Advanced Eye Care Technology in Titusville An 1888 Building. The Newest Look at an Eye.

Wondering what all the scans at your eye exam are for?

You want to know your eyes were really checked, not just read off a chart. You have diabetes, or a parent with glaucoma or macular degeneration, and you would rather catch a change early than hear about it late. Or you dread the dilating drops and wonder whether there is another way to see the back of the eye.

We look at the parts of the eye you cannot see in a mirror, with instruments that show them in far more detail than the microscope alone. Then the pictures go on the screen and the doctor walks you through them. A photo of your own retina is a lot easier to understand than a description of one.

Which instruments do we use to check your eyes?

At an eye exam with us in Titusville we photograph the retina with the Optos Optomap, scan its layers with OCT, look at the front of the eye, test your side vision, and measure your prescription on a computerized refracting system. None of it hurts, and the images stay in your file year to year, so a change stands out the next time you sit down.

The instruments, and what each one shows us:

• Optos Optomap retinal imaging: a wide picture of your retina in one flash per eye, no drops. We put it on the screen at your visit and keep it to compare against next year.
• Solix OCT for the retina: a scan that shows the retina in cross-section, layer by layer. It is how we measure the optic nerve for glaucoma and watch the macula in macular degeneration and diabetes.
• Anterior segment OCT: the same kind of scan pointed at the front of the eye. It shows the cornea, the drainage angle where glaucoma can begin, and how a contact lens sits on the eye.
• OptoVue retinal scanner: reads all ten layers of the retina in under a second, so early changes from glaucoma, diabetes, and macular degeneration do not slip by.
• Octopus visual field analyzer: a test of your side vision. You look at a center point and press a button each time a light appears. It tracks glaucoma over the years and checks the path from the eye to the brain.
• Anterior ocular scanning: a scan of the shape and surface of the front of the eye, in more detail than the microscope alone can give.
• Ultrasound for the eye: sound waves that show the inside of the eye when a dense cataract or bleeding blocks our view, and measure the length of the eye.
• Electrodiagnostic testing, ERG and VEP (NOVA Diopsys): the VEP measures how much visual signal reaches the brain and how fast it gets there, and the ERG records how the cells of the retina answer light. Together they show how well your eye talks to your brain, which no eye chart can.
• Marco refracting system: the one-or-two part of the exam on a computerized instrument. It measures your glasses prescription and flips between the new one and your old one so you can see the difference on the spot.

Which devices do we use to treat dry eye?

Dry eye is diagnosed and treated at our Downtown office, with devices that photograph the oil glands in your eyelids and help them work again. Those devices are the reason dry eye treatment is the one thing we offer at only one office.

The dry eye devices at Downtown:

• Infrared meibography: a photo of the oil glands inside your eyelids, which shows whether they are clogged or shrinking and which kind of dry eye you have.
• OptiLight IPL: short pulses of light along the lower lids that calm the inflamed vessels behind rosacea-driven dry eye and warm the oil in the glands.
• Low-level light therapy with the Epic-C unit: a gentle warming light over closed eyes that helps the oil glands work.
• Optilift: a newer in-office treatment for eyelid and oil gland function.

Does the Optomap replace dilation?

Not always. The Optomap shows us most of the retina without drops, and it is part of our eye exams. Whether we also dilate depends on what the image shows and on your history: diabetes, a new floater, or a family history of retinal problems can still call for a dilated look, because dilation lets us see all the way to the edge of the retina and in three dimensions. Ask when you book and we will say whether to expect drops.

Who reads the scans at Aker Eye, and where?

All four of our doctors use these instruments, and the doctor who examines you reads your images with you in the room, the same day. Dr. Greg Aker, a Southern Diplomate in Glaucoma Management and a member of the Optometric Retina Society, and Dr. Amanda Aker, residency trained in ocular disease, see patients at our Downtown office, 338 S Washington Ave, on the second floor with an elevator. Dr. Sarah Koehnemann and Dr. Jennifer Bradley see patients at Playalinda. Call us at (321) 269-2021 to book at either office.

Does insurance cover retinal imaging and eye scans?

It depends on why we run the test. When a scan is ordered for a medical reason, such as glaucoma, diabetes, or macular degeneration, medical insurance usually covers it. The Optomap taken as part of a routine exam is often a separate charge that vision plans do not always cover. You will hear about any cost before a test you would pay for yourself, and we check your benefits before you come in, so give us your plan name when you call.