Outstanding Features Of The 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.

You can easily tell the difference between the two ophthalmoscopes using their unique features. The unique features also make the processes different in that they are done differently. The direct instrument is relatively smaller compared to the indirect one. In fact, it is the size of a torch but it has very powerful lenses that facilitate magnification. It is preferred for routine examinations. This equipment on the other hand comes with a head band that is used to hold the light. It also comes with handheld lens and its design is one that allows a broader view of the interior of the eye.

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.

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.

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 adopting a binocular ophthalmoscope, the examiner gets access to stereoscopic view. This allows determination of retinal detachment, should it be present, through three dimensions, and produces advanced stereoscopic images that are brightly lit. The full assembly is portable. Whilst being used, the lens is held away from the body of the practitioner and close to the patient's face. This prevents the examiner from invading the patient's personal space, thereby creating a comfort zone for 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 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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