Dry Eye Technology
Dry eye diagnosis relies on slit lamp assessment to accurately diagnose the cause. Corneal topography can also assist in measuring tear film dynamics. Once the cause has been established, we have many tools at our disposal to help treat it.
When conventional lid hygiene fails to control bacterial or mite load and remove debris causing chronic irritation and inflammation, BlephEx is a convenient in-office alternative. This procedure involves using a medical-grade micro-sponge along the eyelids and lashes, effectively exfoliating and removing tough scurf and debris. Most sessions last 10-20 minutes. The treatment not only enhances home therapies but also offers prolonged relief, usually necessitating repeat sessions every 6-12 months. Similarly, ZEST prevents accumulation of debris, bacteria, and demodex mites along the eyelid margins. ZEST's active ingredient, Okra, acts as a gentle yet potent antimicrobial agent. This deep cleansing action refreshes the eyes, making ZEST a great option in managing blepharitis-related dry eye.
Innovative treatments like Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) therapy offer further avenues for managing dry eye disease. IPL technology delivers targeted warmth to the oil glands of the lower eyelid, alleviating inflammation associated with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD). Typically, a series of four treatments over a 10-week period optimally manages MGD and improves tear film stability.
For more severe cases, therapeutic interventions such as bandage or scleral contact lenses provide protection to the eye surface, retaining moisture during wear and shielding against the elements, like wind and air con, that can exacerbate dry eye symptoms. Additionally, temporary or permanent plugs inserted into the small openings on the lower lid are virtually imperceptible, and can reduce tear drainage. This ensures a more stable and longer-lasting tear film, reducing the need for lubricating drops.
Learn more about our in-office treatments here.
Corneal Scans
Innovative Eye Care has an expansive range of imaging for the cornea – the transparent front surface of the eye. We see many patients with keratoconus and corneal graft who require consistent monitoring of the cornea.
The Medmont E300 corneal topographer can create a detailed three-dimensional map of the front surface of the cornea. Advancing beyond this, the Pentacam AXL Wave tomographer can map both the front and back surfaces of the cornea, along with its thickness and volume. This technology is crucial for monitoring irregularly shaped eyes common in conditions such as corneal ectasia, corneal grafts and penetrating eye injuries. The Eaglet Eye ESP corneoscleral profiler offers also maps the front surface of the eye, but has a scanning diameter that surpassies conventional topographers. In capturing the entire eye surface up to 16mm, we can also measure and monitor pterygium and pinguecula affecting the conjunctiva. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) facilitates the imaging of the cornea, allowing us to see each layer in great detail. It's excellent in the diagnosis of condition such as microbial keratitis, corneal haze and corneal hydrops.
Custom Contact Lens Fitting
Innovative Eye Care fits Night Lenses, soft contact lenses, rigid corneal lenses and scleral lenses for a range of conditions including short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism, keratoconus, corneal graft, ocular trauma and many more. The Pentacam AXL Wave serves multiple functions in this process, acting as an imager, autorefractor, wavefront aberrometer, and ocular biometer, allowing for the most fine-detailed and individualized correction of fit and vision for contact lenses. This is particularly useful in conditions like keratoconus, where the ability to measure all the imperfections of vision allows us to target them for improvement. Additionally, we can harness the presence of these imperfections to create multifocal contact lenses or control myopia progression in children.
The Medmont E300 is also a great tool in contact lens fitting. It provides accurate mathematical data about the corneal shape, crucial for orthokeratology (Night Lenses), rigid lens and soft contact lens fitting. Furthermore, our use of the Eaglet Eye ESP's wider diameter scans means we can fit larger diameter contact lenses with a very high degree of accuracy.
Night Lenses & Myopia Control
Night Lenses are worn overnight to reshape the cornea, meaning no optical correction needs to be worn during the day, and is effective from the first night of wear. Research indicates that Night Lenses can significantly slow myopia progression by 32% to 100%, with most studies suggesting around 50% reduction. In some cases, complete halting of myopia progression has been observed.
The same technology we use to capture and map the corneal surface is crucial for Night Lens fittings. These precise measurements are then transferred to our advanced computer program, EyeSpace. Using sophisticated computer simulations, EyeSpace customizes Night Lenses to your unique eye shape and prescription, eliminating the outdated trial-and-error approach of traditional fittings. This process ensures unparalleled accuracy, even for complex eyes, optimizing the chances of successful lens fittings and enhancing overall comfort.
The degree of success with a myopia control treatment can only be accurately gauged with ocular biometry, which measures the length of the eye. Only by slowing down or stopping this growth can the ramifications of myopia progression be reduced. We are equipped with ocular biometers at both the Adelaide and Henley Beach practices for this reason.
Macula & Retina Imaging
The retina is the structure at the back of the eye that is responsible for detecting light. The macula is the very central part of the retina. Retinal photography and retinal scanning using OCT serve as valuable tools by establishing a baseline of your eye, which can be monitored for future changes. This technology proves especially beneficial for tracking slow-moving pathologies such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Our advanced imaging technologies, including the Zeiss Clarus and Heidelberg Spectralis capture fine detail over a large area of the retina. Different laser wavelengths highlight distinct layers of the retina, aiding in the detection of potential diseases and pathologies like swelling, bleeds and clots, freckles and melanomas, wrinkles and tears and drusen associated with macular degeneration.
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) takes a more detailed look at the retina. It uses a non-contact, non-invasive imaging technique to detect structural changes that are undetectable using conventional methods and often cause no symptoms. Our OCTs also have a functionality known as OCT Angiography (OCT-A), which monitors for blood flow in the retina. This can be used to diagnose obstructions, bleeds, swelling and new blood vessels in the retina, all of which can occur with diabetes and vascular events like blood clots.
In addition to OCT, we offer fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging, which can assess for metabolic and hereditary diseases based on levels of lipofuscin, or metabolic by-product, at the retina. This is particularly useful for those starting new medications that are known to cause retinal changes, such a hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) and quinine.
Intraocular Pressure & Glaucoma Checks
Glaucoma | Innovative Eye Care
