Which Ophthalmoscope ?

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Julian Earl — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 10:41:05 GMT

I was bought an ophthalmoscope/Auroscope for my graduation gift, a Heinemann and used it reliably every day in practice for the next 35 years . So very reliable except the batteries failed every few months and repeatedly, so perhaps I should have taken it back for having a fault??

However, it was a human version so had a lot of ear-pieces , about a dozen or so and these are all a lot shorter than the purely veterinary ones and also much narrower. The significance of being so narrow is that it makes them a lot harder to clean internally! No real complaints though, it has served me well....

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Sarah Keir — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 12:47:02 GMT

As a locum I now carry my own otoscope and ophthalmoscope because it is a constant irritation not having the basic equipment or it doesn't work.

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Julie Innes — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 12:29:17 GMT

No opthalmic expertise, but having had both wall mounted and rechargeable I wouldn't go for wall mounted again- the connecting cords are all frayed/ stretched and have stopped working- it's a right pain trying to chase big dogs into a suitable spot without stretching the cords!

Oto/ opthalmoscopes and attachments wandering, however, is a huge bugbear of mine! (In fact wandering items are the bain of my life- I detest spending 5 mins of a 15 minute consult searching for scissors/ otoscope/ nail clippers). I have tried pleading with people about it, but it doesn't work- I have bought one for every room/ area, but they all end up in the same place!

SO!! I have resorted to colour coding ALL items with tape- red tape belongs in consult 1, yellow consult 2, black through the back! And God help people if I find them in consult 1 with a yellow item...This has helped with the wandering, as the people at least know where the item in question SHOULD go!

Sorry, rant over. As you were

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Robert Lowe — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:33:23 GMT

Hi Janine

Many criteria to look at and in no particular order

higher voltage tends to mean brighter light source but this is less of an issue with LED bulbs

I would go LED over filament bulb

Fit to your face - the ophthalmoscope needs to be as close to your cornea as possible so do you need it to fit into the bridge of your nose or can it rest on your upper eyelid

Blue light is important but the rest isn't as much

Battery vs wall mount depends on if you are in the same room but also battery allows you to look at inpatients more effectively. Charging stations may mean that it gets replaced in the correct location more often.

Other attachments - otoscope, finoff transillumintor (good for indirect with a lens)

Major brands - will probably have better long term support for spares so Keeler, Heine, Welch Allyn

A case is helpful at keeping it cleaner than if it is out on the side.

Hope this helps a bit

Rob

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

janine redman — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 19:55:48 GMT

thanks jill , i am developing that knack if i can get my patients to sit still .

i dont really want to wait till next year though .

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Jill Butterworth — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 18:57:45 GMT

Maybe go to BSAVA if it's live next year and try a few?

For what it's worth, I loved using an indirect opthalmoscope: ie basically a 20 diopter condensing lens and a torch. It gives a large inverted image on the lens, which is a bit of a knack, but great once you can do it. The conventional direct ophthalmoscope was always going missing or running out of battery. The lens was always in my pocket and 'safer' to use because you can keep animals at arm's length and keep the other eye on their body language.

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Sarah Keir — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 18:24:42 GMT

I like ones that are attached to the wall. But this my bias as a locum - it means there has to be one per consulting room, it can't go missing and doesn't contain dead batteries! Otherwise I have a basic Keeler pocket ophthalmoscope for the practices that don;t have one at all or a working one (yes, they do exist).

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

janine redman — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:45:19 GMT

Thanks Arlo. Obviously no one has an opinion so far . Perhaps like me they just use the equipment supplied and don’t think about it too much

RE: Which Ophthalmoscope ?

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 10:45:14 GMT

bump (I moved this from the practice management forum to Ophthalmology, as I thought it may have a better chance there!!