- Optometry originated around 2000 years ago with the Greeks, who studied light reflection and refraction but did not understand the full role of the eye's structures. - By the 1300s, Europeans were making early spectacles, and discoveries over subsequent centuries led to the development of corrective lenses and understanding of eye anatomy and visual function. - Optometry emerged as a distinct profession in the late 19th century alongside ophthalmology, as technological and medical advances allowed eye exams and prescriptions. - Throughout the 20th century, the scope of optometry expanded to include diagnostic drug use, surgical lasers, and an increased health care role.

1. History of Optometry
By:
Saifullah Email ID: optomsaif.4all@hotmail.com
FIACLE, M.PHIL OPTM, MPH, BS OPTM
Assistant Professor Optometry
PIO, Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital
1
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

2. 2
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

3. Brief History of Optometry
• Origins of Optometry goes back a long way
• Developed into the highly technical field today
• Optometry as a discipline traces its roots back
roughly 2000 years, to the Greeks.
• Greeks worked out the laws of reflection in
mirrors but did not fully understand the
principles of refraction.
3
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

4. • Also knew of the crystalline lens but had no
knowledge of the retina
• Rays of light came from the eyes, a myth that
existed until Leonardo da Vinci’s investigation
• The physics of light rays led to establishing the
role of the retina
4
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

5. • By 1300, Europeans were making spectacles.
From this time and up to the beginning of the
16th century spectacles were primitive being
made of horn, bone, leather or metal in two
pieces and held together by a rivet
• These were eventually replaced by one-piece
mounts but the problem remained as to how to
keep the spectacles on the nose
5
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

6. • Around the turn of the 18th century, Benjamin
Franklin invented the bifocal lens, John Dalton
described colour blindness, and Thomas Young
successfully mapped the normal visual field of
humans.
• The mid-19th century saw the development of
sets of trial lenses to determine lens
prescriptions, followed closely by the invention of
the ophthalmoscope, which allowed optometrists
to view the interior of the eye.
6
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

7. • Cylindrical lenses began being used about the same time
that optometry as a term began being used, about 1865.
Optometrists eventually began experimenting with contact
lenses, and in 1888 the first successful use of corrective
vision contact lenses was documented
• The development of spectacles and optical lenses is only
one part of the history of optometry.
• 19th century saw significant discoveries led to the rapid
development of ophthalmic optics which inturn leads to
establishment of optometry as a profession in the late 19th
century and onwards.
7
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

8. • It was almost simultaneous that the professions
of optometry and ophthalmology came into
being, blending together the developments in
spectacles and the optics of lenses with visual
optics and the physiology of the eye.
• Throughout the 20th century the scope of
practice of optometry has developed with an
increasing emphasis on health care.
8
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

9. • In 2016, almost 5000 optometrists in general
practice were licensed with their regulatory
body, the Optometry Board of Australia. Of
these, approximately 2300 were registered to
prescribe some medicines for the treatment of
conditions of the eye.
9
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

10. 1263
Roger Bacon first mentions lenses as useful for those with
weakness of sight.
1286
Approximate date of invention of spectacles in northern
Italy by unknown artisan.
1604
Johannes Kepler describes the function of the retina and
demonstrates that concave lenses correct myopia and
convex lenses correct hyperopia.
10
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

11. 1783
John McAllister, Sr. opens first U.S. shop for optometric
services, Philadelphia. By 1816 John McAllister & Son was
making gold and silver spectacles in a family business that
survived until early 20th century.
1629
King Charles I grants a royal charter to the Worshipful
Company of Spectacle Makers, London.
1621 Willebrord Snell discovers the law of refraction.
1623
First book on optometric principles, The Use of Eyeglasses,
published in Spain by Daza de Valdes.
11
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

12. 1843
Invention of the trial lens case facilitated the
determination of a lens prescription independent of the
vending and dispensing of spectacles.
1801
Thomas Young discovers astigmatism and is first to map
the normal visual field. Cylindrical lenses were first
developed in 1821.
1784
Benjamin Franklin invents a split bifocal lens for
spectacles.
1798 John Dalton describes color blindness.
12
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

13. 1862
Hermann Snellen devises test types and eye chart used to
measure visual acuity.
1856
Handbook of Physiological Optics is written by Hermann
von Helmholtz, a monumental treatise in three volumes. It
was translated from German to English in 1924, edited by
James P.C. Southall.
1847
James Prentice, English optician, arrives in U.S. His son
Charles F. Prentice, will become the “father of American
optometry.”
1851
Hermann von Helmholtz invents the ophthalmoscope and
is first to see the interior of the living eye
13
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

14. 1873 Cuignet demonstrates principle of retinoscopy,
retinoscope introduced.
1872
Beginnings of Illinois College of Optometry, the oldest
continuous program, with origins in courses and schools
such as McFatrich, Needles, Chicago College, and Northern
Illinois College of Optometry. Monoyer proposes the term
diopter for lens power.
1864
F. C. Donders publishes Anomalies of Accommodation and
Refraction of the Eye and establishes norms and principles
of prescription. He was the first to have cylindrical lenses
put in the trial case.
1865
The word “optometry” used by Verschoor in Holland in a
dissertation on refraction.
14
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

