More Tools for your Toolbox: Cracking the Code for Difficult Cases

Lecture Description:

In this insightful and practical lecture, Dr. Trachtman draws from over five decades of experience in various optometric settings, from the U.S. Army to private practice, to address key issues facing optometrists today.

The presentation will cover essential clinical considerations for vision therapy patients who do not show expected improvements, exploring contributing factors such as dry eye—a growing concern in modern practice. Dr. Trachtman will share how simple solutions, like ensuring adequate hydration, can often alleviate dry eye symptoms. Additionally, the lecture will emphasize the importance of properly maintaining exam quipment to ensure accurate results. Drawing from a personal experience during a recent eye exam, Dr. Trachtman will highlight how easily overlooked issues, such as dirty phoropter lenses, can lead to incorrect diagnoses.

Beyond these clinical insights, Dr. Trachtman will reflect on a storied career that spans innovative work in vision therapy, low vision, and research, including a landmark 1978 study on induced myopia. This session will provide invaluable advice to younger optometrists, offering guidance on building a long-lasting, impactful career while staying attuned to both the fundamentals and the evolving landscape of eye care.

Bio

Joseph Trachtman, OD, PhD

Joseph Trachtman, OD, PhD is one of the approximately 60 optometrists world-wide, who has earned the status of F.C.O.V.D.-A, and one of the few in private practice with this distinction. Dr. Trachtman has an international reputation in offering visual rehabilitation, neurofeedback for vision (biofeedback), and optometric vision therapy. In addition to being a pioneer in sports vision, he is the world's expert in biofeedback applications for vision problems. Based on NASA research, Dr. Trachtman has invented biofeedback devices for a variety of vision problems: relaxation and reeducation of the ciliary muscle, nearsightedness, farsightedness, presbyopia, strabismus, amblyopia, nystagmus, and vision related to TBI, PTSD, and stroke. Dr. Trachtman provides personal attention to all his patients.

He has been interested in vision training since he was 7 years old, and at the age of 16 decided to become an optometrist to provide vision training to improve people’s vision.