Digital retinal imaging uses high-resolution imaging systems to take pictures of the inside of your eye. This helps us assess the health of your retina and helps us to detect and manage such eye and health conditions as glaucoma, diabetes, and macular degeneration. Finding retinal disorders as early as possible is critical in potentially preventing serious disease progression and even vision loss.
In addition to helping detect diseases early, retinal images provide a permanent and historical record of changes in your eye. Images can be compared side-by-side, year after year, to discover even subtle changes and help monitor your health.
Here are just some of the diseases retinal imaging can help us notice or see more closely:
Age-related Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration is usually signified by leaking of fluid or bleeding in the back of the eye. This causes central vision loss.
Cancer
A dark spot at the back of the eye may signal a melanoma, which can grow unnoticed within the retina. If caught early, melanomas can be treated before they cause serious damage and travel to other areas of the body through the bloodstream.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetes can cause changes in the blood vessels of the retina, like swelling and leakage or the creation of new blood vessels. Blindness can result without early detection.
Glaucoma
Pressure against the optic nerve and compression of the eye’s blood vessels may indicate glaucoma. This disease causes permanent and irreversible vision loss.
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Signs of high blood pressure often appear first in the eye. Indicators can include narrowing of the blood vessels, spots on the retina, or bleeding in the back of the eye.
Retinal Detachment
Retinas can lift or pull away from the wall of the eye. If not properly treated, this can cause permanent vision loss.