Our eyes are often referred to as the windows to our soul, but they’re also intricate organs that allow us to perceive the world around us. The retina, a thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye, plays a crucial role in our sight. It’s important to protect our eyesight with regular trips to the ophthalmologist’s office for eye exams.
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Retinal Imaging involves taking images of the retinal blood vessels located inside the eye, providing your doctor with detailed information about the state of your retina. Retinal imaging technology is used to assess the health of the retina and determine any changes that may indicate the presence of a retinal condition.
Before looking into retinal imaging, it’s important to understand the role of the retina in our visual system. The retina is a highly specialized layer of tissue that lines the inner surface of the eye. It contains millions of light-sensitive cells called photoreceptors, which are responsible for capturing light and converting it into electrical signals. These signals are then sent to the brain via the optic nerve, where they are processed and interpreted as visual information.
The retina is not just involved in visual perception; it also serves as a diagnostic tool for various systemic and ocular conditions. Changes in the retina can be indicative of broader health issues, making it a critical area of study for medical professionals.
Retina imaging uses light from special cameras to create a clear image of the retina inside the eye. The patient is required to sit in a chair, and the doctor will place an eye drop called a dilating drop into your eyes. Dilating drops are used to enlarge the pupils, which allows the doctor to visualize the retina easily.
Retinal imaging involves the use of specialized equipment to capture detailed images of the retina. There are several techniques used in retinal imaging, each with its own advantages and applications:
Fundus photography is the most common form of retinal imaging. It uses a fundus camera to take high-resolution colour photographs of the retina. These images can reveal abnormalities such as retinal tears, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.
OCT is a noninvasive imaging technique that provides cross-sectional images of the retina. It uses light waves to create detailed, 3D images of the retina’s layers. OCT is especially useful for diagnosing and monitoring conditions like glaucoma and macular edema.
The fluorescein angiography imaging technique involves injecting a fluorescent dye into a patient’s bloodstream. As the dye travels through the blood vessels in the retina, a special camera captures images of the dye’s movement. This helps diagnose conditions like diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.
Your optometrist will dilate your pupils with specialized eye drops and scan your eyes with a laser. The images produced are uploaded to a computer so your doctor can analyze them closely. The entire process takes around 5 minutes.
In special cases, if your optometrist suspects you have a type of macular degeneration, you may need a body-safe dye injected by IV to highlight blood vessels in your eye before the test. This can take up to 30 minutes.
After having your pupils dilated, your vision will be blurry for about 4 hours. Following the test, you’ll need to wear dark sunglasses as your eyes will be sensitive to light. Many patients can drive themselves home after dilation, but this can vary.
If you had a macular degeneration test, refrain from wearing contact lenses for a few hours after the test to avoid them getting stained by the dye.
Retinal imaging is a powerful diagnostic tool that can detect a wide range of eye conditions and provide insights into broader systemic health issues, such as cardiovascular disease and certain autoimmune diseases. Here are some of the conditions and health issues that retinal imaging can detect:
Retinal imaging is crucial because it can detect retinal diseases early when they are most treatable. For many retinal conditions, early detection and treatment can prevent or slow down vision loss. Regular retinal exams can also help monitor and manage existing eye conditions.
Keeping up with your regular eye exam schedule is crucial to maintaining long-term eye health and vision. If you haven’t had a retinal imaging exam recently or are experiencing any vision changes, speak to your eye doctor at Visionary Eye Centre today to schedule an appointment with us online.
Retinal imaging is a non-invasive & completely safe method of obtaining pictures of the back of the eye.
What is retinal imaging?
Light from very low-power lasers or a camera flash enters the eye through the pupil. Light reflected back leaves the same way to be collected by the machine creating an image of the retina. Similar types of imaging are performed at a high street optician for a standard eye health check-up. However, we analyse these images in more detail to see what other information they could reveal about the health of human body and brain.
What it used for?
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The back of the eye is called the retina and is one of the few places in the human body allowing easy observation of blood vessels and nerves. These anatomical structures are shared with the brain, but where they are much less accessible. We are researching how we can use information from images of the retina to understand what is happening in the brain.
Subtle changes in the retina may reflect similar processes happening and these early signs may precede declining brain health by years or even decades. Studying blood vessels in the eye is also useful in detecting and understanding diseases that affect the human circulatory system such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
For example, with further research, we may soon be able to identify people with undiagnosed high blood pressure through pictures of their retina, thus enabling a doctor to prescribe appropriate medication and considerably reduce their risk of having a future heart attack or stroke.
Retinal imaging can be used to see:
Blood vessels that lie close to the surface as well as those that are located deeper in the retina
The optic nerve head where blood vessels and nerves enter and leave the eye
The different cellular layers which contain nerves and axons
The macular, which is the part of our eye responsible for central vision
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