While the exact causes of cataracts are still not entirely understood, annual eye exams are still important for the diagnoses and treatment of their formation.  Even with precautions and regular exams, by the year 2020, more than 30 million Americans are expected to develop cataracts.

Most cataracts occur gradually as we age and don’t become bothersome until after age 55. However, cataracts can also be present at birth (congenital cataracts) or occur at any age as the result of an injury to the eye (traumatic cataracts). Cataracts can also be caused by diseases such as diabetes or can occur as the result of long-term use of certain medications.  While typically forming in both eyes, cataracts may not grow at the same rate. They can develop slowly or quickly, or progress to a certain point, then not get any worse. As a result, one may not notice substantial changes in their sight. Sometimes they can significantly precede symptoms and can be so subtle as to go unnoticed without a comprehensive eye exam.

When Vince Young, OD introduced Daytona, into his practice, he volunteered to be the imaging guinea pig while his staff trained on the device.  He was unnerved …

June is Cataract Awareness Month and while many people may consider cataracts to simply be an inevitable aspect of aging, there is a great deal more to know and understand. Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in the United States, and the leading cause of blindness in the world. Although 24 million Americans over the age of 40 are affected by cataracts, the condition is more complex and nuanced than most may realize.

A cataract is an opacification of the natural lens, which inhibits or distorts the passage of light into the eye. The lens, located behind the pupil and iris, is typically transparent and transmits light onto the retina – the resulting signals become pictures in the brain.

Almost all of us realize and accept that as we age, we are likely to develop a cataract. However, the exact causes are still not entirely understood. Besides the natural aging process, there are several other possible risk factors for cataracts, such as:

Intense heat or long-term exposure to UV rays from the sun Certain diseases, such as diabetes Inflammation in the eye Hereditary influences Events before birth, such as German measles in the mother Long-term steroid use Eye …

When 29-year-old Emmy came to see Uwe Canting, OD at Canting Optometry in Cary, NC, she was relatively certain that her eye was fine, but wanted to seek reassurance from her optometrist.  Emmy had received a high-impact, full-blown soccer ball to the eye during a soccer match the preceding day and while having no symptoms other than slight discomfort from the bruising, she realized that the impact was severe enough that something unseen may have occurred.

Canting notes that Emmy presented with a black eye OD, while her visual acuity was 20/20.  “The eye itself looked fine. Other than the ecchymosis, there were no immediate concerns. There was no apparent subconjunctival hemorrhage and no recession of the iris.  But, while dilated, I could see instantly that it was not normal and decided to capture an optomap image.  Sure enough, the image clearly showed the whitish sheen of Commotio retinae superiorly temporal.”  Canting recalls, “The beauty of this situation was that I had her optomap image from her last visit and I could show her, clearly and tangibly, what had occurred in her eye.”

He adds that optomap has proved to be extremely valuable for patient education in a variety of …

As summer draws near, most of us long for the glorious warmth of the sun and we dream about, and plan for, the recreation we will enjoy. Unfortunately, while awareness of the importance of sunscreen and UV protective clothing has increased, the impacts of all that fun-in-the-sun on the eyes is still often overlooked.  Most people do not realize that 20% of all cataracts are the result of UV ray exposure, and that number has been dramatically increasing in recent years.

But what is this invisible threat exactly?  And how does it impact us? Ultraviolet radiation is measured in nanometers (nm). It is categorized in three basic terms and classified by the strength of the UV ray:

UVC: These rays are below 280 nm. The upper atmosphere absorbs these so they do not reach us, therefore protection from these rays is not overly necessary. UVB: These are between 315 – 380 nm. These manage to make it to the earth’s surface and are notorious for damaging sight. They can cause snow blindness, but are notably responsible for sunburn and several types of skin cancer. Research has shown that these rays are strongest during the summer and at …

For over 25 years, Optos has been Delivering on Dreams at Work with regard to ultra-widefield(UWF™) retinal imaging. And we will continue to deliver on our dream at work – enabling all Vision Source doctors to make optomap their primary choice for retinal imaging.

optomap is the ONLY:

• Single-capture 200° UWF retinal image • UWF retinal imaging technology supported by 500+ clinical papers • UWF retinal imaging product in over 1800 Vision Source practices

Connect with us at the Exchange, booth #701 or at one of our sessions listed below:

CE – Diabetes. Seeing is Believing. What Surprises Are In Store for You? Wednesday, May 2 Doctors Jeffry Gerson and Laurie Sorrenson

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Exhibit Theatre Sessions (limited to the first 32 guests) Thursday, May 3 8:30 – 8:50pm David Nelson, OD optomap af – beyond color retinal imaging

Friday, May 4 11:30– 11:50am Alex Martin, OD Learn how your staff can affect acceptance and utilization of optomap in your practice

7:00 – 7:20pm Brad Yates, VP of Product Management Advance your knowledge of OptosAdvance image management and the key benefits of OptosCloud.

