What is a PanOptic® Ophthalmoscope?

A PanOptic® ophthalmoscope is a newly improved, hand-held, ocular scope with innovative optics which greatly improve the quality, accuracy and comfort of the eye exam. Ophthalmoscopes are ocular instruments used during an eye exam to see into the eye in order to examine the health of the fundus, or the interior surface of the eye. The scope looks for retina damage, such as detached or torn retina, and diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Most ophthalmoscopes are capable of magnifying the anatomy of the eye only five to fifteen times. Unlike regular ophthalmoscopes, the PanOptic® opthalmoscope does not require the eye to be artificially dilated with eye drops to allow enough light to pass into the eye to review the anatomy.

The superior optics of the PanOptic® ophthalmoscope allows the light source to be condensed into a narrow beam as it passes through the undilated pupil, and then the light beam expands to brightly illuminate a wide area at the back of the eye. A breakthrough feature of the PanOptic® ophthalmoscope is that it improved upon existing optical technology by allowing the eye exam to be done on undilated eyes. The wide light beam expansion of the PanOptic® ophthalmoscope also allows for a larger area of the eye to be observed at one time, providing superior examination of the interior of the eye. In addition, the PanOptic® ophthalmoscope has a 25 percent greater magnifying power over standard ophthalmoscopes, allowing the doctor to observe finer details. The wider field of view and increased magnification produce better and more reliable eye exams.

An eye exam with a PanOptic® ophthalmoscope begins by removing the patient's eye glasses, if necessary. The medical instrument is then prepared by focusing the optics on an object around 10 feet (approximately 3 meters) away, setting the aperture, or opening for the light source, and adjusting the intensity of the light source. After instructing the patient to look straight ahead and hold still, the doctor places the PanOptic® ophthalmoscope’s rubber eye cup over one of the patient’s eyes, making sure that both the patient and the medical instrument are steady. The eye cup of the ophthalmoscope is compressed slightly until the optics are optimized and the entire fundus can be seen. Then, the doctor carefully reviews the fundus anatomy to look for any problems or abnormalities, and when the examination of the first eye is finished, the other eye is then reviewed.