Max Aricochi is a trilingual optometrist based in Innsbruck, Austria. His clinical work focuses on myopia management, contact lens based visual rehabilitation and optometric care with an emphasis on applying current scientific evidence to everyday patient care. He completed his degree in Optometry and Vision Science at Aalen University, graduating summa cum laude. His master’s thesis addressed evidence-based approaches to myopia management and was awarded the Karl Amon Optometry Award in recognition of its scientific relevance and methodological quality. Since 2015, Aricochi has worked primarily in the management of progressive myopia. During this time, he established and led a dedicated myopia management department within an optometric setting, where more than 1,000 patients have been followed using individualized myopia-control strategies. In 2022, he authored the first evidence-based manual on myopia management in German language. The publication was developed as a practical resource for optometrists and opticians and provides clinically validated guidelines for the assessment and management of myopia progression. The manual aims to support consistent, science-based decision-making in daily practice and has been used as a reference in professional education settings.
In 2024, Aricochi joined the multidisciplinary team at the Eye Centre Kettenbrücke, Austria’s first clinic dedicated specifically to lifelong myopia care. The Centre follows a structured, life-course approach, covering childhood myopia prevention, adult management with conservative treatments or refractive surgery, and the treatment of myopia-related complications later in life in collaboration with ophthalmic surgeons. Alongside his clinical responsibilities, Aricochi is involved in academic teaching and professional development. He lectures on myopia management at the University of Innsbruck and at Aalen University, contributing to undergraduate and postgraduate education in optometry. His teaching emphasizes practical clinical application, diagnostic accuracy, and interdisciplinary cooperation between optometry and ophthalmology. Since 2025, he has been a Fellow of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics (EAOO), where he supports initiatives aimed at advancing optometric education and evidence-based practice across Europe. He regularly participates as a speaker at national and regional optometric and ophthalmologic meetings, particularly within the DACH region, addressing topics related to myopia control, specialty contact lenses, and clinical implementation of research findings.