PROSE Archives

BostonSight Expands Professional Roles of Needham, MA, PROSE Treatment Providers

New Roles Reflect Contributions to BostonSight’s Mission Needham, Mass. –April 20, 2021 – BostonSight®, a nonprofit eye healthcare organization and research center dedicated to saving sight and improving quality of life for patients, announced today they have expanded the roles of their Needham, MA, PROSE™ Treatment providers. The new roles reflect the providers’ commitment to the organization’s mission to further education and research that will benefit eye care practitioners and improve patient care. Each practitioner will continue to provide exceptional patient-centered care at the Needham, MA, clinic. Dr. Alan Kwok, OD, FAAO, FSLS has been named Director of PROSE Network Clinical Relationships. Dr. Kwok is responsible for organizing, developing, and supporting educational initiatives with PROSE Network Providers across the country, and promoting a better understanding of PROSE Treatment and the ocular surface. Dr. Bita Asghari, OD, FAAO has been named Associate Director of Clinical Education. Dr. Asghari is passionate about furthering clinical education through publications, seminars, and webinars. She recently published a patient case study in Contamac’s Global Insight, where she discussed correcting higher-order aberrations in a patient fit with scleral lenses. Dr. Asghari was also nominated as a 2021 Top Doc by the National Keratoconus Foundation. Dr. Chirag Patel, OD, FAAO has been named Associate Director of Innovative Technologies. Dr. Patel has a keen interest in product development and technology, including lens design. He is currently working on product initiatives and is helping to launch BostonSight’s Smart360™ empirical fitting technology early this summer. About BostonSight® [...]

2024-04-03T12:01:26-04:00April 20, 2021|PROSE, Press Release|

Airline Cabin Air Negatively Impacts Dry Eye: Strategies for Coping

Many of us travel by plane for business or pleasure. With COVID vaccines ramping up, it’s expected we’ll see airline travel begin to increase soon. If you have dry eye or use BostonSight PROSE devices or scleral lenses, air travel can be challenging due to the recirculated dry cabin air. A little extra planning and preparation before catching a flight can help ensure a safe and comfortable vacation without interruption from eye health concerns. Impact on your dry eye symptoms If you have dry eye and have traveled by plane, you probably noticed an impact on your symptoms. A March 2013 study in the Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science journal took a close look at the impact of in-flight cabin air on dry eye disease. Researchers developed a controlled environment to simulate airline cabin conditions (23°C, 5% relative humidity, localized airflow, and 750 mb of barometric pressure) as well as a standard controlled environment for comparison (23°C, 45% relative humidity, and 930 mb). Study subjects with diagnosed dry eye disease spent time in these environments. Before and after the exposures, subjects answered dry eye symptom questionnaires and underwent diagnostic tests to determine the environmental impact on their eyes. After exposure to the airline cabin environment, dry eye patients were more symptomatic and experienced a decrease in tear stability and volume. Based on these findings, researchers advise dry eye patients to use therapeutic strategies to minimize the impact of air travel on their eyes. Simple strategies Some suggestions for more comfortable [...]

2024-04-03T14:17:59-04:00March 8, 2021|PROSE, Blog Posts|

PROSE Patient, Alyssa Carfi, is Inspired to Support Others Through the Brave Minds Project

Alyssa Carfi had a brainstem cavernoma, a condition where blood vessels are clustered together, and in her case, lodged deep in her brainstem. The condition caused bleeding in her brainstem three times: when she was 12, 15, and 18 years old. On the third occurrence, her doctors knew they had to try to remove it before it caused further damage. Just three days after graduating high school, Alyssa went in for surgery. Alyssa, standing, with Dr. Michelle Lee, and a PROSE patient who received financial support from Brave Minds. Based on their location, brainstem cavernomas can cause significant surgical challenges. Alyssa’s cavernoma bled near her 6th and 7th cranial nerves, which affected her right eye and smile. Following her surgery, Alyssa’s right eye rotated in toward her nose, and she had facial paralysis, affecting her eyelid and ability to open and close her right eye. She underwent strabismus surgery to center her eye, and had weights put into her upper lid to help with the closure, but she was still unable to blink, leaving her right eyelid permanently open, day and night. This left her eye exposed to debris, sun, and wind, causing irritation and dryness, and risk of ongoing damage and pain. For two years, Alyssa used eye drops and serums constantly. She would go through a large box of drops in days. She and her family saw more than 10 doctors at various hospitals and in various states, looking for a better way to live. She [...]

2024-04-04T13:53:44-04:00January 29, 2021|PROSE, Blog Posts|