Clinical Skills Certificate Course:
Fundus Photography and Fluorescein Angiography
Course level:
This course is intended for ophthalmic assistants, technicians and technologists.
Course structure:
This course consists of short, illustrated reading segments. There is a quiz at the end of the course. Upon passing the quiz, the user will receive a certificate of completion.
Estimated time to complete:
Two hours.
Short Course Description:
The course on fundus photography includes discussion of instrumentation, procedures, troubleshooting, and image defects and artifacts. The course on fluorescein angiography includes discussion of preparation, the injection, the angiogram, descriptive terminology, common abnormalities, and other considerations. Fundus autofluorescence, RGB channel separation, and iris angiography are also discussed.
For the Detailed Course Description, see below
The course can be purchased via Paypal (you don't need a Paypal account) by using the button below, $10 for 2 months of access. More than one course can be purchased at the same time by going to the course catalog. Courses can also be purchased via Authorize.net from the course catalog.
After purchase, the course can be accessed immediately by using the "courses" tab on the top menu bar to link to your "my courses" page.
Detailed Course Description
Fundus Photography
Instrumentation
The Camera Body and Headrest
The Control Panel
Computerized Capture Systems
35 mm Camera Backs
Maintenance
Procedure
Patient identification
Mount the correct camera back if applicable
Make sure the camera and camera back are operational
Set the eyepiece
Record patient information
Pre-set the camera for retinal photography
Instruct the patient
Position the patient
Align the eye
Align the image
Capture the image
Handling the difficult patient
Photography in the periphery
Troubleshooting (including image defects and artifacts)
Problems
Illumination lamp does not light
Flash lamp does not flash
35 mm camera back does not work
Digital imaging: the flash works but there is no image on the screen
The flash works but the secondary camera does not work
Operator cannot see an image of the patient's eye through the eyepiece
Good focus is not possible
Image defects and artifacts
The periphery of the image is dark
The center of the image is dark
Image flare or washed out image (over-exposure)
The eyepiece image or the captured image is too dark (under-exposure)
White spots on the image
Your color slide film comes back black, without an image on it
Your image has what seems to be a white curtain coming down over it, or it is totally white
Your image has a crescent at the edge of the frame
Your color slide film has some overlapping images
Your color slide film has some frames that have only partial images and some images that look like they did not develop properly
Your color slide film has some images that seem to be cut in half
Fluorescein Angiography
Preparation
Characteristics of fluorescein dye
Adverse reactions
Preparation for the fluorescein angiogram
dye preparation
patient preparation
the consent form
setting the camera up
The Checklist
The Injection
Setting up and administering the injection
Procedure
Extravasation
Avoiding an arterial injection
What if I can't get a vein?
Oral administration of fluorescein
The Angiogram
Starting the angiogram
Early, Mid, and Late Phase Photos
The choroidal flush and the arterial phase
The venous phases
Universal Precaution Reminders
Late phase photos
Other Considerations
Phototoxicity
What parts of the retina do I photograph?
What magnification (angle) should I use?
Document the pathology
The doctor-patient-photographer relationship
Documentation (printing, etc.)
Descriptive Terminology and Common Abnormalities
Descriptive Terminology
Pseudo-fluorescence and auto-fluorescence
Hyperfluorescence
transmission
leakage
pooling
staining
Hypofluorescence
blocked fluorescence
non-perfusion
Some Common Abnormalities
Age Related Macular Degeneration
Diabetic Retinopathy
Central Serous Choroidopathy
Artery and Vein Occlusions
Retinal Cameras: The Next Generation
The Topcom 50Dx and the Zeiss Clarus are compared
Auto-focus, auto-exposure, alignment assist
Auto-fluorescence
RGB channel separation
Iris angiography