aging Eye: Mitigation on Dec 4, 2024, at 9:00, 13:00 and 19:00 CET

This session will explore the public health impact of presbyopia, focusing on the latest research, prevalence, and key factors like physiological and psychological changes.
Hosts: Dr. Sandra Block (USA), Olga Prenat (France), Dimple Zala (UK), Dr. Cindy Tromans (UK)
Speakers: Prof. Fan Lu (China), Tim Fricke (Australia), Prof. Kovin Naidoo (South Africa)

- Session 2 - Presbyopia and Aging Eye: Measurement on Dec 5, 2024, at 9:00, 13:00 and 19:00 CET

This session will focus on the visual needs related to lifestyle and how to effectively measure presbyopia's impact to provide tailored vision solutions.
Hosts: Dimple Zala (UK), Dr. Cindy Tromans (UK)
Speakers: Prof. Pete Kollbaum (USA), Prof. Monica Chaudhry (India), Prof. Shehzad Naroo (UK), Prof. Leon Davies (UK)

- Session 3 - Presbyopia and Aging Eye: Management on Dec 6, 2024, at 9:00, 13:00 and 19:00 CET

The final session in the series takes a deep dive into presbyopia management, exploring the various vision correction options suited to individual visual and lifestyle needs.
Hosts: Dimple Zala (UK), Dr. Cindy Tromans (UK)
Speakers: Dr. Nicolas Gilberg (USA), Prof. José Manuel González-Méijome (Portugal), Grant Hannaford (Australia)

Building on the Global Standard of Care

“This initiative with WCO represents a vital step in supporting eye care practitioners to adopt evidence-based best practices in managing presbyopia,” said Olga Prenat, Head of Medical and Professional Affairs, at EssilorLuxottica. “By enhancing understanding of the needs and challenges of presbyopes, we can collectively address this public health issue and improve patient outcomes.”

WCO President Dr. Sandra Block said, "Presbyopia and aging issues are problems that we expect all of our patients to experience. The World Council of Optometry is excited to partner with EssilorLuxottica to bring the current state of care supported by the most up-to-date evidence to best serve our patient's needs.”

Registration Information

Professionals interested in attending can register for the series of live sessions on the Leonardo learning platform at this link. Join this important conversation about presbyopia and the aging eye as the industry works together to elevate eye care standards worldwide and support eye care practitioners to improve eye health outcomes globally.

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE