Last November our clinic was excited to add a new piece of equipment, the Californa Optomap. This remarkable machine has changed how our doctors practice optometry. Prior to owning our own I’ve heard great reviews from colleagues, but with the opportunity to blog about it I wanted to share this with followers.
First I would like to give a bit of history about the Optomap. In 1992 the company Optos was founded by engineer Douglas Anderson after his five year old son lost his vision in one eye from a retinal detachment that was detected too late. Although his son was having regular eye exams, routine exams were uncomfortable, especially for a child, which made it impossible for the doctor to conduct a complete exam and view the entire retina. Anderson set out to commercialize a patient-friendly retinal image product that encompassed a digital widefield image of the retina in a single capture.
The optomap is a tool that assists us in the evaluation of your retina. With optomap we can discover any abnormalities or confirm the health of your retina, diagnose any potentially harmful diseases, and if necessary, determine the best course of action. optomap is a simple, non-invasive procedure. In less than a half a second we can generate a high-resolution, digital, 200° image of your retina. This is much wider than a traditional 45° image that most other clinics use. Already, our doctors have been able to image asymptomatic retinal pathology in patients of our clinic.
I’m pleased to say that this new equipment has evolved how our doctors practice optometry and has raised our level of patient care. Optomap is now the standard of care and available to patients of all ages. We are the only clinic in our region to offer this service yet and I think it sets us apart, so be sure to think of this the next time your family member needs an eye exam.
