Technology

At The Big Optician we strive to provide our clients with the latest tests and technology. Our small team of optometrists are all fully qualified and registered with the General Optical Council (we don't employ any trainee optometrists). Our optometrists are experienced and take the time to get it right. They are passionate about providing high quality, individualised eye care to each and every one of our clients.

We understand that many patients have a dread of the puff-test so we have invested in new technology which means we can test your eye pressures without doing the 'dreaded' eye puff test. Our investment in this technology means our optometrists can check your eye pressures in a way that is accurate, quick and discomfort-free. Regular eye pressure measurements are essential to check for early signs of glaucoma, which is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in the UK.

Our consulting rooms are fully air conditioned and equipped with state of the art technology enabling out optometrists to provide you with one of the most comprehensive eye examinations available. We use the technology in combination with tried and tested traditional eye examination techniques to produce accurate prescriptions and thorough clinical evaluation of your eyes.

Here is some of the equipment and technology that you will encounter during your eye examination at The Big Optician:

• Digital retinal camera: This allows the optometrist to instantly capture images of the back of your eyes, the retina and optic nerve, and to examine these in great detail. The images are saved and compared at each eye examination you have here, thus any small changes can be identified by the optometrist, often before you are aware of any symptoms or changes in your vision. This means a range of conditions can be picked up in the early stages and you will be referred for further investigation and/or treatment much earlier than would have previously been the case. In addition to eye conditions such as macular degeneration and retinal tears, retinal imaging can also detect general health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Non-contact tonometer: Our optometrists use these to measure the pressure inside of your eyes. High eye pressures can be indicative of glaucoma, which is a sight-threatening condition and one of the leading causes of blindness. Glaucoma is a serious eye condition but often occurs without any pain or symptoms until it has advanced to an acute stage. Glaucoma can be prevented and treated if diagnosed and treated early enough.
• Retinoscope: This is a hand-held piece of equipment used to shine light into the eyes to skilfully examine the retina and the optic nerve head.
• Slit-lamp microscope: This enables the optometrist to examine the front part of your eyes, including the cornea, iris and lens. You will sit at the slit-lamp that greatly magnifies the eye and shines a bright light into it, allowing the optometrist to examine these structures of your eye very closely. Slit-lamp technology is used to examine the eye for conditions such as cataract, floaters and dry eye.
• Visual Field Test FDT: The optometrist uses this equipment to test your peripheral vision, which is what you are able to see to the sides of your visual field when you are looking straight ahead. You will sit at the machine and will be asked to press a button each time you see a flickering light. A computer programme then assesses your responses to identify if there are any blind spots in your visual field which, if present, may indicate underlying eye or neurological conditions. The loss of peripheral vision often goes unnoticed by patients, so a peripheral vision test is an accurate way of measuring change.
• Fully computerised test chart: Our optometrists use fully computerised test charts which are very flexible to help those who sometimes have difficulty telling differences on the fixed charts. Computerised test charts also enable the optometrists to test the eyes of people in wheelchairs without them having to get out of their chair, if this is what they prefer. Computerised charts are also very useful for testing the eyes of young children who are not yet able to identify letters as pictures and cartoons can be used on the computerised charts instead.
• and our Patient-friendly no puff eye tests