When teleoptometry debuted in 2015, it was met with considerable skepticism. Many wondered if it was a threat to optometrists and their patients.

In Part 1, I reviewed equipment used in lens computing from the 1911 Comptometer to the 1970s teletype. Here, I’ll tell you about the rapid changes in computing from the 1970s into the late 20th century. As an Engineer, I recall in the late 1970s being pleased to have a TI 99 desktop Calculator at my disposal. It was a powerful scientific calculator, but was memorable because it included a programmable magnetic strip. This permitted lens design/power calculation programs to be read into the calculator and subsequently executed. It was handy to have and helped as it was something engineers could bring to and use in offices and on the shop floor. The magnetic strip allowed programs to run calculations where prompting for variable input was possible.

Last year, I took a job at a branch lab of a nationally known lens manufacturing company, working in a small, regional finishing lab built near my house. At the time, I felt I’d reached the highest level I could at the dispensary where I’d been working as an optician and optometric assistant since early 2012.