Dec. 19, 2024 — The World Council of Optometry (WCO) and Alcon have introduced new online resources to support eyecare professionals in utilizing the Dry Eye Wheel, a tool designed to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye disease. These resources include instructional videos by experts in the field and Spanish-language captioning for educational webinars.

Developed by professors Jennifer Craig, Ph.D., FCOptom, MSc, BSc Optometry; Lyndon Jones, BSc, Ph.D., FCOptom, FAAO; and James Wolffsohn, BSc(Hons), MBA, Ph.D., FAAO, the Dry Eye Wheel focuses on three pillars: mitigation, measurement, and management. This interactive tool is available for free on the WCO website, and the accompanying webinars feature discussions on integrating the Wheel into clinical practice.

Dry eye disease affects significant portions of the population, with 41% of people in Mexico and 13% in Brazil experiencing symptoms. To address this, the WCO has expanded accessibility by adding Spanish closed captioning to its webinars, following the launch of a Spanish-language version of the Wheel.

Sal Jivraj, O.D., MBA, FAAO, an optometrist with the Calgary Dry Eye Clinic, and Fakhruddin Barodawala, MOptom, FAAO, a senior lecturer within the faculty of optometry and vision sciences at SEGi University, have shared their perspectives on using the wheel through newly released videos. These resources aim to educate students, ECPs, and patients about effective strategies for managing dry eye disease.