The 19th International User Meeting was the highlight of the activities around 30 years of SCHWIND in refractive surgery. Around 240 participants from 55 countries met in Frankfurt and at the nearby company headquarters in Kleinostheim from July 21 to 23, 2022. The SCHWIND user family experienced two densely packed days with specialist presentations, an intensive exchange of experiences in the plenum and opportunities for dialog beyond the conference program. The event ended with a Bavarian evening on the company premises - including a guided tour through the laser production plant and the showroom with the SCHWIND product portfolio.
The extensive scientific program focused on treatment results with the SCHWIND ATOS femtosecond laser. A total of 10 users reported on their experiences with SmartSight lenticular extraction and flap creation, citing either more extensive studies or exemplary case studies. Throughout the conference program, participants were able to test the performance of the ATOS and its procedures in the wet lab on porcine bulbi. An outlook on the future ATOS application portfolio rounded off the presentations around the latest laser from SCHWIND.
The lectures on the use of spectral domain OCT in the anterior segment of the eye, especially relating to epithelial analysis, met with great interest. With the MS-39, epithelial and stromal tissue can be examined separately from one another – particularly helpful before transepithelial treatments or during keratoconus screening or postoperative evaluation of the lenticule.
Another highlight was the "customized" session. The participants were particularly impressed by the manifold possibilities of corneal and ocular wavefront treatment with SCHWIND AMARIS - whether in TransPRK, therapeutic treatments or individual methods developed by the speakers. In the PresbyMAX session, the monocular treatment proved to be the speakers' favoured method. In short: The patient does not want to have any loss of distance vision. A user meeting on the occasion of 30 years of SCHWIND lasers also had to include a session with topics on the history, present and future of refractive surgery, of course. Long-time users recalled decades of cooperation with SCHWIND, while other experts equally focused on new technologies such as the simulation of the postoperative treatment result based on an eye model. All sessions were moderated by experienced SCHWIND users. "The high quality of the presentations, the engaging discussions and the very positive response of the participants offer an ideal platform to jointly advance refractive surgery, says COO Domenic von Planta. "The direct dialogue with and between our dedicated customers is part of the SCHWIND DNA. I am especially pleased that we were able to celebrate the 30th laser anniversary at SCHWIND headquarters together with our user family, summarizes CEO Rolf Schwind.
