Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope - Mirante SLO/OCT

The Ophthalmology Practice is proud to announce the adoption of the Nidek Mirante - which can not only produce wide-field images of the retina, but also providew OCT (optical coherence tomography) imaging. This ensures patient comfort by using a modern non-invasive technique to look at the layers of the retina.

The Nidek Mirante

The ultrawide 163 degrees field-of-view allows viewing of a large portion of the retina layer at the back of the eye, together with the blood vessels, macula, and optic nerve head, all at once. This is done using a scanning laser that quickly goes across the field of vision, rather than a sudden bright flash of light. This improves patient comfort and reduces the after-image washout feeling, especially that patients often need to have their eyes dilated.

The OCT, or Optical Coherence Tomography ability allows us to look at the layers of the retina at a micron (micrometer) level, which provides the gold standard in monitoring for changes when treating for retinal conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The Mirante SLO/OCT machine allows for a series of different test modalities, including optical coherence tomography on the macula (the area responsible for your central vision and most affected in age-related macular degeneration or AMD) and the optic nerve head (the portion of the eye where the blood vessels and nerve fibre layers exit the eye, which can be used to monitor for changes in glaucoma).

This advanced equipment also allows us to perform Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA) and IndoCyan Green Angiography (ICGA), where an injected dye is used in order to better visualise the retinal blood vessels and perfusion of the underlying choroidal layers. You can read our article on FFA/ICGA to find out more about this procedure.