Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness in the developed world. A few facts:
- In 2008, 28.5% of US adults aged forty and older had DR.
- DR affects 80% of patients who have had diabetes mellitus for twenty years or more.
- DR can stay asymptomatic for years, so when it is perceived by the patient, its pathology could be advanced.
- Compliance with annual retinal exams is less than 50%.
- At least 90% of new cases could be reduced with proper monitoring and treatment of the eyes.
Primary care physicians (PCPs) can play a vital role in the timely detection of diabetic retinopathy and other diseases that threaten sight. But the contributions of primary care to the detection of sight-robbing eye disease are only possible with the right equipment. Optomed manufactures handheld fundus photo equipment that enables PCPs to participate more effectively in saving their patients’ sight.
Handheld fundus photo equipment has numerous advantages for PCPs and patients
Effective eye screening prevents diabetes-related blindness and reduces overall health care costs. Optomed makes effective eye screening easy with handheld fundus photo equipment that can be used in any clinical setting by PCPs or their support staff.
Optomed’s handheld fundus cameras are completely mobile.
Doctors and staff can take the camera to the patient, wherever they are. Optomed fundus photo equipment is scalable to multiple practice locations and for vision screening drives.
Optomed’s handheld fundus cameras relieve scheduling hassles.
Screening with handheld fundus photo equipment can be an add-on to any office exam, with no need for advanced scheduling.
Optomed’s handheld fundus cameras are patient-friendly.
Optomed’s fundus cameras do not require dilated eyes. Also, there are codes for DR and age-related macular degeneration screening that can be added to the billing of the exam by the PCP.
Optomed’s handheld fundus cameras are staff-friendly.
Little training is required for the successful operation of Optomed fundus imaging devices. Any member of the primary care practice and even volunteers can learn how to use Optomed in just a few hours.
Optomed’s handheld fundus cameras can be seamlessly integrated into your referral system.
Software with the Optomed fundus imaging cameras runs alongside a referring system and with Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine, the international standard for exchange, storage, and communication of digital medical images and other related digital data.
Optomed’s fundus cameras afford superior sensitivity to direct ophthalmoscopy. Let’s explore this in more detail.
Direct ophthalmoscopy has serious limitations
Examination of the ocular fundus is critical for accurate detection of many sight- and life-threatening medical conditions. There is consensus that all generalist physicians should be proficient in fundus examination. Standards specifically require physicians to be able to visualize the retina, the optic disc, and the red reflex. Generalist physicians should be able to assess the optic disc for color, contour, cupping, edema, margins, and vessels. Most generalist physicians find that traditional direct ophthalmoscopy is a suboptimal tool for the detection of eye conditions.
What are the limitations of direct ophthalmoscopes?
The field of vision in a direct ophthalmoscope is very limited.
Even in emmetropic patients, the field of view of a direct ophthalmoscope is limited to two disc diameters. This corresponds to just 7 mm2 of the retina’s 1000 to 1200 mm2 surface. In myopic patients, the field of vision is even smaller.
Even when patients are entirely asymptomatic, it is necessary to visualize at least 170 “fields of view” to detect a lesion with a width of two disc diameters. The diameter of the optic disc is typically 1.2 to 2.5 mm. Lesions close to the optic disc caused by DR often have a diameter of less than 2 mm. This limitation makes direct ophthalmoscopy insensitive for the detection of DR.
Direct ophthalmoscopy is monocular.
Examination with a direct ophthalmoscope lacks stereopsis and does not facilitate depth perception. Direct ophthalmoscopy doesn’t access the periphery of the retina, and it lacks access to the pre-equatorial retina.
There are other concerns with direct ophthalmoscopy:
- Lens opacities severely limit visualization of the retina with direct ophthalmoscopy.
- Without dilation, only a fleeting glimpse of the macula is obtainable before involuntary movement or pupil constriction takes it out of view.
- With direct ophthalmoscopy, it is impossible to share images, and there is no direct access to AI or EHRs.
- Direct ophthalmoscopy does not have its own billing code, nor is it accessible to support staff.
Direct ophthalmoscopy continues to have a role in emergency care, but it is suboptimal for vital vision screening.
Optomed provides superior results in patient care
Optomed addresses the limitations of direct ophthalmoscopy with extraordinarily scalable technology.
The portability of Optomed enables accurate DR screening across multiple clinical sites. Even non-professional volunteers can use it for walk-in mass screenings, taking fundus photographs to be assessed by physicians and other professionals at a distant site.
The use of Optomed fundus photography provides superior sensitivity in the detection of DR. Optomed Aurora behaves better than tabletop cameras in non-mydriatic conditions in DR screening, especially for patients who cannot have dilation due to glaucoma. Optomed affords equal performance to tabletop cameras when eyes are dilated.
Let’s review the advantages of Optomed:
- The Optomed Aurora requires a single photograph, not hundreds of manual searches of the retina.
- The Optomed Aurora gives a 50-degree field of view, not a 5-degree field of view.
- The Optomed Aurora is a handheld, mobile screening device. Its use is not limited to one office location. Physicians can offer DR screenings at all their offices.
- Physicians and staff can learn how to use the Optomed Aurora in just a few brief training sessions.
- Optomed Aurora connects to Optomed Screen, Optomed’s screening process management software for organizing and optimizing screening protocols. This software automates reminders, scheduling, reporting, referrals, and image transfers.
- Optomed Aurora can access the AI for recognizing patterns indicating eye disease.
Optomed is the answer for increased surveillance and the timely detection of many of the diseases that threaten sight.
Here at Optomed, our mission is to help save the vision of millions of people. By integrating our software and artificial intelligence solutions with our camera, we enable eye screening for everyone, wherever they are. To see how we can equip you to save the sight of more patients, schedule a free consultation today!
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