Fancy new machine at my eye exam?

August 1, 2009 2:10 PM

What was the machine used at my eye exam instead pupil dilation?

I recently had my first eye exam in a couple of years, and was dreading the part where they dilate your pupils as it was a bright, sunny summer day. But that never happened! Instead, I had to smush my face up against a machine I'd never seen before which flashed a green light into each eye and took a photo of the back of it.

Afterwards, the photos were imported into a Windows program, and the doctor showed me the photos and pointed out the different things she was looking for. It was fascinating seeing my optic nerve and everything. Anyone know what this device or procedure is called?

posted by miskatonic to health & fitness (6 comments total)

Optomap is one version of this. I agree, really cool especially when they call up last year's image and compare them.
posted by cabingirl at 2:37 PM on August 1

That's it! The photos look right, and I found my doctor under "Find a Provider." Thanks!
posted by miskatonic at 2:40 PM on August 1

Yep, Optomap is what my eye doctor uses as well. Not only is the comparison-over-time feature cool, but if can show if anything is deteriorating, anything new pops up, etc. Especially useful for folks with conditions like diabetes.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 2:43 PM on August 1

My eye doctor has an Optomap machine, but still does the dilation too if it's been a while. I guess they show him different things.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:18 PM on August 1

Six of the folks I've seen for my retinas have published works on the Optomap gear.

They do still dilate me every time, though, and examine via indirect more often than they ship me up to the fundus camera. I don't think I've ever gotten an Optomap out of it. I'm not going to try harder to earn it, that's for sure.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:40 PM on August 1

Also, any of those six? Just completely amazing docs. If any of you MeFites in LA, or folks who can travel for high-end medical care, ever need a retinal geek, I'm happy to recommend. Derail over.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:44 PM on August 1