"Your Eye Health" Interactive Display Launched at the Minnesota State Fair.Minnesota Optometric Association Collaborates with the Science Museum of Minnesota The Science Museum of Minnesota is an American institution focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science and mathematics education. Founded in 1907, the 501(c)(3) non-profit is staffed by over 500 employees and over 1,600 volunteers and is located in the MINNEAPOLIS -- How do the major eye conditions of cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy diabetic retinopathy n. Retinal changes occurring in long-term diabetes and characterized by punctate hemorrhages, microaneurysms, and sharply defined waxy exudates. and macular degeneration macular degeneration, eye disorder causing loss of central vision. The affected area, the macula, lies at the back of the retina and is the part that produces the sharpest vision. affect your eye health and vision? Minnesota State Fairgoers will experience what sight may be like with these conditions when the Minnesota Optometric Association (MOA moa (mō`ə) [Maori], common name for an extinct flightless bird of New Zealand related to the kiwi, the emu, the cassowary, and the ostrich. The various species ranged in size from that of a turkey to the 10-ft (3-m) Dinornis giganteus. ) launches "Your Eye Health," an interactive educational display at the State Fair this August, designed in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota. The display, partially funded by the American Optometric Association's Healthy Eyes Healthy People grant, is open to all ages at no charge in the KARE-11 HealthFair11 Building. This one-of-a kind display was designed to raise awareness and educate the public about four major eye conditions (cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration) that may compromise vision and eye health. The four interactive display stations feature high-definition photographs of both a healthy eye and an eye with the featured disorder. Visitors will be able to experience what vision is like with each condition, by looking through a special monocular monocular /mon·oc·u·lar/ (mon-ok´u-ler) 1. pertaining to or having only one eye. 2. having only one eyepiece, as in a microscope. mo·noc·u·lar adj. 1. viewer at each display station. Each display station has a brief summary of the condition, and MOA member optometrists will be on hand to answer questions. The "Your Eye health" display is part of the MOA's educational outreach initiatives designed by its members, with goals to begin a traveling educational campaign and to collaborate further with the Science Museum of Minnesota to expand the scope of the interactive display. "This is not only a hands-on educational display, it is learning through experience," said Dr. Jonathan Schorn, optometrist optometrist /op·tom·e·trist/ (op-tom´e-trist) a specialist in optometry. Optometrist A medical professional who examines and tests the eyes for disease and treats visual disorders by prescribing corrective with Apple Valley Eye Care Clinic, Apple Valley, Minnesota Apple Valley is a city located in northwestern Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. It was incorporated in 1969, and was known before then as Lebanon Township. . Dr. Schorn is an MOA board member and display committee member. "We hope to expand the concept as well as bring this experience to people throughout the state," he said. The MOA booth at the HealthFair11 Building will also offer free OPTOS retinal screenings. For more information, visit the web site, www.MinnesotaOptometrists.org, or call the Minnesota Optometric Association at 952 841-1122 or 1-800-678-8232. The Minnesota Optometric Association has over 500 member doctors of optometry optometry (ŏptŏm`ətrē), eye-care specialty concerned with eye examination, determination of visual abilities, diagnosis of eye diseases and conditions, and the prescription of lenses and other corrective measures. around the state. The MOA is committed to furthering awareness of optometrists as primary eye care or family eye doctors and to bringing about change that positively impacts the MOA member doctors and their patients. For more information on the MOA, visit www.MinnesotaOptometrists.com. |
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