We all know the importance of regular, thorough eye examinations.
If you have diabetes, regular eye exams can pick up evidence of retinopathy,
diabetic eye disease, early on, in time to intervene and possibly save your
sight. Make it a habit!
But optometrists and ophthalmologists are not spread evenly around, nor equally
trained or equipped. Hopefully, we're all familiar with the dilated retinal
examination? The one that takes the better part of an hour, and hurts? Yes,
it does a good job of revealing retinal disease, but it's NOT an automatic part
of a regular eye exam.
Now there's an alternative. Optos North America, the US subsidiary of Optos
PLC of Dunfermline, Scotland, has developed The Panoramic 200 system, a computerized
scanning device that enables the operator to obtain a clear, wide-field image
of the retina (the "Optimap") in about three minutes -- without the
need for retinal dilation.
Does it work? A study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh compared results
of the Optimap to those produced by traditional dilated examination (two teams
saw each patient, and did not communicate with each other). Results were very
similar (about 74% sensitivity for both). Then consider that the Optos device
works very rapidly, allowing the eye doctor to see more patients in the same
amount of time -- and you see how this new tool could become really important.
For more information, contact: Optos North America, 199 Forest Street, Marlborough,
MA 01752; telephone: 1-800-854-3039; website: www.optos.com
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