PLEASANTON, Calif.—CooperVision Inc. intends to address the challenges facing eyecare practices amidst unprecedented change today with the debut of its Best Practices EYEdea Lab later this month at Optometry’s Meeting in Denver. This first-of-its-kind “think tank” will take place June 21 in the exhibit hall during the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting 2018. In the EYEdea Lab, CooperVision’s Best Practices honorees will “leverage their collective experiences and expertise to advance the profession,” according to an announcement Tuesday.

The CooperVision 2018 Best Practices honorees will be joined in the EYEdea Lab by several past award recipients to develop novel, high-value solutions for the industry, working together to conduct research, collect ideas, and bring recommendations forward, according to the announcement. These outcomes will then be unveiled at the Global Contact Lens Forum at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas in September.

Dr. David Ricketts, an Innovation Fellow at Harvard University, will facilitate the collaboration. Ricketts kicked off the initiative as 2018 honorees met for the first time this spring at the exclusive CooperVision Best Practices Summit in Austin, Texas, the announcement noted.

“With optometry’s evolution, eyecare professionals must adapt for their practices to not only survive, but thrive,” Michele Andrews, OD, senior director of professional and academic affairs, North America, CooperVision, said in the announcement. “Our Best Practices honorees have found ways to do this in their own communities, but now we are challenging them to take their vision a few steps further—to push the boundaries of what’s possible and develop a roadmap for thousands of their peers to adopt.”

Honorees will work in the EYEdea Lab from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday, June 21, in the exhibit hall (Booth 316) at the Colorado Convention Center. All Optometry’s Meeting attendees are invited to stop by and provide their own insights about the future of the profession, the announcement noted.

“It is fitting that the Best Practices tackle this project right on the show floor, in the middle of everything, surrounded by their peers and so many contributors to optometry,” said Dr. Andrews. “It will be inspiring.”