Alumni News

The PCO at Salus University booth was not only well attended at this year’s American Optometric Association meeting in Orlando, it was well manned. Joining development director Lynne Corboy and Heather Giampapa, director of alumni relations and annual giving, were Dr. Maria Parisi and Dr. Satya Verma, director and associate director of PCO’s externship program; Janice Mignogna, director of the Bennett Center for Practice Management and Melissa Padilla, director of the Office of Professional Development and international programs. Additionally, Dr. Anthony F. Di Stefano and Dr. William Monaco were on hand to promote the University’s new all distance education Master of Public Health degree program, which begins in November.

PCO scored well in the student Varilux Essilor Quiz Bowl championship, with our challenger Ian McWherter ’12, cheered on by fellow students, finishing third.

PCO entertainers were also a conference hit, with karaoke performances by University president, Dr. Thomas L. Lewis and PCO dean, Dr. Linda Casser. Dr. Lewis, with Dr. Arol Augsburger, ICO president and Dr. John Amos, former dean of UAB College of Optometry, did an encore of their performance last year. Dr. Casser performed a new number this year, “Be an OD,” (to the tune of “YMCA”).

PCO faculty and staff with roles at this year’s AOA meeting included: Pierrette Dayhaw-Barker, PhD, PCO’s designated representative to the Chief Academic Officers Meeting, Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO); Mary Jameson, CPOT, CPOA presenter at the Paraoptometric Education meeting; Shital Mani, OD, PCO representative at the Optometric Residency Forum; Maria Parisi, OD, Satya Verma, OD, and Andrew Buzzelli, OD, MS, PCO’s External Education and Advanced Studies representatives, and Anne-Marie Lahr, OD, who presented “Ophthalmic Troubleshooting” at the Paraoptometric Education meeting and “Oh! The Pressure!” at the Paraoptometric Education meeting. (With thanks to Dr. Linda Casser for PCO's AOA attendee information).

PLEASE NOTE: The University’s camera was lost at AOA. If you would share your photos of PCO alumni, faculty, staff and students at AOA (for our website/alumni magazine), we’d appreciate it. Please send to pshelly@salus.edu. Thank you!

Congratulations Dr. Gilda Crozier ’43

Several faculty and alumni contacted us with the information that Dr. Gilda Crozier ’43, retired PCO faculty member, is now the American Academy of Optometry’s longest active female member, as reported in Hindsight, a publication of the Optometric Historical Society.

Over the course of almost three decades as The Eye Institute’s educational program coordinator, Cathie Muhr proved to be a constant in the lives of 5,000 students and 348 residents. Since her arrival in 1981, Cathie’s cheerful demeanor, humor and sense of fun were constants for her many co-workers who, while happy for Cathie, will miss her greatly.

Friends and colleagues were able to celebrate Cathie at a reception held in Elkins Park last month. University president, Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, PCO dean Dr. Linda Casser, and TEI executive director and vice president for patient care, Dr. Susan Oleszewski each spoke of Cathie’s dedication and the impact she has had on people and programs at TEI, PCO and now Salus.

Cathie spoke to the guests and expressed her gratitude for the opportunities she had been given, telling her friends and co-workers that they had become her second family.  

Snellen Chart Scoring Aid

The most common clinical measurement of visual function is visual acuity, measured by means of a Snellen chart.  Recently, its use has been expanded not only to measure visual acuity, but also to measure the progress of disease or the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. In a test-retest mode however, the main difficulty with a Snellen chart is the lack of a precise scoring system. Traditional line-by-line scoring typically requires only that 50-80% of the letters in a line be identified correctly in order to score a successful reading of the entire line. Thus, the variability in line-by-line scoring is inherently high.  When letter-by-letter scoring (which inherently has a lower variability) is used, test-retest visual acuity measurements are known to be - up to a factor of two - more precise.

We have developed a unique method of scoring Snellen chart responses through the use of LogMAR transformations that account for each letter read. The final, cumulative letter-by-letter LogMAR value is converted into an effective Snellen fraction. The mathematical processes are embedded in an EXCEL-based tool and are transparent to the practicing clinician. This letter-by-letter, LogMAR-based, scoring tool is available from this web site. In addition, the tool has a similar ETDRS spread sheet for those who use ETDRS charts.

We have designed this tool for clinicians, who are untrained in LogMAR use, so that they can: 1) apply these visual acuity data as a refined diagnostic tool, 2) assess progression of eye disease, or 3) quantify the efficacy of treatment of certain pathological eye conditions with greater precision.  Potentially, this tool has broad applications for clinicians who, for a variety of reasons, have been hesitant to incorporate LogMAR principles into their clinical patient databases. Moreover, this tool has possible beneficial medico-legal implications. It could protect clinicians who are struggling to quantify visual performance in a manner that is: a) subtle enough to have scientific credibility, b) sufficiently established to supply a defensible metric acceptable to scientists worldwide, and c) robust enough to stand up in courts of law.

Instructions to Download, Customize & Use the Effective Snellen Chart.

The following unintended errors appeared in last month’s issue:

• Professor of the Year, Dr. Srihari Narayanan, had his last name misspelled - twice!
• In addition to misspelling Dr. Radhika Aravamudhan’s name, we reported her promotion to assistant professor.  Dr. Aravamudhan was promoted to associate professor.
  Our sincere apologies to Dr. Aravamudhan and Dr. Narayanan.