The ophthalmology team have been looking at a cutting edge piece of technology that could bring forward the diagnosis of patients with glaucoma by as much as six years.

Said Consultant Ophthalmologist Mr Richard Condon: “Until now there has usually been about 40 % of damage to the optic nerve by the time a diagnosis is made using conventional equipment.  With this new cutting edge technology there can be as little as 10% loss with the diagnosis made between three and five years earlier. “

The Heidelberg Retinal Topography equipment also speeds up the actual investigation time which only takes two minutes instead of the current 10-12 minutes.  An obvious benefit is that a consultant can see more patients in a clinic session, and have earlier, more reliable information.

The laser scans the height, width and depth of the patient’s eye and 16 cross-section “slices” per millimetre each are transmitted to the diagnostic computer for the consultant to study and interpret.

Conventional diagnosis is based on three aspects; raised pressure parameters behind the eye; a visual appearance of changes to the optic nerve and a visual field analyser using computer analysis of the field of vision.

The Heidleberg Retinal Topographer costs £26,500 and it is hoped that the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust, together with the “Eyes Right” ophthalmology fund-raising appeal may be able to purchase one in the future.