  Saturday, May 5 12:30 – 12:50pm Sharon Shepard, Director of Digital Marketing Leverage …

April is Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month, which may, at first glance, seem a bit of a niche concern. However, according to the organization Prevent Blindness, women make up the majority of the 4.4 million Americans, age 40 and older, who are visually impaired or blind.  More women than men have age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma.  These numbers will only continue to increase in the years to come.

Although there are no cures for some of these diseases, many of the effects may be lessened through early detection and treatment.  A 2015 survey found that one in four women had not received an eye exam in the past two years. Since women may not be aware that they are at greater risk than men of developing eye disease that could lead to serious vision impairment, practitioners can take the opportunity during Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month to stress the importance of paying attention to eye health and the importance of an annual eye exam.

A comprehensive eye exam should include a thorough examination of the retina, including an optomap, which is complementary to a DFE and an excellent tool for screening and for patient education. Because an optomap image …

When Vince Young, OD introduced the Daytona from Optos in his practice, he volunteered to be the imaging guinea pig while his staff was being trained on the device.  He was unnerved when he reviewed his images with the trainer and somewhat uncertain about what he was actually seeing.  He knew what a posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) looked like through the slit lamp but was surprised by what the optomap image laid evident.  While optomap is known for being able to penetrate through medial opacities far better than white light modalities, a PSC, which tends to be denser than other types of cataract, will cast a shadow on the retina revealing the issue. A concerned Dr. Young sent the image to his wife, Lindsey Brewer Young, OD.  When she reviewed the image on her phone she immediately responded, questioning whose eye she was regarding.  Learning it was her husband’s image she returned to the clinic, conducted a dilated exam, and confirmed that it was indeed a PSC that had been revealed in the optomap image.

Young, who is 40, had no reason to suspect he would have cataracts which are more typically associated with the elderly population.  A subcapsular cataract occurs at …

As a private practice optometric physician and professor of optometry near Portland, Oregon, Lorne Yudcovitch, OD had the opportunity to experience optomap technology on a frequent basis for nearly a decade, both in the clinical setting and as a tool for instructing his students. While he valued the ultra-widefield view and the innovative capabilities, he did not purchase an Optos device until 2012.

“I felt that the optomap technology had improved not only in resolution, but it was more user-friendly, making it much easier to position the patient – and we loved the autofluorescence modality. That has become really invaluable.” Yudcovitch explained how optomap Daytona can quickly and easily reveal issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

He describes a recent scenario when Lila, a 54-year-old Caucasian female, came to the clinic with night vision complaints. Yudcovitch shares that she was correctable to 20/20 vision in each eye and that he found no retinal abnormalities with conventional imaging and ophthalmoscopy. However, the optomap af image revealed significant hyper and hypo fluorescence mottling in the posterior pole in both eyes. Yudcovitch immediately referred her for further retinal examination and genetic testing which revealed a hereditary PRPH2 gene mutation variant.

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The leaders in ultra-widefield (UWF™) retinal imaging technology, Optos, invite you to join us at Vision Expo East (VEE) March 15–18 in NYC.

Find out what’s new at Optos by pre-scheduling your demonstration or stop by our booth. Learn about our devices, software and imaging modalities that can help you diagnose and treat more ocular and systemic disease.  Throughout the show, Optos will be at booth MS4849. Be our guest in the exhibit hall at VEE 2018 by clicking this link to receive your complimentary pass.

Getting in early? Join us, Thursday, March 15th at the Lambs Club at 6:30 pm for our Clinical Insights on AMD panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Jeff Gerson, FAAO.

Key topics include: • The epidemiology of AMD and the global burden of the disease • Combining traditional retinal exam methods with new technologies to facilitate early AMD detection • How to customize treatment plans for patients with exudative and non-exudative AMD • Implementing evidence-based nutritional management when appropriate • The roles of macular pigment optical density testing, OCT, and dark adaptometry in building a retina/AMD practice

If you have any questions about our UWF retinal imaging or our offerings at VEE, please call 1-800-854-3039. We look forward …

As an eyecare professional, providing comprehensive exams is tantamount to patient care. By adding tools, such as ultra-widefield (UWF™) retinal imaging with multiple modalities, the ability to detect pathology, which may be missed with single-image modality and/or conventional narrow-field fundus photography, is a game changer.

UWF retinal imaging is performed by a specially designed scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) that generates a high-resolution digital image covering 200 degrees (or about 82 percent) of the retina, in a single capture. By comparison, conventional 7 standard field (7SF) ETDRS and fundus camera photographs produce a relatively narrow view (75 degrees or less) of the retina. The SLO simultaneously scans the retina using two low-power lasers (red – 633 nm and green – 532 nm) that enable high-resolution, color imaging of retinal substructures. The resulting UWF digital image – optomap or optomap af – UWF retinal imaging utilizing fundus autofluorescence (FAF), is produced.

What is Fundus Autofluorescence?

FAF, is an imaging modality used to provide information on the health and function of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Over time, the retinal photoreceptors naturally age and produce a metabolic waste known as lipofuscin. Lipofuscin is the fatty substance found in the retinal pigment epithelium. Excessive amounts can …