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Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

What is Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)? (from the American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging test. OCT uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of your retina.

With OCT, your ophthalmologist (or optometrist) can see each of the retina’s distinctive layers. This allows your ophthalmologist (or optometrist) to map and measure their thickness. These measurements help with diagnosis. They also provide treatment guidance for glaucoma and diseases of the retina. These retinal diseases include age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic eye disease.

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Why did I purchase my own Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine?
Naturally, I like to be as thorough as I can when assessing a patient's eye health. A large proportion of my patients come referred from GPs and often present with more complex eye issues. Instead of referring patients off to imaging centres or ophthalmologists (eye specialists), investing in this equipment allows me to more efficiently assess the eye health of patients to determine how serious an eye condition is. This often saves the patient time and unnecessary expense. 

 

 

Why do an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scan?
This scan is a great tool to detect diseases much earlier than with a general eye examination without imaging. It has the ability to look beneath the surface of the retina in a cross-sectional way, allowing us to assess the architecture. We are able to gauge a deeper understanding of why vision may not be 100%. Some examples of when it is useful:

  • Drug toxicity screening
  • Diabetes (for bleeding or leakage)
  • Glaucoma (early detection and monitoring for progression)
  • Myopia (earlier detection of glaucoma and associated macular disease)
  • Macular Degeneration (early detection of deposits / drusen, or haemorrhaging)

 

What is the cost of an OCT scan?

Optometry and ophthalmology practices will charge up to $150 for this scan. Currently at Carina Eye Care, the fee is $60 (pensioners pay a discounted rate of $40)

 


Does private health insurance cover the costs of an OCT scan?

Some do, some don't. It doesn't come out of your optical cover (so it's mostly separate and additional to the amount that you get for your glasses and contact lenses). An incomplete list here will give you some idea, but it may be a good idea for you to contact your health fund directly to ask whether it's possible to claim on your OCT and retinal scans. This is by no means an exhaustive list:

- Defence Health 
- St Luke's
- Westfund
- AHM
- Medibank
- CBHS (90%)
- Peoplecare
- CUA Health
- HCI

 

How often should I have my OCT scan reviewed?

  • If there's something we really need to closely monitor: 2-3 monthly
  • As a glaucoma suspect or early macular degeneration: 3-12 monthly
  • Monitoring retinal lesions: 3-12 monthly
  • General monitoring: 12 monthly to 2 yearly

 

How long does an OCT scan take?
The measurement is done at Carina Eye Care using an advanced Nidek OCT machine. You simply look at the green light, I focus the machine, the machine makes a few noises, and the scans are taken within a few seconds. Often, several different scans will be done in order to investigate the macula, optic nerve, retina, as well as take a high quality retinal photo. In total, this may take about 5 minutes to complete.

Contact Dr Carina Trinh by emailing hello@carinaeyecare.com.au, sending a text to or calling 0423 590 959.

You can also contact her over Facebook or Instagram #carinaeyecare.  

Please make sure that you book an appointment if you plan to visit Carina Eye Care at 40 Neich Parade, Burwood NSW 2134.