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Canadian charity pushes for technological-led solutions to catch eye problems early

OCT helps optometrists see what is occurring beneath the surface of the eye and can detect potentially sight-threatening conditions such as diabetes.

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Ray-Ban's smart glasses, seen here in an undated handout photo - Copyright AFP WILLIAM WEST
Ray-Ban's smart glasses, seen here in an undated handout photo - Copyright AFP WILLIAM WEST

Over 1.2 million Canadians are blind, deaf-blind or partially sighted, and the number of Canadians living with vision loss is growing every day.

CCB has the mission of improving the quality of life of people who are blind, deaf-blind or living with low vision through efforts that support individuals and communities. CCB is a membership-based charity that brings together Canadians who are living with vision loss, the blind, deaf-blind, and partially sighted.

CCB’s objectives include promoting measures for the conservation of sight and the prevention of blindness for all.

The opticians Specsavers has declared a shared objective, as demonstrated by its standard of care for patients and commitment to use advanced technology. The company operates branches of high street opticians in eleven countries, and it has become a sponsor of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).

According to Bill Moir, Managing Director of Specsavers Canada: “The Canadian Council of the Blind has an impressive history of advocating for and supporting Canadians with vision loss. We are excited about what we can accomplish when our two organizations work together.”

Highlighting the company’s use of technology and highlighting the type of technological advance that CCB is calling for Moir notes that Specsavers regularly uses optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is an advanced 3D eye scan. The use of OCT is part of every patient’s standard eye exam in Canada (there are differences in other parts of the world where the company operates). OCT is analogous to ultrasound imaging, except that it uses light instead of sound.

OCT can already clarify the relevant architectural tissue morphology. In other words, OCT helps optometrists see what is occurring beneath the surface of the eye and can detect potentially sight-threatening conditions such as diabetes, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration, leading to treatment and preventative care. Hence, OCT functions as a type of optical biopsy.

There are different variants of OCT, based on white light interferometry. These different types are deployed by opticians, including time-domain, frequency-domain, full-field, quantum and Doppler OCT.

Each type of OCT synthesises cross-sectional images from a series of laterally adjacent depth-scans.

Through these types of technologies, CCB helps to catch the causes of blindness earlier and to help to ensure patients receive the best treatment and care.

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Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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