Post by Chris Wolfe on Apr 6, 2005 16:57:58 GMT -5
KIM PINNICKS
SNAPSHOT REPORTER
Ophthalmic photography is the taking of images of the eye to study and treat disorders of the eye.
There are different types of ophthalmic photography, which are called Fundus Photography, Fluorescein Angiography, Slitlamp Photography, External and Motility Photography.
A fundus Photograph is a picture of the reflection of light off the fundus of the eye. Use what’s called a Fundus camera, you are able to see nerves in which the signals are transmitted to the brain and retina vessels.
Dropping a dye called Sodium Fluorescein in the eye, when a blue light is shone on it, glows the dye a yellow-green color. With special filters on the camera, only the yellow-green color is photographed showing the retinal vessels because of low infrared light. Most Fluorescein photos are taken with digital cameras now but could also be taken with black and white as well.
The purpose of slit lamp photos is to produce high magnification of disorders that are impossible to see with the naked eye. Using a horizontally mounted microscope to look at the eye, a beam or slit of light adjusts from very broad to very narrow giving it its name.
The photography of external structures and surrounding structures without aid of microscope is called external eye photography; these types of photographs are mostly used for teaching and to document the progression of a disease.
Sometimes people have disorders that obstruct/restrict eye movement, and that’s what motility photographs are for. Patients move their eyes in various directions to identify muscle problems. In the middle of the 19th century skilled illustrators had to draw the appearance of the eye by hand but now digital imaging has changed all that! Most of the time a 35mm camera is used and photos can be saved in a patient’s file on the computer. Also, if regular film is used, the printing takes longer to develop because of the low light used to develop them. In doing this, you can have both negatives and positives, which is the actual photo, to look at to diagnose.
As an Ophthalmic photographer you will probably be required to do all to most of these tasks. But don’t worry, there are books to help you get started. Some for example, by Tyler, Saine, and Bennett, a book called the Practical Retinal Photography and Digital Imaging Techniques, and the Clinical Slitlamp Biomicrography by Martonyi, Bahn, and Meyer.
Choose this career and ‘see’ where it will take you!
E-mail this reporter at:
photopinnicks@yahoo.com
SNAPSHOT REPORTER
Ophthalmic photography is the taking of images of the eye to study and treat disorders of the eye.
There are different types of ophthalmic photography, which are called Fundus Photography, Fluorescein Angiography, Slitlamp Photography, External and Motility Photography.
A fundus Photograph is a picture of the reflection of light off the fundus of the eye. Use what’s called a Fundus camera, you are able to see nerves in which the signals are transmitted to the brain and retina vessels.
Dropping a dye called Sodium Fluorescein in the eye, when a blue light is shone on it, glows the dye a yellow-green color. With special filters on the camera, only the yellow-green color is photographed showing the retinal vessels because of low infrared light. Most Fluorescein photos are taken with digital cameras now but could also be taken with black and white as well.
The purpose of slit lamp photos is to produce high magnification of disorders that are impossible to see with the naked eye. Using a horizontally mounted microscope to look at the eye, a beam or slit of light adjusts from very broad to very narrow giving it its name.
The photography of external structures and surrounding structures without aid of microscope is called external eye photography; these types of photographs are mostly used for teaching and to document the progression of a disease.
Sometimes people have disorders that obstruct/restrict eye movement, and that’s what motility photographs are for. Patients move their eyes in various directions to identify muscle problems. In the middle of the 19th century skilled illustrators had to draw the appearance of the eye by hand but now digital imaging has changed all that! Most of the time a 35mm camera is used and photos can be saved in a patient’s file on the computer. Also, if regular film is used, the printing takes longer to develop because of the low light used to develop them. In doing this, you can have both negatives and positives, which is the actual photo, to look at to diagnose.
As an Ophthalmic photographer you will probably be required to do all to most of these tasks. But don’t worry, there are books to help you get started. Some for example, by Tyler, Saine, and Bennett, a book called the Practical Retinal Photography and Digital Imaging Techniques, and the Clinical Slitlamp Biomicrography by Martonyi, Bahn, and Meyer.
Choose this career and ‘see’ where it will take you!
E-mail this reporter at:
photopinnicks@yahoo.com