The slit lamp is a stereoscopic biomicroscope that emits a focused beam of light with varying height, width and angle. This unique instrument allows three-dimensional visualization and measurement of the fine anatomy of the appendages and the anterior segment of the eye. A slit lamp is a microscope with a bright light that is used during an eye exam. It allows the ophthalmologist to take a closer look at the different structures of the front and inside of the eye.
It is a key tool for determining eye health and detecting eye diseases. You will usually have the exam with a slit lamp at an optometry or ophthalmology office. The test is also called a biomicroscopy. It allows the doctor to examine the eyes microscopically for any abnormalities or problems.
The eye doctor may use a microscope called a slit lamp to examine the front of the eye. The microscope focuses a narrow, intense line of light on the eye. The slit lamp provides an enlarged 3D view of the eye and allows the doctor to detect any minor abnormalities. Used with special lenses placed close to the eye, the slit lamp also provides detailed views of the back of the eye.
A slit lamp is an instrument that consists of a high-intensity light source that can be focused to make a thin layer of light shine on the eye. Used together with a biomicroscope. The lamp makes it easy to examine the front and back segments of the human eye, including the eyelid, sclera, conjunctiva, iris, natural lens and cornea. The binocular examination with a slit lamp provides an enlarged stereoscopic view of the eye structures in detail, allowing anatomical diagnoses to be made for a variety of eye conditions.
A second portable lens is used to examine the retina. Often, conditions affecting the anterior segment of the eye are subtle in nature and can only be documented with a slit lamp biomicroscope with a built-in camera. Slit lamp photography uses a variety of magnifications, viewing angles, and types of lighting to highlight areas of interest. This is especially useful for following the progression or changes in a specific pathology, such as new vessels, cataracts and pterygium.
The first slit lamp concept dates back to 1911, attributed to Allvar Gullstrand and his large opthalmoscope without reflections. The person will sit in a chair in front of the slit lamp with the chin and forehead resting on a support. It will then turn on the slit lamp and focus a narrow, high-intensity beam of light toward the eye. The photograph of the anterior segment with a slit lamp is a documentation of microscopic and dark details of the transparent, translucent and opaque structures of the anterior segment and the surrounding areas of the eye.
A slit lamp exam is generally very safe, although medications that dilate the pupils carry some risks. It wasn't until 1919 that several improvements were made to the Gullstrand slit lamp manufactured by Vogt Henker. At this time, the great importance of color temperature and luminance of the light source for examinations with slit lamps was recognized and the basis for examinations with non-red light were created. The person will sit with their head resting on the microscope with a slit lamp, and the doctor will place a special contact lens directly on the eyeball.
Gonioscopic images are the use of a goniolent (also known as a gonioscope) together with a slit lamp or surgical microscope to obtain a view of the iridocorneal angle, or the anatomical angle formed between the cornea and the iris of the eye. A sign that can be seen on the exam with a slit lamp is a flash, which is when you see the slit lamp beam in the front chamber. Images with slit lamps are generally taken together with images of gonio to produce a case presentation of the patient's condition. .
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