Diagnostic ocular ultrasound examination
Diagnostic ocular ultrasound examination can accurately detect abnormalities of the interior of the globe of the eye. When it is impossible to view a patient’s retina because the vitreous is so cloudy that it prevents light from passing through the eye properly, the physician uses ultrasonography to view the back of the eye. For example, patients with very dense cataract or dense hemorrhages filling their eye can be examined with ocular ultrasound to determine whether there is any serious abnormality of the retina or choroid.
The machine in our office used in this exam is quite similar to that used by obstetricians when viewing a fetus in the mother’s womb. This painless test often allows doctors to identify retinal detachments and tumors in the back of the eye, in cases in which they are not able to directly view the actual disease process.