Eye Conditions and Treatments

Annual eye examinations are vital to maintaining your vision and overall health. VISION CARE offers the Optomap Retinal Exam as an important part of our eye exams. The Optomap Retinal Exam produces an image that is as unique as your fingerprint and provides our doctors with a wide view to look at the health of your retina. The retina is the part of your eye that captures the image of what you are looking at, similar to film in a camera. Many eye problems can develop without warning and progress with no symptoms. Early on, you might not notice any change in your vision. However, diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinal tears or detachments, as well as other health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure, can be detected with a thorough exam of the retina. To have the exam, you simply look into the device one eye at a time and you will see a comfortable flash of light to let you know the image of your retina has been taken. The Optomap image is shown immediately on a computer screen so we can review it with you.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging test that uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of your retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. With OCT, each of the retina’s distinctive layers can be seen, allowing your optometrist to map and measure their thickness. These measurements help with early detection, diagnosis and treatment guidance for retinal diseases and conditions, including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease, among others. In addition, OCT is often used to evaluate disorders of the optic nerve. The optic nerve is made up of many nerve fibers and sends signals from your retina to your brain, where these signals are interpreted as the images you see. The OCT exam is helpful in determining changes to the fibers of the optic nerve, such as those caused by glaucoma.

Digital Retinal Photography (DRP) enables eye doctors to discern even the most subtle changes in your retina. This technology helps optometrists with the early detection of eye disease and in monitoring the progression of a disease and when or if to consider a referral to a sub-specialist.