Purpose. To measure central corneal thickness (CCT) in patients with history of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).Patients and Methods. Patients older than 40 years with a history of NAION (group 1) were prospectively evaluated including full eye examination and central corneal thickness (CCT) pachymetry. Patients with a history of intraocular surgery, corneal disease, glaucoma, and contact lens wear were excluded. Measurements were also performed in a gender and age matched control group (group 2).Results. Thirty-one eyes of 31 NAION patients in group 1 were included and 30 eyes of 30 participants in group 2. There were 15 men in group 1 and 9 in group 2P=0.141, and mean age of the patients was59±10years in group 1 versus61±11years in group 2P=0.708. Mean CCT was539±30microns in group 1 and550±33microns in group 2P=0.155.Conclusion. Patients with NAION have no special characteristic of CCT in contrast to the crowded optic disc known to be a significant anatomic risk factor for NAION. More studies should be carried out to investigate CCT and other structure related elements in NAION patients.

Background: Gender is increasingly recognized as a crucial determinant of health and health care delivery. Integrating gender-sensitive content into medical education is essential for cultivating socially responsive, culturally competent, and clinically effective physicians of the future. However, limited research has examined how medical students conceptualize gender in clinical contexts, particularly through their own reflective narratives. Objective: This study explores the thematic landscape of gender-related perceptions among first-year medical students in Israel following a mandatory course in gender medicine. Using latent semantic analysis (LSA), we examined how students reflected on gendered dimensions of health care and how these reflections varied by gender and ethnicity. Methods: First-year medical students enrolled in the four-year path of medicine in Israel participated in a compulsory gender medicine course and were invited to submit anonymous written reflections. A total of 83 students (n=52, 63%, females; n=31, 37%, males; n=68, 82%, Jewish; and n=15, 18%, Arab) submitted responses, which were preprocessed and analyzed using LSA. The texts were lemmatized and vectorized to construct a term-document matrix, followed by singular value decomposition for dimensionality reduction. Ten latent topics were extracted, and thematic labels were assigned through an inductive, consensus-based coding procedure. Subgroup analyses were conducted by gender and ethnicity. Results: LSA identified 10 distinct topics, accounting for 56.6% of the total variance in the overall sample. The most dominant theme was Gendered Patient-Doctor Interactions (eigenvalue=121.188; 28.1% variance; 527 terms; 75 documents), followed, in terms of variance, by Gender-Specific Diseases and Health Concerns (5.7%) and Cultural and Religious Influences on Health Care (4.3%). Reflections from female students introduced 3 unique themes: Gendered Help-Seeking and Familial Roles (2.8%), Gender and Health Education (2.5%), and Gendered Communication and Advocacy (2.2%). Male students uniquely discussed Perceived Gender Bias in Clinical and Research Settings (3.8%) and the Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Reproductive Health Care (3.3%). Among Jewish students, additional themes included Population-Level Framing of Gendered Conditions (3.7%) and Gendered Youth Expectations (2.1%). Arabic students contributed culturally specific themes, such as Modesty and Cultural Norms (8.6%), Paternal Authority and Structural Discrimination (6.3%), and Reproductive Vulnerability (3.6%). Conclusions: Thematic patterns in student reflections suggest that gender medicine curricula are effective in fostering critical engagement with diverse gendered realities in clinical care. The emergence of culturally grounded and gender-specific themes underscores the importance of tailoring educational interventions to reflect student diversity.

Background: Accurate evaluation of the Near Point of Convergence (NPC) is essential for diagnosing and managing convergence insufficiency (CI). Conventional assessment relies on the patient’s verbal feedback and the examiner’s visual observation, making it subjective and examiner-dependent. The AI-based MobileS platform, previously validated for both diagnosis and home-based therapy of CI, enables smartphone-based measurement and visualisation of NPC through eye tracking, without the need for verbal responses or additional equipment. This study, the third stage of our research programme, examined how ophthalmologists interpret NPC data when presented as videos versus AI-derived graphs. Methods: Twenty-two ophthalmologists completed an online questionnaire with 20 NPC test cases from the validated MobileS database, presented as both silent videos and AI-derived graphs. Accuracy was analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression, and continuous error was assessed using clustered bootstrap. Results: Graph-based interpretation showed higher odds of accurate NPC identification than video-based interpretation at the primary ±5 mm threshold (OR = 19.7, 95% CI: 13.50–28.74; p < 0.0001). Absolute error was lower for graphs than videos (Graphs − Videos: −22.73 mm; 95% CI: −26.88 to −18.59; p < 0.0001). “Uncertain” responses occurred in 28.2% of video-based assessments and 0% of graph-based assessments. Off-target errors decreased from 50.2% (videos) to 3.6% (graphs). Conclusions: AI-derived graphs of eye-movement data were associated with improved NPC estimation, suggesting a potential role in supporting clinical and tele-ophthalmology workflows.

