Noel Alpins

Noel Alpins
CitizenshipAustralian
EducationUniversity of Melbourne (M.B., B.S., 1970; Diploma of Ophthalmology, 1977)
OccupationsOphthalmologist, Medical Director, NewVision Clinics, Melbourne (since 1996); Honorary Clinical Professor (since 2017)
Known forAlpins method of astigmatism analysis; ASSORT surgical-planning software
AwardsAM (2017); ISRS Lifetime Achievement Award (2014); José I. Barraquer Lecture and Award (2019); AAO Secretariat Award (2020)

Noel Alpins AM is an Australian ophthalmologist who has specialised in cataract and refractive surgery since the 1980s. He developed the Alpins Method, a vector-based approach to analysing and planning the surgical correction of astigmatism used in refractive, corneal, and cataract surgery, in a paper published in 1993. He also created ASSORT, computer software used for surgical planning and outcomes analysis. He founded NewVision Clinics in Melbourne in 1996, where he continues to practise as medical director. Since 2017 he has held an honorary clinical professorship in the Department of Surgery at the University of Melbourne.

Early life and education

Alpins graduated with a medical degree (M.B., B.S.) from the University of Melbourne in 1970. He completed a Diploma of Ophthalmology at the same university in 1977. He undertook his residency at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, from 1971 to 1972. He then completed ophthalmology registrar training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital from 1974 to 1977. 1978 he became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.

Career

Early career and pioneering surgical work

Alpins began performing refractive surgery in the mid-1980s, starting with radial keratotomy, according to published biographical material. He pioneered small-incision cataract surgery in Victoria in 1987, according to his published professional biographies. Laser vision correction was introduced to Australia in 1991 by the ophthalmologist Hugh Taylor. That same year, Alpins became a founding member of the Excimer Laser & Research Group at the University of Melbourne, later serving as one of its directors. He was among the first surgeons in Australia to adopt laser vision correction, and by the time of a published interview had treated more than 20,000 patients using excimer lasers since 1991. A later profile, published by touchOPHTHALMOLOGY in 2025, put the number of patients he had treated using laser vision correction over his full career at more than 40,000.

NewVision Clinics

Alpins founded NewVision Clinics in Melbourne, Australia, in 1996. He continues to practise there as medical director.

University of Melbourne

In November 2017, Alpins was appointed Honorary Clinical Professor to Melbourne University's Department of Ophthalmology, the university where he had completed his own ophthalmology training four decades earlier. He holds an ongoing clinical academic appointment in the university's Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

Career timeline

  • 1970 — Graduates M.B., B.S., University of Melbourne.
  • 1971–1972 — Residency, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne.
  • 1974–1977 — Ophthalmology registrar training, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
  • 1977 — Diploma of Ophthalmology, University of Melbourne.
  • 1978 — Fellow, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and Royal Australian College of Surgeons.
  • 1985 — Begins performing refractive surgery, starting with radial keratotomy.
  • 1987 — Pioneers small-incision cataract surgery in Victoria.
  • 1991 — Founding member, Excimer Laser & Research Group, University of Melbourne; among the first Australian surgeons to adopt laser vision correction.
  • 1992 — Founds ASSORT Pty Ltd, which markets the ASSORT software.
  • 1993 — Publishes the paper introducing what became known as the Alpins method; the ASSORT program wins the Borland Paradox Challenge.
  • 1994–1995 — Nominated for the inaugural Trokel Award for excellence in laser refractive surgery.
  • 1996 — Founds NewVision Clinics, Melbourne.
  • 1998–1999, 2005 — Serves as Global Advisor and Investigator for VisX Inc.
  • (1998–1999); serves as investigator on a separate VisX laser-aberrometry study (2005).
  • 2006 — Receives a gold medal from the International Academy for Advances in Ophthalmology at its Eye Advance congress.
  • 2012 — Receives the ISRS/AAO Lans Distinguished Award and an Eye Advance congress gold medal (India).
  • 2013 — Receives the AAO Achievement Award.
  • 2014 — Receives the ISRS Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • 2015 — Receives Elsevier’s Certificate for Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing, according to an ISRS biography.
  • 2017 — Appointed AM; delivers the Norman Gregg Lecture at RANZCO; appointed Honorary Clinical Professor, University of Melbourne; publishes Practical Astigmatism: Planning and Analysis.
  • 2019 — Receives the José I. Barraquer Lecture and Award (ISRS/AAO).
  • 2020 — Receives the AAO Secretariat Award.
  • 2020–2021 — Named a Gold-level reviewer by the Journal of Refractive Surgery for both years, per the journal’s published annual reviewer acknowledgments.

