Some Benefits Derived From Using Indirect Ophthalmoscope

By Teri Farley


Ophthalmoscopy is examination of the inner part of the eye with the help of an instrument known as an ophthalmoscope. The procedure falls into two categories, direct as well as indirect ophthalmoscopy. In direct ophthalmoscopy, the eye's image is produced as an upright image that is up to fifteen times the original size. The latter inverts the image not beyond five times the sizes and the instrument used is an indirect ophthalmoscope.

There are different features of instruments used that determine which of the two procedures is adopted. For this reason, each type of examination uses its appropriate funduscope. The direct funduscope is tiny, almost the size of a hand-held torch, with potent lenses offering enlargement.

There are many advantages of using this indirect gadget. The first is that it provides a better view of the fundus of the eye and thus can even be seen with the lens covered with cataracts. It has condensing lenses that improves the field of view to up to 30 degrees. This makes it even better to view the retina in a peripheral way. Because of the improved way of view, you can be sure of best retinopathy assessment process using this gadget.

The other advantage is that it provides better clarity for the opacities of the retina. This is due to the enhanced lighting that promotes visualization through the thick cloudy media. This type of ophthalmoscope has the ability to improve vision by separating paths of incident and reflected lights.

An additional feature is enhanced clarity of the retinal opacities, improved by clearer lighting that enables visualization through any dense cloudy obscurity. The augmented perception forms when channels of the incident and the reflected lights become separated, which does not happen in the case of the direct method. Oblique illumination is boosted by augmenting the pigmented lens size. In addition, the funduscope can be either monocular or binocular and is used during peripheral viewing of the retina.

When using a binocular instrument, the examiner gets access to stereoscopic view. This allows visualization of retinal detachment possible in three dimensions. The procedure also produces high quality stereoscopic images that are well illuminated. The complete equipment is portable. When used, the lens is held at arm's length close to the patient's eye. This sets the examiner away from the patient, which is not intimidating in the case of apprehensive patients.

The increased working distance between patient and doctor cal allow for lower powered lenses that help keep a larger field of view. The degree of cooperation is also not required, a case common with direct ophthalmoscopy. Also, the examination of the inner part of the eye using ophthalmoscope process is used to view the retina to the extreme ends. This allows a holistic assessment of the eye by the examiner and may find underlying or hidden problems.

There are a few limitations though of using the indirect ophthalmoscope. It presents images in inverted vertical and horizontal formats that can be quite complicated and the level of magnification can also be lower. You will need to have a lot of patience so as to get a better view of image using this instrument. Nevertheless, the benefits of using this binocular type of ophthalmoscope outweigh these few limitations and so you can consider opting for it in your practice.




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