Effective Diagnosis and Management
- At SVC we stay as modern and state-of-the-art as possible. There are always new advancements being made, new research being done, and new equipment being designed...and we are right there at the leading edge.
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One of our newest diagnostic instruments is our Canon
Retinal Camera. It allows us to take a photo of the
inside surface of the back of the eye. The information we obtain from these
photos is extremely valuable in helping us to first establish a baseline
of your ocular health, and then to continue to monitor and perfectly
document the health of your eyes - the retina (macular degeneration), the
blood vessels (high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol), and the
optic nerve (glaucoma) - at each yearly exam. The newest and most unique instrument we have is the Sonogage PlusŪ pachometer. It measures the thickness of the cornea (front surface of the eye) and is used for: differential diagnosis of certain types of glaucoma, monitoring the health of the corneas of contact lens patients, as well as for corneal reshaping therapies. In fact, this instrument is the only one in the world sensitive enough to measure the thickness of the corneal epithelium (the front surface layer of the cornea) which is the tissue that is molded in corneal reshaping. With corneal reshaping, you can see clearly without contact lenses or glasses and, most importantly, without surgical risk! We are the first office in Southern California to acquire this advanced state-of-the-art instrument to more accurately predict and more safely monitor corneal reshaping.
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We have also recently installed a brand new
Canon RK-5 Auto Refractor. This instrument takes
a measurement of your prescription by calibrating the
optical properties in your eye with infrared light.
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Basically, it is a
tool that gives us a starting point for your prescription and helps us to more
accurately determine your
final glasses and/or contact lens prescription. |
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The
Keratron
Corneal Topographer is an instrument we use on every
contact lens patient, every patient on which we are performing corneal
reshaping, as well as any patient with abnormalities of the front surface
of the eye. If we determine that you do have any corneal irregularities (i.e. due to scarring from previous injury or surgery, keratoconnus, etc.) we can use CadCam software with our topographer to map those imperfections and manufacture a custom rigid gas permeable lens. This custom lens will have a 'glove-like' fit and will provide you with your best possible vision. Below is an image capture from this software.
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The topographer uses tens of thousands of light
points to give us a color-coded picture
of the front surface of your eye, similar to a topographical map of a
landscape. |
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The Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer
is another brand new instrument that allows us to measure the
sensitivity of your retina. This is a screening test we perform on
every patient. The results can tell us if you've lost any vision,
even if the loss is slight enough that you haven't noticed yet. This
gradual loss of vision can occur with several conditions, including
glaucoma, diabetes, neurological problems, and cataracts (and many
others).
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If you've never been diagnosed with any of these health conditions, and you show a visual field loss on our screening test, we may be the first health care professionals to determine that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. And, as with every condition affecting your health, the sooner management is started, the better your prognosis. |
