What is the retina?
What is retinal imaging?
Why is imaging important?
A healthy retina is vital to vision. REtinal damage can occur more often than most people realize and symptoms of retinal damage can be tough to identify. Retinal imaging may be recommended based on findings during your annual, comprehensive eye care if a doctor suspects an underlying condition.
Precise imagery. Comprehensive Results.
All retinal imaging at Colorado Eye Center is done with Optos, the leader in retinal imaging technology. Its modern design allows doctors to discover more and diagnose sooner.
What are common retinal conditions?
- Macular degeneration
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Floaters
- Uveitis
Macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition affecting as many as 10 million Americans and millions more around the world. This disease attacks the macula of the eye, where our sharpest central vision occurs. Although it rarely results in complete blindness, it robs the individual of all but the outermost, peripheral vision, leaving only dim images or black holes at the center of vision.
Symptoms include: Blurred central vision or blind spots.
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the blood vessels in the back of the eye become weakened and damaged, causing swelling or leakage of blood in the eye. There are two types: nonproliferative and proliferative.
Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy is caused by fluid from the blood vessels in the Retina leaking into the macula, causing it to swell. This can lead to blurry or cloudy vision. In its more advanced stages, Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) sets in and new blood vessels can form in the Retina. These irregular blood vessels can cause damage by leaking blood into the vitreous. If untreated, PDR can possibly lead to Retinal detachment and even glaucoma.
Floaters are small abnormalities in a person’s vision. They can appear as tiny spots or small curvy lines that move along with the movement of the eye. There are many possible causes of floaters, but usually they are the result of foreign matter in the vitreous, physical injury to the eye, or another existing eye disease.
While floaters do not have major adverse effects on overall vision, it is important that people experiencing these spots monitor them closely as they could be indicative of a more serious condition.
Uveitis is an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye that consists of the iris, ciliary body and choroid. Symptoms include: blurred/cloudy vision, floaters, eye pain or redness, increased sensitivity to light, and headaches.
Retinal Care DOCTORS
Frequently Asked Questions
- Eye disease
- Trauma to the eye
- Environmental factors (e.g. solar radiation/staring at the sun)