I went in for an eye exam on Monday and was offered an alternative to dilation. I hate having my eyes dilated (even if I know it is a necessary evil). This is in large part because my focus actually flips when I’m dilated, leaving me very disoriented. So the OptoMap seemed like a good idea, even though it cost a little bit more. The best part? I got to see the photos it took of the back of my eye!

The procedure is slightly awkward because you have to point your eye perpendicular to your face and mush into the machine (there’s a nice pad on the machine though!) It takes just a minute or so and the images are ready immediately, no waiting! How does it work?

The instrument uses coherent red-green illumination, enabling it to image pathology throughout the layers of the retina, from the sensory retina and nerve fiber layer, through the RPE and down to the choroid. The ultra-widefield image can be separated to present the distinct retinal sub-structures and the individual red and green laser images can be displayed in grayscale separation for enhanced contrast.

Lasers! Lasers are awesome! And these lasers showed that my retinas and lenses look good, as well as my optic nerves and all so I have no signs of glaucoma or cataracts. I do need stronger vision correction and will be getting new glasses as soon as the lenses come in. I guess I have a very high curve to a prescription that is normally pretty flat and they couldn’t cut them in-house. I’m looking forward to having sharper distance vision, that’s for sure!