Denise A. Valenti, OD, FAAO, gave highlights from her discussion at AAOpt 2022 on the effects of cannabis use and driving.
Denise A. Valenti, OD, FAAO, CEO and owner of IMMAD (Measuring Impairment in Cannabis and Driving), shared an update on her firm’s research during the 2022 American Academy of Optometry meeting in San Diego.
Editor’s Note: This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Hi, I’m Dr. Denise Valenti. I am the owner of IMMAD (Impairment Measuring Cannabis and Driving) and I am excited to attend this conference. The Academy has recognized the importance of cannabis education for primary care clinicians and clinicians.
I attended an incredible lecture by Dr. Ng from Southern California College of Optometry – Comprehensive lecture on basic information and cannabis. I am so excited to be speaking on driving and marijuana. This is completely related to the field of my company’s research.
We’re excited that we recently received funding from the federal government (National Institute of Justice) to measure a technology that’s being developed that looks at retinal function to determine if you’re too tall to drive.
Part of the project will be used to develop a standardized closed-road real-vehicle test system to detect driving-specific impairment functions. Now, part of that is we’re going to use a very novel robotics technology where we’re going to tweak the NFL MVP practice dummies. We’re turning it into a multi-directional robot to use the curb as our pedestrian simulation.
We are therefore delighted to have the opportunity to advance our research, but equally, we are delighted that the Faculty recognizes how important it is for clinicians to understand cannabis/cannabis use and its impact on patients.