A 3D OCT screening diagnoses potentially serious conditions that can affect your eyesight and your well-being.
At all of our Optical Centre practices we are excited to be able to offer you the very latest in eyecare technology.
We are now able to look at the structures of the eye in a totally different way than before, using our three-dimensional OCT scanner. This allows us to see beneath the surface of the retina and optic nerve for the first time, which will enable us to detect eye disorders much earlier, therefore allowing access to faster treatments and better visual outcomes for our patients.
What is OCT?
OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomography) is an advanced eye scan. It is similar to an ultrasound scan, but uses light instead of sound waves to examine the different layers that make up the back of the eye.
The OCT can capture a digital retinal photograph and a cross sectional scan of the layers of the retina at the same time. The scan is non-invasive, painless, simple and quick.
By comparing scans taken on separate occasions, the software can detect the most subtle changes to the layers of the retina, enabling abnormalities to be detected at the earliest stage.
Macular Degeneration:
This is the most common cause of visual loss in patients over the age of 50 – the OCT can diagnose this condition at its initial stages and can also be used to monitor treatment/progression of this disorder.
Glaucoma:
This condition damages the optic nerve and has recently been shown to affect 1 in 50 people over the age of 40. Chronic Glaucoma is the most common form of Glaucoma and in the initial stages produces no symptoms that the patient would notice, even though vision is being damaged. An OCT scan will show if there is risk of Glaucoma.
Diabetes:
Diabetic Retinopathy is a major cause of visual loss in adults. In the UK, more than two million people have been identified as having Diabetes. An OCT examination enables early detection of Diabetic Retinopathy, which greatly improves the success rate of treatment.
Although our comprehensive eye examination includes digital retinal photography (for patients over 8 years of age & repeated at regular intervals) the OCT scan carries an additional charge.
