The comment Dr. Rosinski and I hear most from new patients is, “you provide a very comprehensive exam!” This brings a smile to our faces for many reasons. One is that many health issues can be detected through your eyes, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. When we examine patients, we’re checking for overall health, as well as eye health. Another reason is that many eye diseases present no signs or symptoms until it’s too late, often when the damage is irreversible. Our mission is to identify these issues before they become serious.

It is for this reason that we’re introducing a new technology as part of our exams – the iWellness Scan. The iWellness technology lets us look at each layer of the retina, something we’ve been unable to do up until this point. It is completely non-invasive – just a scan of the eye – but it provides an image of the eye similar to that of a CT scan:

Often, we’ve had to refer patients elsewhere to have this test performed. In fact, we’re now one of only a few other practices in the Charlottesville area to offer this technology. For us (and our patients), the iWellness Scan is a game changer. Here’s why…

As we mentioned, most eye diseases show no signs or symptoms until they reach later stages and, unfortunately, already have done irreparable damage. The iWellness will allow us to detect diseases like glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes retinopathy long before the patient is even aware there’s a problem. Here are some screen shots to show what these diseases do to your vision. Trust us when we say that identifying these diseases before they show symptoms is crucial for your eyesight.

Already, Dr. Rosinski and I have identified several patients with very early stages of these diseases through the use of this technology. These weren’t new patients; they were our patients, patients who have been receiving our regular, comprehensive eye exams. This is why we can’t stress enough how important this exam is.

One other example I’d like to share: I have a healthy, 38-year-old patient who has been seeing me regularly for the past five years. She recently agreed to have the iWellness exam, and as a surprise to both of us, her results were abnormal. Because this wasn’t suspected, I went back through her charts over the past few years to look for pressure changes in her eyes and other warning signs. There were none. Now, this doesn’t mean that she has glaucoma or another type of eye disease. This may just be normal for her. However, knowing that her retina is thinner than average is valuable information if I do ever suspect a disease in the future. If her first scan was when I suspected a problem, I would possibly over treat her because I didn’t know her baseline was abnormal. By performing the iWellness Scan on a regular basis, I can closely monitor any change that occurs and provide the most thorough examination available.

We invite you to call or visit our office to learn more about the iWellness. We look forward to making this preventative screening scan a routine part of your eye exam.