We are pleased to announce that Abbey Eye Care has purchased a new type of imaging technology. Optical Coherence Tomography or (OCT) is a very useful imaging technology because it performs “real-time” biopsy of the inner tissues of the eye. It will allow us to identify early stages of eye disease before symptoms and irreversible vision loss occurs. OCT is a rapid, non-contact and non-invasive examination method of imaging the inside of the eye.
Our patients are used to seeing the “back” of their eye when they come in for their comprehensive eye examinations because we routinely take retinal photos on each and every patient.
The OCT will be used when we suspect the patient is at risk for certain types of eye disease or they are having symptoms that point to possible underlying eye disease.
Below is a retinal photo that we have taken on all patients over the years. The dark red spot represents the macula portion of the retina where we have our sharp and clear central vision.
Below is an image taken with our new OCT that shows a scan of the different layers of the retina. The small depression or indentation is the macula, this is a normal and healthy eye.
In the next image, fluid has started to leak underneath the macula. A standard retinal photograph would not necessarily pick this up but the scan does a great job of highlighting the affected area.
This final image below shows a patient that has a hole in their macula with significant vision loss. For certain patients that hole can be surgically corrected.
All of the doctors and staff at Abbey Eye Care are extremely excited to offer this new technology to our patients. It will take diagnosis and treatment of eye disease to an entirely new level.
