Education to the fore at EURETINA Congress

The spotlight will be firmly on education and research as the European Society of Retinal Specialists seeks to extend the scope of its activities over the next few years, Sebastian Wolf, President of EURETINA, said at the official opening ceremony of the 18th EURETINA Congress. “We have taken active steps to increase our activity in education in recent years, introducing a successful winter meeting to the calendar and revamping our webpage with easier access to On Demand educational resources. We have also developed InSight, a new CME-accredited interactive learning platform for our members with a wide range of courses on offer,” he said. The annual congress will also continue to serve as the bedrock from which EURETINA will continue to reach out and serve its members, said Dr Wolf. “Our annual congress has always sought to showcase cutting-edge research in retina while also providing quality education through courses and wet labs. The formula works very well, enabling delegates to attend main sessions and obtain a comprehensive overview of important developments as well as participating in specific courses to improve their surgical skills,” he said. Research will also feature prominently in future developments. “Our society can do a lot more to shed light on key questions of clinical practice that are beyond the scope of industry. This is why we have partnered with Fight for Sight to provide funding of up to €2 million for clinical research to address the best treatment option for sub-macular haemorrhage caused by AMD. This is a major unanswered question in retina and we hope that this trial can start at the beginning of next year,” he said. Dr Wolf added that EURETINA has also decided to fund other clinical research for European-based non-interventional studies and will be unveiling details on how to apply for such funding in the near future. In welcoming over 5,500 registered delegates to Vienna, Dr Wolf said that EURETINA has continued to surpass all expectations in terms of attendance at its annual congress. “We have come a long way since our first congress in 2001 where we welcomed 300 delegates in Hamburg and we have now grown into what has become the largest retina meeting worldwide,” he said.