Providing AAO 2016 Attendees Access to Game-Changing Research, Techniques and Technologies

Francesca Casadio, PhD, A.W. Mellon senior conservation scientist with the Art Institute of Chicago, presented the 2016 Michael F. Marmor, MD Lecture in Ophthalmology and the Arts. Her presentation, “The Alchemy of Color in 19th Century Art,” received the highest overall rating at AAO 2016.

The Academy’s annual meeting continues evolving to stay at the forefront of global ophthalmic meetings. More than 25,000 ophthalmologists, health professionals and industry experts convened in Chicago to attend AAO 2016, the Academy’s 120th annual meeting. That attendance included an all-time record of 8,062 physicians attending Subspecialty Day. Attendees from around the world engaged with colleagues, honed their surgical skills and reviewed the latest technology on the exhibition floor, gaining knowledge and insight to improve patient care. Attendees were also able to earn up to 33 CME credits, including all eight of their required self-assessment hours.

Douglas D. Koch, MD, delivered the Jackson Memorial Lecture, “Hiding in Plain Sight: The Enigmatic Cornea and IOL Calculations.” Dr. Koch discussed the ongoing difficulties in capturing the corneal optical data required to optimize IOL selection. The professor and Allen, Mosbacher and Law chair of the Baylor College of Medicine ophthalmology department then looked at the latest advances to overcome these challenges.

A popular new session this year, “Spotlight on Ophthalmic Manifestations of Systemic Diseases: What You Need to Know,” crossed specialties and highlighted innovative concepts in the diagnosis and management of ocular manifestations of systemic disease.

This year’s Cataract Spotlight session, “Spotlight on Cataract: Complicated Phaco Cases—My Top 5 Pearls,” continued its run as one of the most popular meeting events. Speakers offered their pearls on difficult phacoemulsification cases, derived from hard-won clinical experience. Attendees used response pads to express their own opinions and interact with the international panel.

The Academy offered the free AAO 2016 Virtual Meeting to bring the conference to those who were not able to attend in person. This year, we streamed 20 hours of educational content for live remote access. More than 1,300 people from 110 countries accessed AAO 2016 and Subspecialty Day presentations.