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SYSTEMS / EQUIPMENT
Reichert Offers New Reflex Ultrasound Bio-Microscope
Product: Reflex Ultrasound Bio-Microscope (UBM)
Top Line: Reichert Technologies’ new Reflex Ultrasound Bio-Microscope (UBM) safely images the anterior and posterior segments of the eye, delivering a superior view not available through other exam methods. Reichert’s next generation UBM now offers a larger viewing area, a user-friendly, touch-screen interface and software improvements.
Close Up: The compact unit is ideal for practices treating glaucoma patients, as well as for cataract and cornea specialists. Reichert’s Reflex UBM also provides valuable information for the treatment of phacomorphic lenses, Plateau Iris Syndrome, cysts, tumors, retinal tears, cells in the vitreous chamber and vitreous hemorrhages, according to Reichert Technologies.
The convenient test can be performed within five minutes by a technician or doctor. A ClearScan disposable probe cover ensures that the UBM’s probe will never make contact with the eye. Patients can remain upright in an exam chair throughout the procedure, with no need for a water bath or scleral shell.
Procedures using the UBM are billable through a well-established Medicare code.
“The Reflex Ultrasound Bio-Microscope can image pathologies that may be obstructed by ocular structures or opacities, making them hard to capture using other exam procedures,” said Reichert Technologies’ David A. Taylor, product manager for advanced diagnostic devices. “Our UBM technology has evolved to the point that it is completely comfortable for the patient and easy for a technician to perform safely. With space at a premium, we designed Reflex with efficiency in mind.”
The device is approximately the same size as a computer monitor, requiring very little space in an exam room.
Vital Stats: Images captured on Reichert’s Reflex UBM are DICOM compliant and can be exported to electronic medical records (EMR). The device also has a USB port and offers Ethernet connectivity.
www.reichert.com
EXAMS / DISPENSING
Reliance Launches Fully-automated Exam Chair and Instrument Stand
Product: Xoma System
Top Line: Reliance Medical Products, a division of Haag-Streit AG, is now taking orders for its Xoma system, the first fully-automated exam chair and instrument stand that incorporates programmable lighting, slit lamps, automated refraction control and imaging devices into one unit. Built-in tablet technology provides instant access to patient screening tests, acuity testing, images and educational videos.
Close Up: Xoma’s ergonomic design was created with doctor comfort as a top priority, while offering practices a solution that optimizes space in the exam room. The system also is handicap accessible.
“The Xoma system streamlines and digitizes as much of the exam room as possible,” said Reliance Medical Products’ vice president of sales and marketing Steve Juenger. “It takes the technologies of the exam room and incorporates them into a single device that increases patient through-put and minimizes repetitive stress movements during an exam.”
Xoma incorporates programmable lighting that will automatically dim the room lights when the slit lamp is in use, and return the lights to full brilliance when the exam is complete. An integrated tablet Xoma eliminates the need for separate near point cards and color test books. Reliance Medical Products has partnered with
M&S Technologies to provide software for the tablet.
The flat-panel screen also can display educational, advertising or entertainment content, possibly increasing patient satisfaction with the treatment and service received. The screen can play videos and slide shows to promote products, procedures, services and referral programs that help increase revenue.
Images and other patient data can be accessed from the patient record through electronic medical records (EMR).
The devices and software incorporated into Xoma can be easily upgraded as new innovations are developed. The system operates on an open platform, making it functional well into the future.
Vital Stats: Orders for the Xoma System can be placed by making a reservation
online, or by contacting Reliance Medical Products at 513-336-7255. The company expects to begin delivering the system during 2013.
www.haag-streit-usa.com
MigraShades Intros New Eyewear for Indoor and Low Light Conditions for Migraine Sufferers
Product: MigraShades Low Light Lenses
Top Line: MigraShades, a division of Industrial Vision Corp. that produces eye protection for migraine sufferers, is introducing low light lenses designed specifically for use in indoor and low light conditions. The lenses can help prevent flashes of light and Migraine triggers at dusk, dawn and during overcast days.
Close Up: The migraine eyewear, which was created by a team of designers, certified optometrists, and migraine sufferers, features specially designed brown lenses which are ideal for enhancing light while at the same time restricting light brightness. These low light MigraShades increase sight definition without allowing excessive light to reach the eyes. The lenses also filter blue light, the chief cause of eye strain and eye fatigue.
“MigraShades heard from several customers who wanted a lighter lens for indoor use. They wanted to be able to do simple bookwork or watch television but still enjoy protection from harmful light rays,” said John Stewart, president of MigraShades. “The low light MigraShades do just that.”
MigraShades reports that customers say its glasses greatly reduce glare, eliminate sudden flashes of light bouncing off windshields, and significantly reduce the fatigue usually experienced due to "fighting the light" when driving. The company says MigraShades also can help prevent migraine triggers from laptops and other types of electronic devices.
Vital Stats: MigraShades are available in five fashionable frame styles in varying shades of lens colors and darkness. The lenses, which come in both prescription and non-prescription lenses, are processed in the company’s ophthalmic lens lab. They filter reflective light and blue light, and provide an 89 percent shade value. The eyewear is available only online at the MigraShades website.
www.migrashades.com; (800) 246-1941
WEB TECH
EnChroma Releases Free Color Blindness Test App for Smartphones and Tablets
Product: Color Blindness App
Top Line: EnChroma, Inc. has released a free color blindness test for smartphones and tablets.
Close Up: The EnChroma test is based on a special kind of image called a pseudo-isochromatic plate. The plate has a random pattern of dots with varying size and brightness, to camouflage the appearance of a simple geometric shape in the image, which is a circle, a square or a diamond. Because of the camouflage, the color of the dots is the only visual cue available to see the shape.
When the test starts, the hidden shapes are very easy to see because there is a large difference between the foreground and background colors. As the test proceeds the plates get more challenging.
At the conclusion of the test, the app provides the user with a diagnosis of their color vision including the type and extent of the deficiency, if any. This information can then be used to select the appropriate EnChroma eyewear if the user is interested in a solution that will help them have better color vision.
“In the diagnosis of poor color vision, the standard testing method requires a trip to the doctor’s office. This is the first time that a computer-based test is freely available that can accurately identify the type and extent of someone’s color vision deficiency,” said Don McPherson, PhD, vice-president, products, at EnChroma. “Thanks to a sponsorship by the National Institute of Health, I was able to create this app as a part of my National Eye Institute research project. Not only is it scientifically backed, it’s free to take and is easily available at your fingertips.”
Vital Stats: Adults and children can take this test online at enchroma.com/test or by downloading the app by searching for “enchroma” in their mobile device app store.
www.enchroma.com
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