Retinal Camera / Fundus Camera allows eye doctors to diagnose diseases and determine the health of the retina

Retinal Camera/Fundus Camera

Learn why fundus photography is important, and how it can be used to detect eye pathologies earlier in diabetic patients and others and prevent blindness.

What is a fundus camera?

It is estimated that the fundus camera has saved the lives of over 108,000 people since its inception. It is a quick, noninvasive technology that allows optometrists, ophthalmologists, and other healthcare providers to diagnose diseases and determine the health of the retina. A fundus camera has many benefits for both physicians and the patient. By monitoring the progression of diseases over time, a retinal camera allows your eye doctor to develop better management plans and have earlier detection of vision threatening conditions.

What is a fundus camera used for?

Fundus cameras are great tools for eye doctors since they give them great information about the retina, blood vessels, and the interior portion of the eye, including the optic nerve and macula. Furthermore, the fundus camera can also show the anatomy of your eye.
Fundus cameras are especially important for eye diseases that can lead to permanent vision loss such as:
  • Glaucoma (increased pressure in the eyes that causes nerve damage over time)
  • Macular edema (swelling in the central part of the interior of the eye)
  • Macular degeneration (deterioration of the macula)
  • Diabetic retinopathy (bursting of the blood vessels in the eye)
  • Papilledema (swelling of the optic nerve due to increased pressure in the brain)
  • Retinal tears (when the vitreous separates from the retina and breaks the tissue)
  • Retinal detachment (when the retina moves away from the tissues that supply it with oxygen and nutrients)
  • Hypertensive retinopathy  (occurs after a patient’s blood pressure has remained high for a long period of time)
  • Optic atrophy (occurs when the optic nerve is damaged)

If there are any diseases or disorders, it allows your eye care provider to explain that disorder to you, and you are able to understand it more easily because there is a picture available. Having images is also important as it allows your eye doctor to establish a baseline of your eye and identify changes as you age.

Diabetes or diabetic retinopathy

Glaucoma

Retinal Detachment

Age Related Macular Degeneration

What are the benefits of a retinal camera?

Retinal camera has the following advantages:
  • An easy-to-master technique
  • Comparable to ophthalmoscopy, it allows you to observe a larger retinal field at a time
  • Dilation is not necessary, making it less invasive than traditional methods
  • Compliance by patients is high
  • The doctor can save and use an image at a later date.
  • By monitoring the progression of diseases over time, better management plans can be developed
  • Various filters and dyes are available to allow for different types of tests

What role does fundus cameras play in preventing blindness?

Fundus camera helps identify diabetic retinopathy which is the leading preventative cause of blindness among adults of working age in the United States.
The fundus camera has saved the lives of over 108,000 people since its inception. Retinal/fundus photography has a gradability rate of 92-95%, making it one of the most effective ways to prevent preventable blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy

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