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UW Health's eye care services (ophthalmology) uses ophthalmic photography to study the eye and diagnose potential problems with vision.
Ophthalmic (or eye) photography is a specialized branch of medical photography that uses specific imaging equipment to photograph, scan or otherwise image the eye.
Why photograph the eye?
Documentation: To create a permanent record of ocular conditions that can be referred to over time.
Diagnostics: To provide diagnostic information that will lead to accurate diagnoses of eye conditions and guide treatment decisions.
Research: Eye photographs are used extensively in basic scientific research and clinical trials that investigate new treatments for debilitating eye diseases.
Conditions Commonly Photographed
Retina: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, vein and artery occlusions, central serous retinopathy (CSR), aftereffects of traumatic injuries, choroidal nevi (freckles) and tumors
Anterior segment: Aftereffects of traumatic injuries, iris and conjunctival nevi (freckles) and tumors, corneal abnormalities such as deposits, ulcers and injuries
Retinal photograph of a normal right eye.
Optic nerve head with "cupping" due to glaucoma.
Diabetic retinopathy
Fluorescein angiogram of the same eye, showing micro-aneurysms (white dots) and hemorrhage (black dots)