VIEWPOINT

KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY

WHERE WILL ADVANCES IN DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT TAKE YOUR PRACTICE?

JIM THOMAS
Editorial Director

HARDLY A DAY goes by without news of another advancement in technology: Augmented and virtual realities let us go anywhere and meet anyone, from Pokémon Go characters in a local park to President Obama in Yosemite National Park. A hospital bed diagnoses patients. Robots drive, cook, clean and recommend ties. Implantable microchips address neurological disorders.

Eye-related advances include gene therapy for wet AMD, a retinal prosthesis that elicits visual perception, contact lenses that diagnose or treat, and far too many other developments to list here. Chances are, if you imagine a technology, someone is already working on bringing it to reality. . . or virtual reality.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

In this, the “diagnostic technology” issue of Optometric Management, our expert authors explain where several key advances in diagnostic equipment are taking eye care today. Our lineup includes:

• On p.18, Whitney Hauser, O.D., discusses advances in anterior segment diagnostic technology — those imaging and point-of-care tests “that may drive the ultimate diagnosis.”

• Drs. Diana Shechtman and Sherrol Reynolds explain how the latest advancement in optical coherence tomography technology, OCT angiography, will provide new insights into how eye care professionals manage retinal disease (see p.22).

• In “Suss Out the Silent Thief” (p.28), Dr. Justin Schweitzer provides an overview of four recent advances in diagnostic technology that will help clinicians gain a more complete picture of glaucoma.

• In “Evaluate Innovation on the Horizon” (p.30), Dr. Howard Purcell offers guidelines to help determine which advances provide value optometric practices. Specifically, he shares his thoughts on identifying innovation that delivers “better outcomes, an enhanced patient experience and/or efficiencies or even practitioner convenience.”

The key, then, is to make the advances your own. To that end, we invite you to tell us of the technologies that have made the biggest impact in your practice. You can reach us the old-fashioned way (email) at james.thomas@pentavisionmedia.com. OM