Laotians first to benefit from ORBIS and OptiMedica partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(02/2009)

Laotians first to benefit from ORBIS and OptiMedica partnership

The Flying Eye Hospital -- a DC-10 aircraft converted into a mobile ophthalmic surgical unit -- has begun the year in Laos, a country ORBIS has never before visited. Through the transfer of knowledge and skills, the Flying Eye Hospital program currently underway in Vientiane, Laos is strengthening the ability of eye health professionals in the management and prevention of eye diseases. Diabetic patients selected for treatment during the January 19-30 program are the first to benefit from ORBIS' use of the PASCAL Method of photocoagulation.

"OptiMedica is very proud to make this donation to the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital because we strongly believe that the patients they treat and the physicians they train will benefit greatly from the significant advancements inherent in PASCAL technology," said Mark J. Forchette, president and chief executive officer of OptiMedica. "Using PASCAL as part of this unique initiative, ORBIS will allow doctors from Laos and many other countries around the world to set a new standard in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases. We believe that the gains in treatment efficiency and patient comfort made possible with PASCAL will have a profound impact in the regions served by the Flying Eye Hospital." Dr. Julia Haller volunteers in Laoswith project ORBIS team ORBIS retains a global cadre of more than 500 volunteer doctors who donate their time for one- or two-week periods to work with the Flying Eye Hospital team. Joining ORBIS in Vientiane will be first-time volunteer Julia Haller, M.D., Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Wills Eye Hospital, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an advisor to OptiMedica in the early stages of PASCAL development. Working alongside the ORBIS medical team, Dr. Haller will instruct Laotian doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy and other retinal disorders. An OptiMedica engineer will also attend the program to coach ORBIS staff ophthalmologists and biomedical engineers in the proper use and maintenance of PASCAL.