OCT milestone reached at Specsavers

OCT milestone reached 

A NEW milestone in Specsavers’ roll-out of Optical Coherence Tomography scanners across its UK and Republic of Ireland practices in support of community optometry has been reached.

More than 1,000 OCT machines have been installed in Specsavers high street practices since Specsavers began a £35 million roll-out in 2017.

‘The growing use of OCT across the optometry sector has been an important development in preventing sight loss because this hospital grade equipment can spot sight-threatening conditions such as glaucoma up to four years earlier than traditional methods,’ says Specsavers co-founder Doug Perkins.

Specsavers is pleased to play its part in supporting the roll-out of OCT because making the best eye care available to everyone is part of our founding vision. We are committed to going the extra mile when it comes to eye health and preventable sight loss.’

As well as detecting glaucoma, OCT is useful in detecting a range of other eye conditions including macular degeneration and retinal detachments – all of which can cause loss of sight but can be treated, especially if recognised early. Modern equipment enables the storage of millions of scans and comparison of images from year to year as well, coupled with greater connectivity than ever this supports clinical management of patients in the community.

In the past year, more than 7.74 million OCT scans have been captured in the UK and Republic of Ireland by Specsavers. More than 100,000 people have also been referred for glaucoma related pathology to safeguard their sight in that time.

‘OCT is a jewel in the crown when it comes to clinical equipment available to community optometrists, helping them make a difference to people daily. We are confident that OCT scanners are helping reduce avoidable vision loss,’ adds Mr Perkins.