#Sd oct machine full#

When the image pops up on the screen, we look at it together, and I take her through what we are seeing. At my office, I am side-by-side with the patient. This is facilitated partly because of the device’s design-it fits into a small space, and the screen is reversible. When my patients return for their follow-up OCTs, they know exactly what I’m looking for, and they are more engaged in their care. Other specialists, such as rheumatologists, send me referrals for baseline studies in patients who take long-term medications and for urgent care when sudden change of vision occurs in patients experiencing autoimmune disease flare-ups. They are confident in my reports to them because I have pre-scanned my patients, and I can make timely referrals knowing a patient has a disease which needs advanced attention. Using OCT in my practice also enables me to make sure my referrals are appropriate, and I have found that specialists appreciate that efficiency. Such personal imagery is especially important for glaucoma patients-they need to know why I’m asking them to use eye drops every day.įor retina patients, I want them to understand exactly why I am sending them to a specialist and what it means for their vision when they have fluid in the macula. I like to tell patients that I need their help in caring for their eyes-I show them their ocular condition, not simply point to a picture in a book. Both new and established patients have commented on how they are impressed by technology to monitor their conditions.Įducating patients about their eyes gives them knowledge to better understand their condition. Having the device in my practice rather than renting a mobile device has enhanced my patients’ confidence in me. We’re going to take a scan of that today, and I’ll show you.” I walk the patient to the OCT to immediately obtain the imaging I need. Now, if I see something of concern, I say, “It looks like you have. Before my in-office OCT, I would describe to the patient what I saw, why I was asking him to return for follow up when the OCT was in the office, or why I was referring him elsewhere. When I bought my OCT, I found that it immediately changed my patient care. The instrument’s feature of a pivoting viewing screen pivot allows the patient and technician to be on the same side of the instrument table. In our small office, the Maestro and monitor sit on a two-instrument table which is conveniently pushed up against a wall. Due to its smaller footprint, the Maestro was literally a better fit. Two devices made the short list, Topcon 3D SD-OCT-1 Maestro and Zeiss Cirrus HD-OCT. In shopping for an instrument, the office space required was a big consideration. I was quickly recognizing that I had to have my own OCT. Additionally, urgent scans had to be sent out and done elsewhere. Continuity of care was often lost because I had to ask patients to return on another day for an OCT to further investigate a finding.

#Sd oct machine full#

For the first few years, I rented a mobile OCT service on a quarterly basis which came to my practice for two to three hours with a technician.Īs I watched my waiting room become increasingly full with longer waiting times on OCT days, I realized that this method was not providing the best patient experience. I knew would need an OCT, but initially I was not able to afford one.

When I decided to take what I had learned and open cold to start my own solo practice, one of the more intimidating aspects of the process was acquiring the required technology. In my 28-year optometric career, I have worked in multiple settings from big-box retailers to ophthalmology clinics to private optometry practices. ODs in smaller practices may have the challenge of justifying the expense of this technology. 1-4 It has also become a game-changer for monitoring macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. OCT is the standard of care for detecting diabetic macular edema and is the fastest, least invasive method for detecting fluid in the retina. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is rapidly becoming a must-have device for optometrists.