2021 Advances

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first issue of EuroTimes, published in January 1996. Enormous advances have been made in that time in the armamentarium we have available to us to diagnose and treat our patients. And yet 2021 finds us paralysed by a pandemic that has revolutionised our relationships with our patients and our colleagues. As Dr Malvina Eydelman MD, officer of Health Technology at the FDA, pointed out in her 2020 Peter Barry Memorial Lecture in Dublin this November, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced doctors to rapidly adopt new ways to take care of their patients. I recommend that you read the report of her presentation in this issue of EuroTimes as it succinctly spells out some of the key challenges we will face in the future. As ophthalmologists, we will embrace new technologies, artificial intelligence, telemedicine and digital health applications to improve communications between both patients and doctors. Most of all, I look forward to the time when we can meet friends and colleagues outside of our virtual bubble. The success of our first virtual meeting, the 38th Congress of the ESCRS, has shown us that it is possible to interact remotely with a first-class scientific programme. We will convene the 39th Congress of the ESCRS from 27-30 August in the RAI Amsterdam, the Netherlands. As multiple vaccines are rolled out across Europe, our hope is that this will be a hybrid Congress with delegates and industry partners convening onsite in the RAI and at the same time communicating virtually with our colleagues across the world who are unable to travel. As events unfold over the next few months, we will keep you updated on our plans. Very best wishes to you for a New Year where we will be free to meet face to face, in the meantime, I urge you, your families and your loved ones to stay safe and stay well.