ANSI Standards for Eyeglasses and Eyewear

 

ANSI is the American National Standards Institute. ANSI facilitates and coordinates the United States voluntary standards and conformity assessments system. ANSI is a private, not-for-profit organization. Formed in 1918, and originally established as the American Engineering Standard Committee. The organization is made up of volunteer experts in specific industries that come together to create a set of common guidelines and set industry standards. ANSI oversees the standards that pertain to terminology and definitions, rules about the quality and construction of goods and products, and product testing. ANSI provides guidance, not regulations or enforcement. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) are the regulatory government bodies that have the power to write ANSI standards into law.

In the case of eyeglasses, the (SDO) Standards Developing Organization is a consortium made up of medical, instrumentation technology, and manufacturing experts. This group of experts makes recommendations for industrywide standards in safety and consistency for the consumer. ASC-Z80 recommended standards cover:

• Prescription Ophthalmic Lenses

• Non-prescription sunglasses & fashion eyewear

• Prescription Safety Glasses

• Spectacle frames

• Devices for low vision

• Intraocular lenses, Multifocal Intraocular lenses, Phakic Intraocular lenses, Accommodative Intraocular lenses, Toric Intraocular lenses & Extended Depth of Focus Intraocular lenses

• Ophthalmic Instruments-Tonometers, Focimeters, Slit-Lamp Microscopes

• Laser systems for corneal reshaping

• Contact lenses & contact lens care products

• Corneal topography & tomography systems

• Implantable Glaucoma devices

• Methods for reporting a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected

• Specifications for over-the-counter reading glasses

• Light hazards protection for Ophthalmic instruments & operation microscopes used in ocular surgery

• General-Purpose Clinical Visual Acuity Charts

• Among others and updating continually

The ANSI (ASC-Z80) committee for the Ophthalmic Optics Group consists of experts from these organizations:

• Advanced Medical Technology Association

• American Academy of Ophthalmology

• American Academy of Optometry

• American Glaucoma Society

• American Optometric Association

• American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

• Contact Lens Institute

• Contact Lens Manufacturers Association

• Cornea Society

• Department of Veterans Affairs

• Food and Drug Administration

• Johnson & Johnson Vision

•  Medical Device Manufacturers Association

• National Association of Optometrists & Opticians

• Optical Laboratory Association

• Opticians Association of America

• OSHA 

• Sunglass Association of America

• The Vision Council

When you see the ANSI certification on products and services you know, ANSI is the measurement for quality and performance that helps to protect the public interest and foster commerce by influencing the design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and safe use of products and processes worldwide. Voluntary participation shows an organization is committed to high-quality standards in an environment characterized by openness and due process.  ANSI-approved standards carry tremendous benefit for example if you have a written eyeglass prescription and an optical lab makes the lenses, the lens measurements should be within a standard + or – range to be compliant. The same with instruments used for diagnosis, calibration of those instruments should be within a range for each instrument. Is the vendor making your eyewear compliant with ANSI?  

Sources:

www.ANSI.org

www.opticiannow.com

www.visioncouncil.org

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Merry Christmas

 

Answers to Christmas Trivia:

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. C

5. A

 

Christmas Trivia – Did you know?

 

1.       What year did Bing Crosby release the song White Christmas

a.       1942

b.       1947

c.       1970

d.       2007

2.       In the 1992 film ‘Muppet Christmas Carol’ which British actor played Scrooge?

a.       Roger Moore

b.       Michael Caine

c.       Bob Hoskins

d.       Alaster Sim

3.       Which famous composer created the music for the festive ballet “The Nutcracker”?

a.       Beethoven

b.       Brahms

c.       Tchaikovsky

d.       Handel

4.       Which German City is the gingerbread capital of the world?

a.       Berlin

b.       Frankfort

c.       Nuremberg

d.       Stuttgart

5.       The first Christmas Stamp was issued in which country?

a.       Canada

b.       Denmark

c.       Germany

d.       Poland

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Types of Eye Structures

 

There are two major types of eye structures, simple and compound.

The simple eyes are only simple in structure, the term refers to an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina. Simple eyes were thought to not be involved in the formation of images, but only as monitors of levels of light intensity. They consist of a single lens and several sensory cells that are used to detect motion.

Compound eyes are a structure characterized by a variable number of small eyes called ommatidia one lens per eye, each optical unit that makes up a compound eye. Each function is an independent photoreception unit, with an optical system consisting of a cornea, lens, and accessory structures.

The differences between compound eyes and simple eyes:

• Compound eyes are made up of clusters of ommatidia, whereas simple eyes are made up of one single eye.
• Compound eyes are found in most arthropods, annelids, and mollusks.
• Compound eyes can cover a wider angle compared to simple eyes.
• The types of simple eyes are more diversified than compound eyes.
• The polarization of sunlight could be understood via compound eyes, but not simple eyes.

The human eye is still considered to be a simple eye structure, because of the single large lens. In a compound eye, the visual acuity is dependent upon the number and size of ommatidia in the eye structure. In the human eye, visual acuity is dependent on the density of photosensitive cells in the retina. The human eye is approximately one hundred times more improved than that of an insect's compound eye structure.

 

Sources:

www.encyclopedia.com

www.amentsoc.org

www.differencebetween.com

www.scholarpedia.org

 

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FSA Use It or Lose It 2022

 

HRAs and FSAs are accounts used to save on taxes and pay for a qualified medical, prescription, dental, and vision expenses. Spelled out: HSA is a health savings account. FSA is a flexible spending account If you do not use this benefit, you lose it. Unless your plan has a grace period, FSA funds expire at the end of each year. Be sure to utilize these funds while you can.

The 2020 care act allowed you to roll over all unspent FSA funds from one year to the next or give you longer to spend the money. That relief ends this year. If you are allowed to roll over your FSA there will be a limit of $570

HSA versus FSA:

• Both offer tax benefits and have annual contribution limits
• You must have a high-deductible insurance plan to qualify for an HSA
• Funds from an HSA roll over year after year
• Some HSAs offer investment options
• FSAs work on a "use it or lose it" basis

Expenses covered by an FSA:

• To pay deductibles and copayments
• Prescription medications and over-the-counter meds with a prescription from a doctor
• Reimbursements for insulin
• Medical equipment such as crutches
• Diagnostic devices like blood sugar monitors
• Prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, and necessary supplies
• Medically necessary treatments, for example, laser eye surgery, routine eye exams, and eye surgery to correct vision
• Dental procedures that treat or prevent dental disease like cleanings, root canals, and fillings 

A complete FSA-eligible expenses list can be found on the IRS website, IRS publication 752, or check with your employer about your specific plan.

Schedule an appointment today for an eye exam, glasses, or contact lenses.

Sources:

www.CNBC.com

www.Aetna.com

www.wageworks.com

 

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