Alpins Method

Alpins introduced the method in a paper published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 1993. It is a vector-based approach to analysing and planning the treatment of astigmatism in refractive, corneal, and cataract surgery. It compares the astigmatism a surgery was intended to correct with the astigmatism actually achieved, using a set of vectors including the target-induced astigmatism vector and the surgically induced astigmatism vector to identify systematic adjustments to future treatment. The approach has been applied and discussed in the peer-reviewed ophthalmic literature, including studies of astigmatism correction following photoastigmatic refractive keratectomy and analyses of surgically induced astigmatism in cataract surgery.

According to an account published in EuroTimes, the method has since been adopted by several major ophthalmology journals, including the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Journal of Refractive Surgery, as their standard means of reporting astigmatic surgical outcomes. In 2006, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Astigmatism Project Group published guidelines based on the method, intended to help manufacturers demonstrate the efficacy of refractive surgical lasers. A commentary in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery discussed the range of approaches used for astigmatism analysis in the field, including vector-based methods.

ASSORT

To support the method, Alpins developed ASSORT (the Alpins Statistical System for Ophthalmic Refractive-Surgery Techniques), a computer program for surgical planning and outcomes analysis in cataract and refractive surgery. ASSORT is marketed by ASSORT Pty Ltd, a company that Alpins founded in 1992, according to his professional biography. The ASSORT program won the 1993 Borland Paradox Challenge, an international applications-programming award, according to Alpins's professional biography. A later version, iASSORT, performs astigmatic analysis using data imported from corneal topography and tomography systems. It has been interfaced with more than ten such systems, according to a report published in EyeWorld. It also calculates a corneal astigmatism parameter, CorT, that Alpins developed for quantifying anterior and total corneal astigmatism. The Journal of Refractive Surgery has published a description of an ASSORT-based group-analysis calculator made available to members of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS).

Awards and recognition

In 1994–1995, Alpins was nominated for the inaugural Trokel Award for excellence in laser refractive surgery, according to his professional biography.

In January 2017, Alpins was appointed a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM), for "significant service to ophthalmology, particularly to the development of innovative refractive surgery techniques, and to professional associations."

The Governor-General's citation for the honour also recorded a number of Alpins's earlier professional recognitions: the ISRS Lans Distinguished Award (2012); a gold medal at the Eye Advance congress in India (2012); the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Achievement Award (2013); and the ISRS Lifetime Achievement Award (2014).

A biography published by the ISRS also records an earlier gold medal, awarded to Alpins by the International Academy for Advances in Ophthalmology at its Eye Advance congress in 2006.

In 2015, according to a biography published by the ISRS, Alpins received a Certificate for Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing from Elsevier, the publisher of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

In October 2017, Alpins gave the Sir Norman Gregg Lecture at the 49th Annual Scientific Congress of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) in Perth. A Victorian Government profile also records that he has presented the RANZCO Council Lecture.

that same year, the ISRS also presented Alpins with its Recognition Award, given to members for their contributions to the Society’s programs and activities.

In 2019, Alpins was awarded the José I. Barraquer Lecture and Award by the ISRS at the joint ISRS/AAO meeting in San Francisco. The award honours a physician who has made significant contributions to refractive surgery over the course of their career.

In 2020, Alpins received the AAO Secretariat Award, presented for special contributions to the Academy and to ophthalmology.

Alpins has served as a Victorian Australia Day Ambassador since 2011, an annual, unpaid role in which he speaks to community groups and civic events around the state. Local press has reported on his participation in these events.

The Journal of Refractive Surgery named Alpins among its Gold-level reviewers for 2020 and 2021 in its annual published reviewer acknowledgments.

Professional and editorial roles

Alpins has served on the editorial boards of several ophthalmic journals and trade publications, including the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, the Journal of Refractive Surgery, EuroTimes, Ocular Surgery News, and the journal of the Intraocular Implant & Refractive Society, India (IIRSI). He is an international council member of the ISRS. He is also a trustee of the World College of Refractive Surgery and Visual Sciences. From 1998 to 1999, Alpins served as a Global Advisor and Investigator for VisX Inc., a U.S. laser manufacturer; in 2005 he served as an investigator on a separate VisX laser-aberrometry study, according to his professional biography.

Publications and book

According to his published biographies, Alpins has contributed articles to peer-reviewed ophthalmic journals and professional publications, and more than 20 book chapters. In September 2017 he published Practical Astigmatism: Planning and Analysis (SLACK Incorporated), a textbook on the Alpins method.

