Jun 15, 2013

Some Benefits Derived From Using Indirect Ophthalmoscope

By Teri Farley


Ophthalmoscopy, also known as funduscopy or fundoscopy, entails examination of the fundus of the eye using an ophthalmoscope or funduscope. The process falls into two classes, direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy. In the former, the image of the organ is produced as a vertical image that is magnified about fifteen times the actual size. By using indirect ophthalmoscope the process entails inverting the image about two to five times the actual size.

There are different characteristics of the instrument that differentiates between the two types of the procedure. For this reason, each of the procedure has its special type of instrument. The direct instrument is small, about the size of a flashlight with powerful lenses for magnification.

This instrument is commonly used during run-of-the-mill examinations. The indirect funduscope has a headband that projects a light that works in conjunction with a small hand-held lens. The latter supports a broader view of the inner eye structure.

Using the procedure has advantages over its counterpart. It offers a wide field of view that gives a clearer view of fundus of the eye, possible even when the lens covered by cataracts. The field of view increases to thirty degrees using the powerful condensing lenses. This enables peripheral viewing of the retina which is better. The increased field of view also improves retinopathy assessment process.

There is also better clarity of the organ opacities, improved by better lighting that permits visualization through the dense cloudy media. The improved vision forms when paths of the incident and the reflected lights being separate, which is not the case with direct ophthalmoscopy. Still, illumination is beneficial by increasing the pigmented lens size. Furthermore, this type can either be 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 wider working area between patient and doctor allows for underpowered lenses that enable a larger perspective, whereas the direct method requires that the doctor and client co-operate. The binocular method minimizes such a requirement. Of value is that this process can be adopted to see the retina to its full extremity, thereby allowing for an holistic assessment of the eye by the examiner, at which point underlying or obscure problems may come to light.

There are disadvantages of using the indirect ophthalmoscope as well, including the issues inverted horizontal and vertical images, lowered levels of magnification. Also, obtaining a perfect view can take plenty of time and requires patience. No technique is perfect, but some are quite advantageous over closely related ones. Currently, the binoculars procedure is the most preferred kind in the market based of the above advantages.




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