New Techology Detects Retinal Disease

by Martha L. Hernández


McALLEN — For years, the only way for doctors into the back of the eye for a retina inspection involved special eye drops, which dilated the patient’s pupils and required the wearing of dark glasses for hours after the exam.

Now, scientists have developed the Optomap Retinal Exam, which eliminates the need for drop. Patients only see a quick, green flash of light.

“This test is a non-invasive way of doing it. We don’t put drops in your eyes, we just take a picture of the back of your eye and under 25 seconds (later), it gives us a 3D image. We can review the image with you on the computer (immediately after),” said Dr. Fiona Kolia, a therapeutic optometrist at Astoria Vision Source.

“We can look at it with different filters. This test is very important because it allows us to tell you about the health not only of your eye — where we can detect (diseases like) glaucoma (or) macular degeneration, any holes or tears, anything that is in the eye that shouldn’t be there — it also tells us about the health of your body,” Kolia said.

The new technology has detected other medical conditions in people seeking glasses or contacts.

“For example, a young person, healthy, walked in and he had a hemorrhage in his eye that is caused by high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a silent killer, you refer them (to their family doctor) and they can start to get treated and take care of themselves,” Kolia said. Undetected high blood pressure can lead to strokes and other serious complications, Kolia noted.

“Sometimes we are the first to detect if the people have signs of high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, any arteriosclerosis in the eye and we refer them to their family physician” Kolia said.

Kolia is the only optometrist south of Corpus Christi that has an Optomap.

“Sometimes people just don’t see well and they might think it’s just their glasses” Kolia said. “There was a gentleman that had a macular degeneration that needed to be treated … but sometime in younger people (that) kind of problem happens due to high stress and the macular area (center of the eye) can become swollen and you can lose your central vision (if you do not treat it),” Kolia said.

“What we hope to do is be able to screen a lot of people, I think that in this area it is very important for diabetics. We want to it as a tool and make people aware that an eye exam not only involves getting you a better pair of glasses, it involves looking at the interior structures of the eye and behind the eye,” which can aid in the detection of numerous health issues, Kolia said.

Insurance companies do not typically cover treatment with an Optomap. If there is a definite medical diagnosis it may be billed as a retinal photo in some instances with some insurance plans. Patients without insurance pay $37 for the test.

“In a lot of people who are nearsighted, the eyeball elongates, so it is important to look behind the eye because they can develop a retinal detachment,” Kolia said.

Kolia said the Optomap likely would be added to the regular battery of tests conducted by optometrists and ophthalmologists during routine eye exams as the technology comes into more widespread use.