Personal life

In a 2017 newspaper interview, Alpins described growing up in Australia and working as a fruit picker in Mildura in his youth. In a magazine profile the same year, he said he enjoys motor racing taking his car for laps at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne and listens to music, including songs by Lady Gaga, while performing cataract surgery.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Koch, Douglas D. (1997). "Excimer laser technology: New options coming to fruition". Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 23 (10): 1429–1430. doi:10.1016/S0886-3350(97)80001-6. ISSN 0886-3350.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alpins, Noel A. (1993). "A new method of analyzing vectors for changes in astigmatism". Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 19 (4): 524–533. doi:10.1016/S0886-3350(13)80617-7. ISSN 0886-3350.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "2014 Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Noel Alpins". International Society of Refractive Surgery. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Alpins, Noel. "NewVision Clinics"". NewVision Clinics.. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Professor Noel Alpins AM". www.vic.gov.au. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Professor Noel Alpins AM: Solving the riddle of astigmatism | CERA". 30 April 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Penerbit (3 May 2016). "Astigmatism correction: cutting-edge technology and surgical experience" (interview with Noel Alpins). Oculista Italiano". Italian Ophthalmologist. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Alpins, Noel (28 May 2024), "Mixed Astigmatism", Practical Astigmatism, Boca Raton: CRC Press, pp. 173–178, retrieved 21 September 2026
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Practical Astigmatism: Planning and Analysis". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 CERA (30 April 2018). "Professor Noel Alpins AM: Solving the riddle of astigmatism | CERA". Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "Voices in vision: Prof. Noel Alpins on improving patient satisfaction in refractive laser surgery". touchOPHTHALMOLOGY. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  12. ↑ ""Noel Alpins". Find An Expert, University of Melbourne". findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Writer, Staff (3 February 2015). "Melbourne ophthalmologist wins Lifetime Achievement Award - Insight". Insight. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "Dr. Alpins Surgeon Working Experience | NewVision Clinics". NewVision Clinics.. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Dr Noel Alpins AM - RANZCO Congress 2017 Perth". RANZCO Congress 2017 Perth. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 "2019 José I. Barraquer Lecture and Award:Prof. Noel Alpins". International Society of Refractive Surgery. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  17. 1 2 "2020 Secretariat Award Recipients". American Academy of Ophthalmology. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 "2020 Reviewers". Journal of Refractive Surgery. 37 (1): 69–70. 2021. doi:10.3928/1081597X-20201207-01. ISSN 1081-597X.
  19. 1 2 "2021 Reviewers". Journal of Refractive Surgery. 38 (1): 69–71. 2022. doi:10.3928/1081597X-20211209-03. ISSN 1081-597X.
  20. 1 2 Goggin, Michael J; Kenna, Paul F; Lavery, Frank L (1997). "Photoastigmatic Refractive Keratectomy for Compound Myopic Astigmatism with a Nidek Laser". Journal of Refractive Surgery. 13 (2): 162–166. ISSN 1081-597X.
  21. ↑ MORLET, N. (1 September 2001). "Astigmatism and the analysis of its surgical correction". British Journal of Ophthalmology. 85 (9): 1127–1138. doi:10.1136/bjo.85.9.1127. ISSN 0007-1161. PMC 1724117.
  22. 1 2 Borasio, Edmondo; Mehta, Jodhbir S.; Maurino, Vincenzo (2006). "Torque and flattening effects of clear corneal temporal and on-axis incisions for phacoemulsification". Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 32 (12): 2030–2038. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2006.09.010. ISSN 0886-3350.
  23. ↑ "ESCRS:A lifetime quest". www.escrs.org. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  24. ↑ Eydelman, Malvina B; Drum, Bruce; Holladay, Jack; Hilmantel, Gene; Kezirian, Guy; Durrie, Daniel; Stulting, R Doyle; Sanders, Donald; Wong, Bonita (2006). "Standardized Analyses of Correction of Astigmatism by Laser Systems That Reshape the Cornea". Journal of Refractive Surgery. 22 (1): 81–95. ISSN 1081-597X.
  25. 1 2 Koch, Douglas D. (2006). "Astigmatism analysis: The spectrum of approaches". Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 32 (12): 1977–1978. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2006.10.001. ISSN 0886-3350.
  26. 1 2 ""CorT: a new astigmatism parameter". Eyeworld - FEB 2013". digital.eyeworld.org. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  27. ↑ Randleman, J. Bradley (2019). "ASSORT Group Analysis Calculator: A Benefit for the Journal of Refractive Surgery and ISRS Members". Journal of Refractive Surgery. 35 (7): 406–407. doi:10.3928/1081597X-20190625-01. ISSN 1081-597X.
  28. ↑ "Practical Astigmatism: Planning and Analysis". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  29. 1 2 3 "Professor Noel Alpins AM". www.vic.gov.au. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  30. 1 2 "Medal recipient shares views on Australian values". www.standard.net.au. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  31. ↑ Alpins, Noel; Stamatelatos, George (2022). "Perfecting Laser Treatment for Regular and Irregular Astigmatism". US Ophthalmic Review. 16 (2): 50. doi:10.17925/usor.2022.16.2.50. ISSN 2752-5473.
  32. ↑ "Trustees". WCRSVS. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  33. ↑ www.ushealthconnect.com, Home-. "LASIK, Lady Gaga, and the Race Track - Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today". crstoday.com. US HealthConnect. Retrieved 21 September 2026.