An opticians in Hamilton has invested almost £50,000 in new technology which can help to identify some sight-threatening conditions up to four years earlier than a standard eye test.
Specsavers on Quarry Street, which remains open for all eye care needs under Scottish Government guidance, can now also provide customers with an OCT (optical coherence tomography) scan, which can help detect treatable eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and glaucoma.
The scan, which only takes a few seconds, allows an optician to look deeper into the eyes than ever before. Given that nearly half of all sight loss is preventable, an OCT scan means conditions can be managed before they get worse and can help prevent potential sight loss.
Store director Emma Foster, says: “This investment means that our team now has the ability to enhance the services to the local community by helping to detect and manage eye conditions at an earlier stage, with a level of diagnostic capability which previously would have required a hospital visit.”
Emma adds: “The new equipment is especially important as we continue to navigate our way through the pandemic and will enable us to help ease the pressure on the NHS even more with access to hospital-grade technology in the store.”
An OCT scan uses light to take more than 1,000 images of the back of the eye and beyond, looking right back to the optic nerve and creating a cross-section view.
Emma continues: “You can imagine it like a cake – we can see the top of the cake and the icing, but the image produced from an OCT scan slices the cake in half and turns it on its side, so we can see all the layers inside. It gives the optician an incredibly accurate picture of your eye and its structures, allowing them to check your eye health.”
A customer’s OCT images will be stored so they can note changes over time – a real benefit to the monitoring of someone’s overall eye health. OCT scans are available for £10 as part of an enhanced sight test and can be requested when booking an appointment.
Need more?
To book an eye test at the Hamilton store, call 01698 891565 or visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/hamiltonHamilton opticians invests in hospital-quality technology
