New Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Machine Will Help Diagnose and Monitor Eye Diseases
At Uptown Eye Care, one of our main goals is to always remain on the cutting edge of technology. Recent advances in technology have changed the way optometrists do business, and have vastly improved the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of a wide range of optical diseases.
We are proud to announce the addition of OCT technology, or Optical Coherence Tomography, to our office. With this technology, we now have the ability to diagnose and monitor diseases of the retina, including Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Macular Edema (CME) and Glaucoma. Our new OCT allows us to diagnose these diseases early on, and create detailed treatment plans to limit their impact on our patients’ lives.
The Importance of Early Detection and Treatment
OCT scan of a retina at 800nm with an axial resolution of 3µm.
(origin medOCT-group, Dept of Med. Physics, Med. Univ. Vienna, Austria, 2004)
Like any ailment, early detection of retinal diseases is very important – the earlier the issue is detected, the better the chances are of limiting its impact on the patient. Our new Optical Coherence Tomography allows us to detect retinal diseases much earlier, in turn giving us better odds of treating the disease with success.
Planning for the Future
While early detection is one of the best ways to combat retinal diseases, prevention is also important. Many choices we make throughout our daily lives can impact our chances of avoiding a retinal disease, including:
- Diet: Eating a diet rich in certain vitamins and minerals can be helpful to prevent retinal diseases. Foods such as eggs, fish, yogurt, leafy greens, cottage cheese and broccoli contain helpful minerals and vitamins that improve eye health and reduce the risk of disease. Omega 3 fatty acids are especially important for eye health, and also can help to reduce cholesterol.
- Supplements: Some helpful vitamins and minerals cannot be found in the foods we eat. Adding lutein and zeaxanthin supplements to your diet can help to prevent retinal diseases, and generally improve eye health.
- Lifestyle: Certain habits can impact your eye health, including staring at computer screens for extended periods of time, failing to protect against hazardous UV rays and smoking. Avoiding or limiting some of these habits can increase the health of your eyes and help to prevent disease.
- Routine care: Annual eye exams can improve the chances of early detection, and can help you take control of your eye health – the more you know about your eyes, the better you can understand how you can protect them.
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For a comprehensive eye exam or more information on how you can prevent retinal diseases, call Uptown Eye Care at 763-271-2020 or send us a note via our Contact Form.
