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Benefits of Digital Imaging in Ophthalmology

ryan-frank | Jan 11, 2010 |

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Digital imaging has brought a lot of positive changes to the field of ophthalmology, improving the accuracy and efficiency of patient eye care. Using digital imaging, doctors can better detect and diagnose eye diseases. The technique has made it possible to cover a larger part of the patient's retina with a single image capture, and the image itself is high-definition and easily adjustable for better viewing. With digital imaging, ophthalmologists are thus able to detect problems that might have gone unnoticed with conventional scans, which is a big deal, as early detection is crucial to providing successful treatments.

Before and After Surgery
Digital imaging techniques have been particularly effective at providing pre-operative and post-operative eye care. When it comes to patients with cataracts and patients who undergo refractive surgery, digital imaging has enabled doctors to more easily assess the state of the patient's disease the effectiveness of the treatments. In a lot of cases, the technique also helps in detecting certain systematic diseases associated with vision, like diabetes, hypertension and certain types of cancer.

Easier to View
Another way in which digital imaging helps ophthalmologists is that it provides them with a modifiable digital scan. Doctors can modify the digital images for better viewing. They can magnify an image and zoom in on sections that seem to indicate potential problems. They can also add or subtract color and change brightness settings and contrast. This digital method of viewing eye and retinal scans is great for detection and diagnosis of retinal diseases related to diabetes.

Advantages in General Ophthalmology
When it comes to conducting genera eye exams on healthy patients, digital imaging has helped make the process faster and more accurate. It takes about two minutes to conduct an image scan digitally and two more minutes to review the results with the patient. By contrast, a conventional photocoagulation laser requires requires 30 minutes of patient eye dilation and afterwards there is four hour recovery period. Plus, it only takes a single digital image capture to cover the same area that would require several dozen direct views using a conventional method that relies on ophthalmoscope viewings.