15. 1895
Charles F. Prentice threatened with jail for charging a fee
for eye exam. In 1896 he issued a treatise on the reasons
why states should recognize the professional status of the
optometrist.
Optical Journal, first optometric journal published in the
U.S.
1888
First successful scleral contact lenses made to correct
vision.
1886
English translation of E. Landolt’s book, Refraction and
Accommodation of the Eye.
Charles Prentice develops and promotes prism diopter
measuring system.
1887
A. E. Ficke and F.A. Mueller independently experiment
with blown-glass contact lenses.
15
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

16. 1911
Andrew J. Cross publishes Dynamic Skiametry in Theory
and Practice, introducing the basic theory and method for
dynamic retinoscopy.
1910
First university courses in optometry, Columbia University
(1910-1954), a big step toward recognition of the
optometric profession.
1898
Formation of the American Association of Opticians.
Name changed in 1910 to the American Optical
Association, and in 1919 to American Optometric
Association(AOA).
1901
Passage of first state law recognizing and regulating the
practice of optometry -- Minnesota. (All states had
optometry laws by 1921)
16
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

17. 1922
American Academy of Optometry organized to encourage
investigative research.
First Conference on Optometric Education,
1919
International Board of Boards (IBB) established. Name
changed to International Association of Boards of Examiners
in Optometry (IAB) in 1954, and to the Association of
Regulatory Boards (ARBO) in 1999.
1914
Optometrists go on record favoring regulations against
drivers with defective vision and encouraging visual tests for
driver licensing.
1915
In the case of Martin v. Baldi the PA Supreme Court rules that
optometry is a calling separate from medicine and cannot be
regulated by the state board of medicine as a “minor branch” of
that profession. Albert Fitch had convinced Pennsylvania
optometrists to pursue legal action.
17
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

18. 1928
Charles Sheard introduce “case analysis” for refraction
Also graduates of optometry affiliated with a university
will be eligible for licensure.
1925
Beta Sigma Kappa founded as international optometric
fraternity.
1923
Pennsylvania College of Optometry awards the first Doctor
of Optometry (O.D.) degree.
1924
The District of Columbia enacts an optometry law,
completing a total U.S. coverage
18
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

19. 1941
New York optometrist L. Lester Beacher produces textbook
on contact lens technique.
1940
Association of Schools & Colleges of Optometry (ASCO)
created; Albert Fitch first President. Parent organization
was International Federation of Optometry Schools (1921-
1940).
1937
“Optometry on Trial”
The Story of Optometry was authored by Wilber Brucker
under AOA auspices in 1938.
1938
Plastic contact lenses introduced by Theo Obrig and John
Mullen.
19
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

20. 1952
Cross-linked hydrophilic polymer (HEMA) discovered by
Otto Wichterle who ushers in the era of the soft contact
lens.
1951
National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO)
founded by IAB and ASCO, first National Board exam given
in 1952.
1947
Optometrists first commissioned in the U.S. Army. Many
years passed before optometrists reached a status
equivalent to the other major health professions.
1950
Formation of Association of Military Optometrists; first
President: Eugene Strawn. Organized as Armed Forces
Optometric Society (AFOS) in 1970.
20
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

21. 1969
National Optometric Association (NOA) founded by C.
Clayton Powell and John L.
1968
American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) formed.
Although discussed and a committee formed by. Myers
who became the AOSA’s first President.
1961
Pennsylvania optometrists introduce a bill to authorize the
use of ophthalmic diagnostic pharmaceutical agents, but it
is defeated.
1965
Medicare and Medicaid enacted by U.S. Congress,
discriminates against optometrists.
21
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

22. 1976
First TPA Law passed – West Virginia. This law permitted
the use of therapeutic drugs by optometrists.
1973
Bill introduced in North Carolina to authorize optometrists
to use and prescribe pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic
and therapeutic purposes.
1970
Formation of the Armed Forces Optometric Society
(AFOS); first president: LTC Frederick van Nus.
1971
U.S. Food & Drug Administration approves Bausch & Lomb
soft contact lens, consumer advertising begins 1974
22
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

23. 1977
U.S. Supreme Court reverses four decades of precedent
and holds that professionals may utilize truthful
advertising (Bates v. Arizona State Bar)
1978
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issues rule (Eyeglasses I)
for goods and services by optometrists, ophthalmologists,
and opticians for spectacle prescriptions.
1990
Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA)
formed, William Padula first President.
1995
Active optometric involvement in national research
studies, CLEK (Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of
Keratoconus Study) and OHTS (Ocular Hypertension
Treatment Study).
23
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

24. 2010
National health care legislation enacted, designating
children’s vision as an essential benefit and preserving
state patient access to care laws.
2005
Optometry 2020 Summits (2005-06), a series of 3 national
meetings attended by representatives from over 20
optometric organizations.
1997
AOA’s Centennial Year Anniversary celebration.
1998
First state law specifically authorizing the use of lasers by
optometrists for certain treatment purposes enacted in
Oklahoma.
24
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy

25. 25
Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmlogy