Microsoft and LVPEI launched Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE) on 19 December 2016 - a global consortium to apply artificial intelligence for the elimination of avoidable blindness and scale delivery of eyecare services worldwide.

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Dignitaries at the launch included Ms Katherine B Hadda, US Consul General, Hyderabad; Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, IT, E&C Department, Govt of Telangana. Present from Microsoft were Mr Anil Bhansali and Mr Prashant Gupta, with Mr Joseph Sirosh, joining in with a video message. From LVPEI it was Dr Gullapalli N Rao and Dr Anthony Vipin Das. The partner organizations were represented by Dr Paulo Schor, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Dr Ravi Bakaraju, Brien Holden Vision Institute, Australia. Joining in on video call were Dr Rajeev Ramchandran, Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester, USA, and Dr Eduardo C Alfonso, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, USA.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South East Asia, formally inaugurated the ‘Institute for Vision Rehabilitation’ on 15 December 2016. LVPEI has rehabilitated over 140,000 blind and visually impaired persons across its network.

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For video link: Click here

The World Health Organization’s ‘Regional Expert Group Consultation: Accelerating Actions for Prevention of Blindness’, 13-15 December 2016, was inaugurated by Sri ESL Narasimhan, Hon’ble Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South East Asia was also present for the meetings.

#142 Palamaner Vision Centre was inaugurated on 23 December 2016 at Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh by Sri N Amarnath Reddy, Member of Legislative Assembly – Palamaner. Capital support for the centre is from OneSight Foundation.

#143 Rayachoti Vision Centre was inaugurated on 24 December 2016 at Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh by Sri Syed Sarfuddin Hussaini, Govt Sarkhaji and Dr S A K Hussaini, President, Shahi Jamiya Masjid Managing Committee, Rayachoti. Capital support for the centre is by OneSight Foundation and rent free premises are by the Shahi Jamia Masjid Managing Committee.

Three squint surgeries were performed by Dr Ramesh Kekunnaya on 8 December 2016 at Kuchakulla Ramachandra Reddy Eye Centre, Thoodukurthy, Nagarkurnool District, Telangana, the first at a secondary centre.

The sixth edition of the LVPEI Sightlife DSEK Skills Transfer Course, 30 November - 4 December 2016, had Dr Audrey Talley Rostov from Seattle, USA as international faculty, besides TKCI-LVPEI faculty, and 11 cornea specialists from across the country, including 7 TKCI fellows from across the network.

Videos

Awards & Honours

Jay Chhablani delivered the inaugural Ian Constable Lecture at the 10th Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society (APVRS) at Bangkok on 12 December 2016. His presentation discussed the clinical effects and economic impact of intravitreal Ziv-aflibercept.

Vivek Pravin Dave was conferred with the JM Pahwa award for the best free paper at the Vitreo-Retinal Society - India (VRSI) silver jubilee conference, 30 November - 4 December 2016 at Chandigarh.

Subhabrata Chakrabarti has been re appointed as a mentor for the 2017 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Global Mentorship program that began last year as an initiative to support and sustain the interest of junior researchers.

Uday Addepalli’s photograph ‘Bringing Smiles and Happiness by Providing Clear Vision’ was selected as the winner at APR (Annual Progress Review) 2016 at UNSW Optometry and Vision Science photo and video competition.

Research fellow Rajkishori Rana won the Narsing Rao best free paper award at the Uveitis Society of India’s annual meeting at Colombo for her paper ‘Normalised quantitative PCR in TB associated uveitis’.

Visitors & Updates

Prof Usha Chakravarthy, Professor, Institute for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Guest Lecture at Bhubaneswar campus: ‘Real World experiences in managing diabetic macular edema: Newer imaging modalities in diabetic retinopathy’; 6 December.

Dr Jyotirmay Biswas, Director, Sankara Nethralaya; Guest Lecture at Bhubaneswar campus: ‘My story in Uveitis’; 10 December.

