I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) Visions conference is worth its weight in gold. All the networking and knowledge gained regarding sight impaired living and hope for the future is priceless. I have no doubt that Visions 2012 in Minneapolis this June will be no exception and will prove to be the most exciting conference they’ve held to date. If you haven’t been paying attention, things are coming together in the world of research for treating retinal degenerative diseases as well as some other vision impairments. In January, I wrote of two legally blind individuals who have shown improved vision in an ongoing stem cell clinical trial. Since then, there has been promising news with additional participants. Dr. Stephen Rose, the Chief Research Officer at FFB also has some exciting news to report from the recent ARVO 2012 Annual Meeting he attended, chronicled in the Eye on the Cure blog.
To get an idea of what you can learn at Visions 2012, check out this year’s diverse session schedule. I wouldn’t miss a thing from the “Welcome Lunch” on Friday, June 29th to the always-inspiring “Closing General Session” on Sunday, July 1. If you’d like to capture the flavor of the show, read about the eye opening experience I had at last year’s Visions conference. A huge part of this conference is also sharing strategies for coping with vision loss, overcoming obstacles, and having fun while mingling with others who know what it’s like to be in your shoes.
Speaking of strategies, don’t forget to stop by the Ai Squared booth #16 in the exhibit hall to say hi to Becca and me and check out ZoomText 10, ZoomReader, and ZoomContacts in person, as well as our new i-loview portable electronic magnifier. I hope to see some of you there, either physically or virtually, as you can follow me on Twitter. I will be chasing the cure as I track down some of the conference speakers, top dogs in the retinal research field, who are always approachable and willing to answer your questions. Catch me if you can.
