As a mother of three kids under age 5, I have had it with car seats. The cheap straps are always getting tangled, making it impossible to loosen them enough to squeeze even the skinniest arms through. I’m ashamed to admit that I once stuck a Pillow Pet in between my two-year-old and her much-too-loose five-point harness so we could “safely” pick her sister up from school on time.

They make every conceivable gadget you can imagine for kids, yet my so-called “top-of-the-line travel system” is archaic? Go figure. But I guess I should count my blessings because, in light of the fact that there is undoubtedly greater demand for family-friendly products than there is for optometry-friendly ones, I’m guessing your list of developmental woes is much longer than mine is—not that this is any consolation to either of us.

Perhaps if you stomp your feet loudly enough, someone will listen. So please, visit our Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/revoptom) and tell us all about it! There are so many high-tech gizmos (many of which we talk about in this issue), but I bet there are some pretty basic things that you wish you had. For example, have you ever wondered why no one’s selling a weekly replacement contact lens? That would be much easier to invent than convincing some contact lens patients to be compliant.

And how about dry eye treatments for those especially tough cases? One O.D. commented on Review’s Facebook page that sometimes the best answer is the simplest one—onion goggles and FreshKote (Focus Laboratories).

Some of Review’s Facebook fans also have some pretty good ideas of their own for products that would improve the profession. One visitor commented that, “since the alpha component of the insulin receptor has been found in the human cornea, a device that could accurately measure insulin levels through tears rather than blood would be useful for diabetics.”

And, another one of our Facebook fans went so far as to take matters into his own hands and is working on a prototype of meibomian gland forceps. Check out his July 28 post—he included a photo.

In this issue of Review, we celebrate the 34th year that we’ve brought you a Diagnostic Technology Report. It includes not only a very telling technology survey, but also a feature on all the latest and greatest gadgets (see “ Testing One, Two, Three...”). But for those of you who lament the fact that no one’s selling a reverse dilation drop yet, visit us online. We want to hear all about it (and I bet the manufacturers do too). And who knows, your idea might one day appear in a future issue of Review. Although, if your idea takes off, you’ll probably be too busy soaking up the rays in Boca, and won’t want to read about it in Review.

Tired of Lackluster Technology?
Visit us on Facebook and tell us all about your ideas for inventions that would make the practice of optometry better and easier.