A Europe-wide Paediatric Ophthalmology Conference will take place in Riga this spring with support from RSU
From 30 May to 2 June the European Paediatric Ophthalmology Society (EPOS) Conference will be held at the National Library of Latvia in Riga. The EPOS conference is an annual event hosted by a different country each year. For the first time the conference will take place in the Baltic States.
Professor Aigars Pētersons, Rector of Rīga Stradiņš University, will address participants at the opening of the conference on 31 May.
Since children can suffer from a variety of eye disorders the conference will include very diverse sessions about sub-specialities of ophthalmology. A special conference session will be dedicated to vision and eye screening, and to the EUSCREEN project which aims to study and compile vision and eye screening experiences from different countries. The EUSCREEN project asserts that all children in Europe, as well as worldwide, should have equal opportunities to undergo vision screening. These screenings should be fast, cost-efficient and determine in which cases a consultation by a paediatric ophthalmologist is required.
Much time will be devoted to rare diseases, both diagnostics and treatment opportunities. A special session will be dedicated to the Rare Eye Disease Network (ERN-EYE). During the session patients will have the opportunity to consult experts from various countries on the ERN-EYE panel who specialise in the treatment of various diseases.
EPOS in cooperation with the Children’s Clinical University Hospital will organise three seminars that will take place before and after the conference:
A live oculoplastic surgery broadcast during which consultations will be given, surgery will be performed and discussions will be held by oculoplastic surgeon Artur Klett from Tallinn Central Hospital and orbital surgeon Karla Chaloupka from Switzerland.
Latvia is one of two countries in Eastern Europe where intra-arterial treatment is available to patients with ocular tumours. Ophthalmology Professor Francis Munier, haemato-oncology Professor Maja Beck-Popovic from Lausanne (Switzerland) will chair a seminar on retinoblastoma diagnostics, treatment, contraversions and guidelines together with interventional radiologist and RSU Professor Kārlis Kupčs and radiologist Sarmīte Dzelzīte from Latvia.
On Sunday, after the conference, low vision and cerebral vision impairment specialists Richard Bowman from Great Britain and Niranjan Pehere from India will speak about, consult on and discuss cerebral vision problems which can be diagnosed in premature babies, patients who suffer from metabolic diseases, as well as in cases of various systemic and eye syndromes together with Latvian physicians and vision pedagogues.
The conference will be attended by many notable experts of paediatric ophthalmology, neuro-ophthalmology, ophthalmic oncology and other ophthalmology sub-specialities, as well as neonatologists, radiologists, interventional radiologists and vision teachers, renowned in Europe and worldwide.
Rīga Stradiņš University is one of the supporters of the conference.
