What is the Optomap Retinal Exam? 

Introduction

The only spot in the body where blood vessels can be viewed directly in the retina (placed in the rear of the eye). This implies that, in addition to eye disorders, the retina might show indications of other diseases (such as stroke, heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes). 

Early symptoms of these disorders can appear on your retina long before you notice any changes in your vision or experience pain. While most eye checkups involve a glance at the front of the eye to assess health and prescription changes, a complete examination of the retina is required to ensure that your vision is healthy.

About Optomap Retinal Exam.

The Optomap Retinal Exam, an ultra-widefield retinal examination, is a groundbreaking diagnostic tool that allows clinicians to see the majority of the retina. The Optomap Retinal Exam uses a non-dilating camera to take a digital image of the retina. 

The Optomap enables doctors to acquire a 200° high-resolution image of the retina in a shot, without dilation, in less than a quarter of a second. It is simple for the patient to perform, takes only a few minutes, and is instantly available for viewing with the patient in the clinic.

What is Optomap Image?

Obtaining an optomap picture is simple, quick, and painless. Nothing ever catches your attention. It is appropriate for the entire family. To do the exam, simply stare into the device one eye at a time (as if through a keyhole), and you will see a flash of light to indicate that a picture of your retina has been captured.

Typical conditions may not need the use of dilation drops, but your eye care practitioner will determine if your pupils need to be dilated based on the health of your eyes. The image capture takes less than a half-second, and the images are immediately available for you to view your own retina. Even in a dark room, you see precisely what your eye doctor sees.

What is the Optomap capable of detecting?

The Optomap can detect both ocular and systemic diseases. We can use the device to check your retina for problems like macular degeneration, retinal holes, retinal detachments, hypertension, and diabetic retinopathy. Just like freckles on your skin, benign nevi or “freckles” of the retina of the eye can be found. A device like the Optomap is essential for distinguishing benign “freckles” from malignant melanomas of the retina. The Optomap allows you to see inside the eye just as the Eye doctor does. A retinal exam aids in the prevention of vision impairment or blindness.

An octomap eye exam includes the following services:

• An image captured with a brief flash. Making it suitable for patients who are light sensitive.
• An image that can be saved and compared to future digital images in order to detect changes in your retinal health.
• Diagnosis of vision issues that appear only at night, like starbursts and halos
• Eye diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma can be detected early.
• Early detection of potentially fatal diseases like eye cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke
• Early recognition of retinal disease allows for early treatment and prevention of complications or vision loss.
• Diabetic screening – retinal eye scans – can detect early signs of diabetes-related eye damage, even before you notice any symptoms.
• Corneal topography, allowing for more advanced contact lens fittings

The optomap retinal exam has many advantages, especially for patients who are hesitant or incapable of having their pupils dilated because the optomap can usually be performed without dilation.

Optomap Enables Your Doctor to View Different Retinal Layers.

Optomap technology employs low-powered laser wavelengths which scan at the very same time. This allows for a closer examination of the retinal substructures in one’s individual laser separations.

• The green laser (532 nm) scans the sensory retina and the pigment epithelial layers.
• Scans with a red laser (633 nm) from the RPE to the choroid

An optomap retinal exam allows your eye doctor to perform the most thorough eye exam possible by capturing more than 80% of your retina in a single panoramic image. This one-of-a-kind technology assists them in detecting underlying eye diseases and monitoring treatment for existing ocular diseases.

Numerous retinal problems can be treated to prevent vision loss if they are detected early.

The Advantages of an Optomap Image

The following are the advantages of obtaining an optomap ultra-widefield retinal image:

• Optomap enables the early identification of visual impairment or blindness. 

• Optomap enables early detection of life-threatening disorders such as cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.

• The optomap ultra-widefield vision allows your eye doctor to detect early indicators of retinal illness more effectively and efficiently than standard eye exams. Early detection allows for successful treatment and decreases the risk to your sight and health.

Disadvantages of Optomap Exam.

Although this exam seems very useful in all facts, it still has a few disadvantages to it.

• Laser retinal imaging does not always detect disease when there is retinal bleeding.

• Vision insurance does not pay for the optomap. Depending on the terms of your policy and the reason for the test, it might be covered by your medical insurance.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AA) and the American Optometric Association (AOA) both recommend that people with diabetes have a dilated eye exam at least once a year, despite the fact that the optomap can be very useful for diabetic screening.

Summing up

During an eye exam, your eye doctor can detect indicators of eye illness as well as other health issues such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure by checking your retina.

In fact, a sign of these health disorders might develop on your retina long before you notice any other visual or health problems. The Optomap retinal exam is wroth the money since your eye doctor to discover early indicators of illness in the peripheral of your retina, which would otherwise go undetected with older, traditional imaging technologies.

In conclusion, while a complete eye checkup usually includes evaluating the front of your eye to identify any vision or eye health problems, the Optomap laser retinal scan extends eye exams significantly.