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Eye Clinic Adds State-of-the-Art High Tech Diagnostic Equipment
 Mason County Eye Clinic is helping patients “see more clearly” with the addition of three major, and two minor, pieces of state-of-the art diagnostic equipment. “The district spent more than $130,000 to upgrade the Eye Clinic for Dr. (Monica) Vuong and staff to give more thorough, comprehensive, diagnostic eye care,” said Terry Megiveron, director of clinics at Mason General Hospital. In addition to the new hardware, the exam room was completely upgraded with the latest in wireless equipment.
“Dr. Vuong is so complete in her care,” added Megiveron, “that by adding this new equipment and technology she can now see conditions of the eye in greater detail than has ever been possible. This will aid her in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of all types of eye diseases.”
The three new major pieces of equipment now in the office will allow for:
- more precise accuracy in the selection of the correct lens power to be placed in the patient’s eye for cataract surgery.
- internal and external digital images, taken by a high resolution digital camera, allowing Dr. Vuong to see the eye more closely than ever before. In many cases, she will be able to enlarge parts of the eye for greater detail in preparing for surgery.
- a three-dimensional cross section of the eye with optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.” This ability will help in the detection of glaucoma before there are symptoms and follow macular conditions like macular degeneration and diabetes.
Dr. Vuong uses all three pieces of equipment to help diagnose and manage the care of cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and pre-cancerous lesions. This is in addition to the cataract surgery and laser procedures she performs.
“We are very fortunate to have someone of Dr. Vuong’s education, training, and skills on staff at the Eye Clinic,” said Megiveron. “Her patients love that she is close by, and if surgery is involved, she will do the follow-up to ensure consistency of care between surgeon and referring provider. Dr. Vuong is board-certified and received her medical degree from the University of Washington, did her internship at the University of Massachusetts, and her residency at Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
What should I expect during the exam?
Your eye exam may take from half an hour to an hour. It will evaluate both your vision and the health of your eyes. You will have all or most of the following eye tests done:
Eye muscle movement test: To test muscle strength and control, the eye doctor will ask you to visually track a target in six different directions, to observe your eye movements. At the same time, the doctor will check the exterior eye, looking at things such as the condition of the white of the eyes and the position of your eyelids.
External exam and papillary reactions: The doctor will watch the reactions of your pupils to light and objects at close distance.
Visual acuity test: You’ll sit in front of an eye chart, with letters that get smaller as you read down each line. You will cover each eye, in turn, and using the other eye you will read aloud, going down the chart until you can’t read the letters any more.
Retinoscopy: The eye doctor may shine a light in your eyes and flip lenses in a machine that you look through while staring at a large target, such as a big “E”. Or, the doctor may use an automated machine for the same purpose. By checking the way light reflects from your eyes, the doctor gets an approximate idea of the lens prescription you need.
Refraction testing: For your exact lens prescription, the eye doctor may use the results of the computerized refractor used during retinoscopy, or he or she may fine-tune the prescription manually by asking you which is better, while flipping back and forth between different lenses as you look through them. (If you don’t need corrective lenses, you won’t need to have this test.)
Cover test: This is a two-step check for how well your eyes work together:
As you stare at a small target some distance away, the doctor will cover and uncover each eye to observe how much your eyes move, watching for an eye that turns away from the target. The test may then be repeated with a target close to you.
Slit lamp: The slit lamp magnifies and lights up the front of your eye. The eye doctor uses it to detect several eye diseases and disorders by examining your cornea, iris, lens, and anterior chamber.
Retinal examination: Using an ophthalmoscope and pupil dilation, the eye doctor examines the back of your eyes: retina, retinal blood vessels, and optic nerve head.
Glaucoma testing: This tests whether the fluid pressure inside your eyes has increased. Painless, and taking just a few seconds, the test can be done two ways:
The Applanation Tonometer test: This is the most accurate. With drops numbing your eyes, you stare directly into the slit lamp. The eye doctor barely touches the front surface of each eye with a glowing, bright blue tool to measure the pressure.
The “puff of air” or non-contact Tonometer test: While you focus on a light, you get a small “puff” of air in each eye. Resistance to the air puff indicates the pressure.
Pachymetry: This uses ultrasound to measure cornea thickness. Thin corneas can lead to falsely low pressure readings, and thick corneas can lead to falsely high pressure readings. Pachymetry may be performed if the doctor suspects glaucoma.
Pupil dilation: With your pupils fully enlarged, the eye doctor will examine the inside of your eyes with different instruments and lights. The pupil enlarging drops for this part of your eye exam start to work after about 20-30 minutes, making your eyes more sensitive to light, and blurring your vision. These effects may last for several hours or longer.
Visual field test: Your visual field is the area you can see in front of you without moving your eyes. Using one of three tests, the eye doctor “maps” what you see at the edges of your visual field, and uses this map in diagnosing your eye condition.
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