When direct observation of intraocular anatomy is obscured, the B-scan is the tool of choice for the evaluation of the eye and its orbit. In the emergency department context, B-scan ultrasound can be used for diagnosing ocular pathology in patients presenting with acute conditions like central retinal artery occlusions or traumas resulting in retinal detachments, vitreous hemorrhages, or lens dislocations. So in this sense, it can help the ED staff differentiate between a pathology that legitimately requires urgent care and that which can be followed up by the appropriate specialist on an outpatient basis.

By far the most advantageous feature of the B-scan systems is that they enable you to “see” through and beyond structures that prevent normal visual examination. The best example of this is the dense cataract. Performing a cataract surgery may not make sense if there is another ocular pathology that would prevent good vision after the procedure. Similarly the B-scan can image through severely swollen lids, corneal opacities, vitreous opacities, uveitis, and persistent pupillary membrane. In such cases, diagnostic B-scan ultrasound can accurately image the lens, vitreous, retina, choroid, and sclera providing valuable clues as to their status.

In addition to being used for the detection of pathology hidden by other structures, B-scan ultrasound is frequently used for the characterization of clearly visible pathologies. A few examples are: differentiating rhegmatogenous from exudative retinal detachments, differentiating drusen from papilledema, and determining intraocular tumor type. In the ophthalmic oncology setting, B-scan ultrasonography is commonly used for the initial and follow-up evaluation of retinoblastoma – a highly malignant retinal cancer of childhood. Retinoblastoma has focal areas of calcification within the tumor that appear quite clearly by ultrasound.

This and other technologies enable our Doctors to take complete care of your eyes.