Over the last ten years our state-of-the-art digital camera has proved to be a great clinical asset to the practice. It allows us to take photographs of patients’ retinas that can be displayed on a computer screen as well as being stored digitally for future reference. The aim is to allow us to detect subtle changes in the eye at an earlier stage and so refer patients to an ophthalmologist (eye specialist) sooner. In this way we hope to detect preventable visual loss earlier.

The photography is painless and only takes a few minutes for the majority of patients. Drops are not required, although for some patients with small pupils or cataracts, drops to dilate the pupil do allow a better quality of photograph to be taken.