The 30th Susan George Pulimood Memorial Oration organised by the Visakha Vidyalaya Old Girls’ Association was held on December 1 at the Jeremias Dias Hall with limited participation due to health regulations. 

The oration was delivered by Consultant Eye Surgeon Dr Champa Priyadarsini Banagala on the theme ‘Novel Era of Eye Care: Marvels and Concerns’. Dr. Banagala obtained her MBBS from the Colombo Medical faculty and later obtained a Diploma in Ophthalmology (PGIM), Master of Surgery in Ophthalmology (PGIM) and FRCS (Edinburgh). She was a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the National Eye Hospital from 1989 to 2013.

Dr. Banagala in her oration said: “The last few decades saw an unprecedented integration of modern technology and ophthalmology paving the way for a novel era of eye care. Some such modern technologies that enriched ophthalmology are laser technology, new bio compatible materials, nanotechnology, computer engineering and signal processing.

“Lasers, which are extremely narrow beams of light, have replaced eye surgeon’s scalpel. This has tremendously enhanced the precision of eye surgery allowing “cuts” and implants at tissue level. New biocompatible materials have made it possible for replacing opaque lenses of cataract patients with artificially produced lenses that function almost like the natural ones. Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery utilizes highly miniaturized devices implanted to the eye to enhance the fluid drainage. Novel innovations such as retinal microchip implants and gene therapy will soon revolutionise the modern eye care giving hope and solace to the blind people with retinal pathology.

“While acknowledging the vast benefits/positive contributions technology has brought in to the modern world, we also need to take remedial measures to overcome some negative consequences brought in due to exposure to computer, smartphone or other digital screen for long periods of time. Since it is very unlikely to cut back on cell phone and digital devices use any time soon, educating the general public on how to live with such technologies while minimizing the effects to their eyes is another challenge confronted by the modern day ophthalmologist. They have successfully met this challenge opening yet another chapter of novel eye care in the twenty first century.”