OCT Retinal Imaging now at Cassidy Eyecare

At Cassidy Eyecare, we have always believed in investing in technology to provide better quality care for our patients.  We think it's a big part of why people choose to see us.

Our latest instrument is an Ocular Coherence Tomographer (OCT).  The OCT uses light waves to allow us to view the structures of the eye in microscopic detail.  It is similar to a MRI scan, in that it takes a cross-section picture of the retina, allowing the different layers of the retina to be visualised and measured.  These measurements help with the early detection and diagnosis of retinal diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinal detachment and diabetic eye disease.  It is amazing technology, and gives information that simply cannot be obtained in any other way.

The scan itself is painless, and only takes a couple of seconds.

So, who would benefit from this technology? At Cassidy Eyecare, we recommend anyone with glaucoma, macular degeneration, or a family history of either of these conditions should be scanned.  There are a number of symptoms and clinical signs that would also make us recommend an OCT scan, such as unexplained reduced vision, distorted vision, or sudden onset of flashing lights or floating spots in the vision of one eye.  Because an OCT scan can pick up abnormalities undectable by other tests, there is a reasonable case to be made that everyone over, say, 50 years of age should get an OCT scan done every 5 years or so even without any additional risk factors.

OCT Images:

1.  Normal Eye:

The different layers of the retina are clearly visible in this OCT scan of a normal eye.

 

2. Abnormal Eye:

In this image of one of our patients, significant macula swelling is present due to a long-standing retinal membrane.  This treatable condition had been misdiagnosed as macular degeneration by his previous eyecare provider, however the OCT scan images made it obvious that an epi-retinal membrane was the cause of the problem.  We are hopeful that surgery will dramatically improve the poor vision he has been living with for the past several years.

It's fair to say we're pretty excited about having this new technology available to us, and it's going to mean better, more comprehensive eyecare for you, our patients.