OcuSource Announces Launch of Information and Auction Websites for Vision Impairment
A resource for the vision impairment industry, OcuSource has launched its first two websites. OcuSource.com provides a doctor search tool, information, and a searchable product utility, while OcuTrade.com is an online auction service.
Walnut Creek, CA (PRWEB) February 24, 2004 -– OcuSource.com, LLC announced
the launch of ocusource.com and ocutrade.com, two of a series of interconnected
websites for the vision impairment industry. Designed to respond to the needs of
consumers, resellers, agencies, and manufacturers, the sites provide utilities
currently unavailable to the vision impairment industry. OcuSource.com’s mission
is to enhance awareness and access to blindness and low vision technology
worldwide.
According to a joint report from the National Eye Institute
and Prevent Blindness America, there are over 119 million “baby boomers” in the
US alone who are at risk for some form of vision impairment. The most common
causes of vision loss include age-related macular degeneration, diabetic
retinopathy, cataract, and glaucoma. Unfortunately, the trends show that the
number of visually impaired individuals should double in less than three decades
as the boomers age. OcuSource’s goal is to appeal to the boomer segment of the
market that embraces technology and the internet at a much higher level than the
previous generation.
OcuSource was founded by Dr. Lou Lipschultz, who has
been providing low vision care to those who suffer from macular degeneration and
other vision disorders for nearly 20 years. Lipschultz left his optometry
practice in 2000 to assume the CEO position with Pulse Data International, the
North American subsidiary of a New Zealand manufacturer of blindness and low
vision products. “As a practitioner, it was difficult to keep track of the
attributes of the various products,” states Lipschultz. “As an executive in the
industry, I saw an entirely different set of challenges. The manufacturers,
resellers, agencies, and organizations that assist the visually impaired need
some way to get in touch with end users who require products,” states
Lipschultz. It was this need that initiated the business plan for OcuSource. Dr.
Lipschultz resigned his position with Pulse Data in the fall of 2003 and
assembled a team of developers to create the OcuSource websites: OcuSource.com,
OcuTrade.com, OcuBid.com, and OcuTrack.com.
“The blindness and low vision
industry needs several resources to help it advance to the next level,” states
Dr. Lipschultz, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area and still returns every
month to his Chicago area eye practice to provide clinical low vision care. “For
example, in the video magnification arena, there are more than a dozen
manufacturers, each producing multiple devices with similar characteristics.
It’s nearly impossible for a consumer to compare the characteristics of each
device to make an informed decision. OcuSource resolves this difficulty,” states
Lipschultz.
The most powerful utility created by OcuSource is the Product
Analyzer Tool or “PAT,” a search engine which is present on each of the
websites. Users can enter desired features to eliminate the products that do not
meet their specifications, and then compare those that do so that they may
select the product that best fits their needs. Users may then request
information or a demonstration visit from the manufacturer’s representative.
Users will also be able to buy directly from the manufacturer. “Establishing a
sales mechanism on a national or worldwide level was particularly challenging,”
states Lipschultz. “Our solution was to create consumer access to a vast array
of products, facilitate the purchase, and then transfer the transaction to the
manufacturer, who in turn forwards the sale on to the local reseller to install
and provide the much needed support to the end user. This structure avoids
potential concerns resellers and manufacturers might have due to territorial
arrangements.”
Other key resources available on the OcuSource
websites:
• “PAT” a search engine which allows users to explore products by
features or specifications
• Auctions for buying or selling used
products
• “Resource Finder” – a search utility for eye doctors,
organizations, agencies, and support groups
• Searchable news archive
•
Statistics on vision impairment and blindness
• Eye disease information pages
and simulations
• Short surveys to obtain visitors’ opinions on living with
vision impairment
• An online Visual Function Questionnaire
(VFQ)
There is a great demand for used products, caused in part by the
fixed incomes of the senior market. OcuTrade.com is a fully-enabled auction
site, filled with all the capabilities of the big competitors. The advantage of
OcuTrade.com over other auction websites is that it is specific to the vision
impairment industry. With auction and classified ads, OcuTrade.com allows
consumers and resellers to buy and sell all forms of low vision or blindness
products.
“The business model of OcuSource is one that responds to the
needs of the visually impaired consumer while providing manufacturers an
additional marketing alternative. We’re trying to make it easier for the
consumer to identify and locate adaptive devices” states Lipschultz. “Consumers
have better access and manufacturers will gain with enhanced business.”
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/2/prweb106609.htm