Changing Technology In Eye Care

By Omar Ahmad, MD

These days, the newest technology is advancing at breath taking pace. From tablets to phones to healthcare, technology is changing how we interact and share information. In healthcare, advances in electronic records and imaging, is improving our ability to diagnose and treat disease.

In ophthalmology, advances in imaging, is allowing physicians to diagnose diseases earlier and with greater accuracy. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an emerging technology using light to create cross-sectional imaging for various parts of the eye.

Essentially, an OCT is a non-invasive optical biopsy that provides high-resolution images of the tissue in your eye in real time. As a retinal specialist, we use the OCT to look for swelling, fluid, or blood within or underneath the retina. This is helpful for diagnosing and monitoring diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

The newest generation of the OCT (spectral domain OCT) now has the ability to produce high definition images with a resolution that is many times greater than previously possible. It can produce an image with a resolution of five microns (one micron equals one thousandth of a millimeter), which allows you to see detail almost down to the individual cell layers. This new technology has the ability to quantitatively measure disease progression and to be able to detect some diseases before symptoms develop and/or irreversible vision loss occurs.

Another rapidly evolving technology is electronic medical records. This software allows healthcare providers to keep health records on a computer rather than a paper chart. The newer electronic medical records not only allows records to be clearly organized and typed, it also allows this information to be shared more efficiently between offices, hospitals, and pharmacies. This will help reduce errors and prevent unnecessary duplication of testing.

Also sending prescriptions electronically eliminates the need to hand carry the prescription directly to the pharmacy. Theoretically, your medication may be ready to be picked-up in the time it takes you to drive to the pharmacy from your doctor's office.