BHVI

The Brien Holden Vision Institute is an Australian company dedicated to the advancement of eye care research, education and industry.

The Institute is an Accredited Independent Research Institute with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and a member of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI).

Established in 1985 as the Institute for Eye Research, the Brien Holden Vision Institute is a non-profit organisation, incorporated and limited by guarantee on 16 January 1998.

For more than 25 years the organisation has contributed to some of the best clinical and research outcomes in eye care while also growing to be a major participant and supporter of Australian eye care research and education organisations.

The Institute boasts a multidisciplinary team with a level of expertise that enables it to convert revolutionary ideas into major advances in eye health and vision correction technologies. It also performs basic scientific research that provides the foundation from which future eye care and health care solutions will emerge.

The organisation was proudly renamed the Brien Holden Vision Institute in March 2010 in recognition of the outstanding contribution to eye care research and global public health of one of its founders, Professor Brien Holden.

Major Research Achievements

The Institute advances international eye care by undertaking ambitious research projects in collaboration with leading research and industry partners from around the world.

It has designed and conducted projects that have led to the development of the following products:

• The Institute collaborated with CIBA VISION in the development of a new highly oxygen permeable breakthrough material, the silicone hydrogel polymer. This is currently commercialised as the CIBA VISION products: the AIR OPTIX™AQUA and AIR OPTIX™ NIGHT & DAY AQUA contact lenses. The invention of the silicone hydrogel contact lens solved the problem of supplying high enough levels of oxygen to the cornea to overcome the problem of hypoxia.

• Soft toric contact lenses for the correction of astigmatism. These lenses were developed in collaboration with Ocular Sciences Inc and were successfully launched worldwide in 2002 as the Biomedics lens. The lens is one of the most successful toric designs ever launched.

• Multifocal soft contact lens for correction of presbyopia launched by CIBA VISION in February 2009 as the AIR OPTIX™ AQUA MULTIFOCAL contact lenses.

The Institute is a core participant in and financial contributor to, the Vision Cooperative Research Centre (Vision CRC). It is currently involved in the major research programmes of Vision CRC: myopia, presbyopia and education.

Education

In addition to its research activities, the Brien Holden Vision Institute is committed to enhancing international eye care education. It helps nurture the next generation of researchers in the area of eye care, vision science and related science fields, by funding and training outstanding local and international PhD candidates.

Through a close association with other organisations, it supports continuing education programmes for contact lens and eye care practitioners and educators throughout the world.

Public Health

The Institute is fundamentally committed to organisations working to deliver eye care to underserved communities throughout the world.

It is a founding partner and major supporter of the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), is a global founding patron of Optometry Giving Sight and a founding partner of the African Vision Research Institute (AVRI).

The Institute also provides financial, technical and administrative support to Vision 2020 Australia and is a supporter of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), Vision 2020: the Right to Sight and the Refractive Error Program Committee of the IAPB.

By advocating at an international level these organisations seek to raise awareness of the unnecessary tragedy of avoidable blindness and vision impairment. By coordinating efforts through Vision 2020 and working with local governments and communities, they are helping to establish sustainable eye care systems throughout the world.