Dr Christopher J Rapuano, Director & Co-Director, Refractive Surgery Department, Cornea Service, Wills Eye Hospital; Professor of Ophthalmology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University; Guest Lecture at Hyderabad campus: ‘Clinical Spectrum of Herpes simplex and Varicella zoster viruses of the anterior segment’; 14 December.

Prof Susana Marcos, Director, Visual Optics and Biophotonics Lab, CSIC - Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain; Guest Lecture

A Certificate Course in Evidence based Management of Diabetic Retinopathy (CCDR) was conducted in collaboration with Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for physicians and ophthalmologists.

- At GMR Varalakshmi campus, Visakhapatnam on 18 December 2016, by Dr Hegde Sharat, Consultant Vitreo-retina, LVPEI and Dr KAV Subramanyam, Endocrinologist.

- At Kallam Anji Reddy campus, Hyderabad on 25 December 2016 by Dr Padmaja Kumari Rani, Consultant Vitreo-retina, LVPEI and Dr Sahay, a leading Endocrinologist.

Eye screening programs were organized for:

- Staff and workers of Harmony Foods Pvt Ltd, Visakhapatnam on 17 December 2016.

- Advocates of Machilipatnam, Krishna District, at the Lawyers’ Chamber, on 21 December 2016.

Faculty members Ashutosh Richhariya and Jay Chhablani, along with researchers from IISER-Kolkata and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, have developed an analytical method to distinguish diseased retinal tissues from healthy ones. Using the code, the strength of multifractals (certain complex repeating patterns in biological tissues) were found to be significantly higher in diseased retinal layers than in healthy ones. Multifractal analysis has the potential for early detection of eye diseases such as diabetic macular edema, where high blood pressure damages blood vessels.

Visitors & Updates

at Hyderabad campus: ‘Optical technologies in ophthalmology: From bench to clinical applications’; 16 December.

Dr Raja Narsing Rao, Co-Founder & Director, Prerna Anesthesia Critical Care Services, Guest Lecture at Hyderabad campus: ‘How different is Resuscitation in Pediatric patient as compared to Adult’; 17 December.

Ms Pushpa Vijayaraghavan, Director, Sadhguru Management Consultants; Guest Lecture at Hyderabad campus: ‘Overview of draft IP Policy’; 21 December.

Dr Vyas Akondi, Marie Curie Cofund Post Doctoral Researcher, Visual Optics and Biophotonics Lab, Madrid, Spain; Guest Lecture at Hyderabad campus: ‘Wavefront sensing and aberration compensation in ophthalmic applications’; 30 December.

Dr Umang Mathur, Shroff Charitable Eye Hospital, New Delhi; Dr Ashi Khurana, CL Gupta Eye Institute, Moradabad; Dr Deepshikha Agarwal, MGM Eye Institute, Raipur; Dr Ajay Kulkarni, Manorama Eye Care, Nagpur; Dr David Pudukadan, Little Flower Hospital, Angamally; Dr Paras Mehta, Sameep Eye Care, Baroda; Dr Narayan Bordoloi, Chandra Prabha Eye Hospital, Jorhat; Dr Vikas Mittal, Sanjeevini Eye Care, Ambala; Dr Hitendra Ahooja, Ahooja Eye & Dental Institute, Gurugram; Dr Bhaskar Roy Chowdary, CMRI Hospital, Kolkata; Dr Bade Ogundipe, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Dr Rikin Shah, Al Nahdha Eye Hospital, Muscat, Oman; Dr Millicent C Bore, University of Nairobi, Kenya; Dr Nindya Lubis, Cicendo Eye Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia; For the 1st anniversary of TKCI; 3 December.

Dr Audrey Rostov, Northwest Eye Surgeons, Seattle, USA; Dr Saba Al-Hashimi, Ophthalmologist, Los Angeles, USA; For the DSEK Workshop; 19 - 22 December 2016.

Ms Smita Bellur, Classical Vocalist; Performance at Hyderabad campus: ‘Mystic Verses: The songs of Sufis, Saints and Yogis’; 29 December.

Our Support in December