VT Works

It gave me great pleasure to learn this week that the InfantSee program is celebrating its 10th birthday! A little background information on InfantSee from their website:

Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation and The Vision Care Institute, LLC a Johnson & Johnson company partnered to create InfantSEE, a no-cost public health program developed to provide professional eye care for infants nationwide. Through InfantSEE, optometrists provide a one-time, comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life, offering early detection of potential eye and vision problems at no cost regardless of income.

The InfantSEE program:

• Provides no-cost access to an eye-care doctor who has the instruments and resources not available to general-care doctors like pediatricians and family physicians
• Detects potential problems that, if undetected, may lead to learning and developmental issues later
• Gives new parents the peace of mind that their infant’s vision is developing properly

Prevalence of Vision Problems and Eye Diseases That Will Develop in Children

• 1 in 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed vision problems[i]
• 1 in 30 children will be affected by amblyopia – often referred to as lazy eye – a leading cause of vision loss in people younger than 45 years[ii]
• 1 in 25 will develop strabismus – more commonly known as crossed-eyes – a risk factor for amblyopia[iii]
• 1 in 33 will show significant refractive error such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism[iv]
• 1 in 100 will exhibit evidence of eye disease – e.g. glaucoma[v]
• 1 in 20,000 children have retinoblastoma (intraocular cancer) the seventh most common pediatric cancer[vi]

Clinical Data Demonstrating the Need for InfantSEE

• A study reported by the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) in 1999 compared two groups of 8-year-olds for amblyopia[vii]
  • One group of 808 children had been screened between the ages of 12 and 30 months and provided appropriate treatment[viii]
  • The other 782 children from the same community did not receive the infant screening[ix]
  • At age 8, the group that did not receive the infant screening was 17 times more likely to have amblyopia[x]
• The Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC) reported that intensive screening performed 6 times between ages 8 months and 37 months by an eye care professional led to a decrease in[xi]:
  • Amblyopia, which was three times less likely after treatment – from 1.8 percent to 0.6 percent [xii]
  • Residual amblyopia from 25 percent to 7.5 percent after treatment[xiii]
• Current red reflex screening appears to be ineffective in detecting early retinoblastoma as over 80 percent of patients had their presenting sign detected by a family member or friend[xiv]
• Untreated amblyopia costs the U.S. nearly $7.4 billion in earning power each year. There is a return of $22 for each dollar spent on amblyopia diagnosis and treatment[xv]

To learn more about InfantSEE call toll-free (888) 396-EYES (3937) or visit www.infantsee.org.

A great thanks and congratulations to all involved with InfantSee for making this program the amazing success that it has become! Here’s to many more years of continued success! 🙂

For more information on InfantSee, please visit their website!