NSU's Salmon presents contact lens research in Tokyo

Dr. Thomas Salmon, professor of optometry for Northeastern State University, has returned from a trip to Tokyo where he presented research July 11 at the Japan Contact Lens Society meeting.

The research was part of a grant with CooperVision-Japan. Salmon's research assistant was Naomi Kusumoto, a senior chemistry major at NSU.

Salmon's presentation was "Evaluation of the wetting of 1-day disposable soft contact lenses using aberrometry (Part II)."

"One of the leading causes of contact lens failure is discomfort due to lens drying, so contact lens manufacturers are continually trying to improve lens materials so they will resist drying and stay wet and comfortable longer," Salmon said. "The purpose of my study was to use a sophisticated optical technique, known as aberrometry, to evaluate the ability of two daily disposable soft contact lenses to stay wet."

The research was presented at the annual meeting of JCLS, the Japanese medical organization devoted to contact lens research and education. The meeting was July 9-11.

Salmon's work was a continuation of a study presented at last year's meeting. The research was conducted at NSU's Oklahoma College of Optometry under a grant from CooperVision-Japan amounting to $550,000 through four years of a six-year contract.

"One of the interesting things about this grant is that we have enlisted the support of many Japanese NSU students to serve as subjects for the research," Salmon said. "As part of the grant, I employ three Japanese students who work as research assistants and one graphic artist."

Salmon is known on campus for his love of Japan, its people and their culture and his involvement with NSU's Japanese student community.

He sponsors JNSU, which promotes an appreciation for Japanese culture, and Celsior, the Japanese hip-hop dance team. He also provides support and encouragement for Japanese students during their stays in Tahlequah.

"Besides traveling to Japan for the research meeting, I also took time to visit NSU graduates and current students who are home for summer vacation," Salmon said. "I was also able to meet some of their families. As I have done in previous years, I helped organize an NSU reunion in Tokyo which was attended by 15 NSU graduates and students this year."