To help our members get access to CPD, our Seminar Series is now being delivered online.  Join expert speakers as they deliver presentations on a variety of current clinical topics at the ACO Seminar Series. Free to members, these events are held throughout the year providing an opportunity to expand your knowledge. Members can also access the lectures online one week after the event free of charge.

Due to the ACO’s Therapeutic Refresher Course on 28 May, the seminar series is taking a break in May and will return in June

Neuroadaptation

Dr Alex Ioannidis

Tuesday 13 June 2023

7:30pm to 8:30pm AEST

Without overlooking physics and chemistry, as optometrists we often think of ourselves as biologists or even neurobiologists. But are we really just neuroadaptation specialists?

Neuroadaptation is the process by which the brain is able to adjust to a new input, substance or condition. Neuroadaptation in the visual system can be either maladaptive or disruptive, such as aniseikonia symptoms with multifocal spectacle lenses, or can be harnessed to achieve functional visual solutions, such as monovision in contact lens wear.

This presentation will also discuss how the visual system interacts with other physiological and psychological inputs during neuroadaptation. Using insights derived from the integration of new intraocular lens technologies into routine clinical practice, this analysis will describe common neuroadaptive challenges including new additive visual stimuli, such as floaters, and subtractive visual stimuli, such as visual acuity and visual field losses. Clinical insights will highlight how as optometrists we can refine our approach to managing neuroadaptation to maximise the clinical benefit for both patients and practitioners.

Artificial Intelligence and Glaucoma: Enhancing Patient Care in Optometry

Tim Murphy

Tuesday 18 April 2023

7:30pm to 8:30pm AEST

The artificial intelligence (AI) in chatGPT has made many creative professionals such as writers and editors nervous for their long-term job stability. Does the use of AI in glaucoma diagnosis and management mean that optometrists should have similar shivers of insecurity concerning the integration of AI into everyday glaucoma clinical routines? Tim Murphy is exploring the clinical utility and adaptability of AI in glaucoma care through his PhD studies at Deakin University and will share his insights into why AI can help not hinder the continuing clinical development of optometry as a profession.

Climate Change and Eye Care

Mitasha Yu

Tuesday 21 March 2023

7:30pm to 8:30pm AEDT

Note: Due to high interest in this important topic, this seminar is open to non-members. Non-members will be required to self-log CPD points and will not have access to additional CPD from MCQs.

Register here.

Climate change is affecting every aspect of human health, and eye care is no exception. Climate change could drag more than 100 million people back into extreme poverty by 2030, with much of this leading to negative impacts on health. Health impacts resulting from climate change include the effect of extreme weather events, worsening air quality, changes in the spread of infectious diseases, threats to food and water quality and supply, and the secondary impact of climate change events on our mental health. Optometrists and eye care professionals need to have an awareness of how climate change can affect their everyday practice, and the simple measures that optometrists can take now to reduce the impact of climate change and build their resilience to the effects of climate change.

ACO Case study presentations

Georgina Liapis, Scott Panozza, Christa Sipos-Ori

Tuesday 21 February 2023

7:30pm to 8:30pm AEST

The ACO’s commitment to provide high impact public eye care that is accessible and welcoming to all is reflected in our diverse and complex patient base. These case studies are presented by ACO optometrists Georgina Liapis, Scott Panozza and Christa Sipos-Ori, detailing the optometric management of transient ischaemic attack, post-graft RGP fitting, and differential diagnosis of constricted visual fields respectively.