Background: This study innovatively combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms with smartphone technology, automatically detecting the Near Point of Convergence (NPC) and diagnosing Convergence Insufficiency (CI) without the need for extra diagnostic tools and, notably, without having to rely on the subject’s vocal response, marking an unprecedented approach in the field to the best of our knowledge. Methods: This was a prospective study that enrolled 86 participants. The real-time tracking of eye structures and movements was conducted using AI technologies integrated with a mobile application (MobileS). Participants brought the smartphone closer, focusing on a target displayed on the screen. The system calculated pupillary distance (PD) and phone-to-face distance, incorporating a unique feature called the exodeviation episode’s counter (ExoCounter) to determine the NPC. Additionally, participants underwent testing using the RAF Ruler test (RulerT), considering the ground truth. Results: MobileS demonstrated significant correlation with the RulerT, as evidenced by a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.74 (p < 0.001) and an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) of 0.73 (p < 0.001), highlighting its reliability and consistency with conventional ophthalmic testing. Additionally, the system exhibited notable sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing CI. Notably, user feedback indicated a preference for the MobileS, with 71% of participants favouring it for its ease of use and comfort. Conclusions: MobileS is a precise, user-friendly tool for independent NPC measurement, applicable in tele-ophthalmology and home-based care. Its versatility extends beyond CI diagnosis, marking a significant advancement in ophthalmic diagnostics for accessible and efficient eye care.

Background: Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common binocular vision disorder that causes eye strain, headaches, and blurriness. Although pencil push-ups (PPU) are widely used to treat CI, their real-world effectiveness may be limited by inconsistent performance and poor adherence. MobileS (the App) is an AI-based smartphone application that tracks eye movements through the front camera, enabling guided “digital push-ups” with instant visual feedback and automatic performance monitoring. This follow-up study evaluated the feasibility, recorded adherence, and preliminary clinical signals of MobileS as a home-based therapy for CI compared with conventional PPU. Methods: Twenty-five participants with CI were randomly assigned to either the App group (n = 12) or the PPU group (n = 13) for 8 weeks of home-based training. Both groups performed convergence push-ups—using the app or a pencil. NPC was measured using a RAF ruler at baseline, mid-point, and endpoint. Symptom severity was assessed using the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS), and adherence was recorded automatically by the app or manually by participants. Results: All 25 randomized participants completed all three NPC assessment points. The App group showed a statistically significant improvement in NPC from baseline to study completion (mean improvement = 2.81 cm, p = 0.007), whereas the PPU group showed no significant change. Recorded adherence was higher in the App group compared with the PPU group (90.1% vs. 75.4%, p = 0.0069). The App group showed a significant reduction in symptom severity (p = 0.049). Between-group differences in symptom change were not statistically significant. Conclusions: MobileS appears feasible as a home-based CI management tool, and was associated with higher recorded adherence and preliminary NPC improvement signals. Larger, adequately powered studies are needed to confirm efficacy, particularly for symptoms, and guide teleophthalmology implementation.

BACKGROUND Gender is increasingly recognized as a crucial determinant of health and health care delivery. Integrating gender-sensitive content into medical education is essential for cultivating socially responsive, culturally competent, and clinically effective physicians of the future. However, limited research has examined how medical students conceptualize gender in clinical contexts, particularly through their own reflective narratives. OBJECTIVE This study explores the thematic landscape of gender-related perceptions among first-year medical students in Israel following a mandatory course in gender medicine. Using latent semantic analysis (LSA), we examined how students reflected on gendered dimensions of health care and how these reflections varied by gender and ethnicity. METHODS First-year medical students enrolled in the four-year path of medicine in Israel participated in a compulsory gender medicine course and were invited to submit anonymous written reflections. A total of 83 students (n=52, 63%, females; n=31, 37%, males; n=68, 82%, Jewish; and n=15, 18%, Arab) submitted responses, which were preprocessed and analyzed using LSA. The texts were lemmatized and vectorized to construct a term-document matrix, followed by singular value decomposition for dimensionality reduction. Ten latent topics were extracted, and thematic labels were assigned through an inductive, consensus-based coding procedure. Subgroup analyses were conducted by gender and ethnicity. RESULTS LSA identified 10 distinct topics, accounting for 56.6% of the total variance in the overall sample. The most dominant theme was Gendered Patient-Doctor Interactions (eigenvalue=121.188; 28.1% variance; 527 terms; 75 documents), followed, in terms of variance, by Gender-Specific Diseases and Health Concerns (5.7%) and Cultural and Religious Influences on Health Care (4.3%). Reflections from female students introduced 3 unique themes: Gendered Help-Seeking and Familial Roles (2.8%), Gender and Health Education (2.5%), and Gendered Communication and Advocacy (2.2%). Male students uniquely discussed Perceived Gender Bias in Clinical and Research Settings (3.8%) and the Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Reproductive Health Care (3.3%). Among Jewish students, additional themes included Population-Level Framing of Gendered Conditions (3.7%) and Gendered Youth Expectations (2.1%). Arabic students contributed culturally specific themes, such as Modesty and Cultural Norms (8.6%), Paternal Authority and Structural Discrimination (6.3%), and Reproductive Vulnerability (3.6%). CONCLUSIONS Thematic patterns in student reflections suggest that gender medicine curricula are effective in fostering critical engagement with diverse gendered realities in clinical care. The emergence of culturally grounded and gender-specific themes underscores the importance of tailoring educational interventions to reflect student diversity.