Mydriasis is common in ophthalmological exams that require a complete visualization of the eye structure. As the practice allows to evaluate the whole extension of the lens, it helps to diagnose diseases as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, AMD and others.

However, pupil dilation also brings some disadvantages to both doctor and patient, even more during the present pandemics. For example: less daily attendances due to the limit of people in waiting rooms, the need for a companion and discomfort to the patient.

That’s why non-mydriatic equipment earns more and more space in offices, clinics and hospitals. They assure high-quality exams, increase productivity and are, consequently, more profitable.

Read below the advantages of offering non-mydriatic exams and the devices that offer them.

Non-mydriatic: adavantages

1)      Increase in the number of medical services

Complete pupil dilation requires the patient to remain in the waiting room, so that he or she can undergo the exam. This process takes considerable time. More than that, a companion is requiretd.

This already occupies two seats that could receive other people, for example. In addition, patients in the waiting room must keep adequate distancing, which decreases the full amount of people allowed in the environment.

The non-mydriatic exam eliminates the waiting time of both the eye drops effect and the exam itself, decreases the service length and the need of a companion for the patient.

That is: more schedule and more space in the office, so that you can attend more patients!

2)      High-quality exam

Removing mydriasis from some ophthalmological exams does not affect the quality of the result. On the contrary, some non-mydriatic equipments offer even more sharpness in eye fundus images.

They invest in technologies that capture images through the patient’s natural dilation. Including in  places with low light.

3)      Less use of anesthetic eye drops

Mydriatic exams also reduce the use of anesthetic eye drops in clinics. They reduce costs with this material – made to avoid burning in patients’ eyes – which is more expensive than the non-anesthetic product.

4)       Comfortable and quick exams for children

Fundus imaging is rare in children. When necessary, pupil dilation brings discomfort to the little ones. With the farewell to mydriasis, exam speed and well-being increase.

Another interesting possibility for non-mydriatic exams is the early eye-fundus imaging, so that the evolution may be followed throughout adult life.

5)      Patient comfort

Non-mydriatic exam is undoubtedly advantageous to the patient: less discomfort with pupil dilation, no need to find available companion and less time in office. The latter advantages are even more relevant with the pandemic.

6)      More safety to carry out the exam

In fact it is quite safe for the patient to dilate the pupil for ophthalmological exams. However, reactions as allergy to eye drops, dizziness or malaise may occur in some cases. Graver complications may occur very scarcely such as acute glaucoma crisis, mainly in patients with narrow anterior chamber angle, mainly related to a high degree of myopia (six degrees or higher).

Since possible reactions are not assertively predictable, removing mydriasis from some exams eliminates the risk of complications.

Non-mydriatic – devices

Several non-mydriatic devices are available on the market, from tabletop to portable. Phelcom Eyer smartdevice is one of them.

Phelcom Eyer is the first handheld fundus camera with the quality of a tabletop equipment. Coupled to the smartphone, it carries out high-quality retina exams, without need of pupil dilation and in less than a minute.

Since it is easily operable, even a minimally trained healthcare professional is able to carry out the exam.

The technology includes the Autofocus function, compensating refractive errors from -15D to +20D, allowing high detail retinal scans.. It utilizes the patient’s natural dilation and can capture images even in low light environments.

Another functionality are the panoramic exams with a visual field over 100 degrees, since Eyer has fixation targets that help panoramic capture and imaging.

It is also connected to an online platform, Eyer Cloud, which stores and organizes all the exams in a cloud system.

Learn the main features of this technology:

Type: Non-mydriatic digital fundus camera
Visual field: 45 degrees
Resolution: 12-Mega-Pixel Sensor
Exams: Colour, Red-free and Anterior Segment
Internal fixation targets: 9 fixation targets for peripheral mapping
Focus: -15D to +20D with autofocus
Pupil: Minimum size 3mm
Format: JPEG, PDF and DICOM

Conclusion

Non-mydriatic exams undoubtedly offer various benefits to doctors: quick exams, with more attendances and a more profitable office; high-quality results; cost reduction with anesthetic eye drops; faster exams for children and safer exams.

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