Technology   |

Batemans Opticians is committed to providing only the highest standard of eye care available. We strive to embrace new technology that will benefit our customers by providing a more tailored service to each individual’s needs.

Digital Retinal Photography

The Digital Retinal camera allows us to take detailed photographs of the retina at the back of your eye, and enables us to carry out a far more detailed examination than was previously possible.

The image is captured in just seconds using flash photography. The examination is comfortable and nothing touches your eyes. Our experienced Optometrists can use this photo to diagnose the health and condition of your eyes.

We have a permanent and accurate record of the condition of your eyes stored, allowing us to compare images and look for any changes the next time you visit us, this could prove to be invaluable in monitoring the health of your eyes.

We make a charge for this important new service which is available to all ages. In most cases this service is not normally available under the NHS and is not in place of your eye examination.

Visual Stress and Colorimetry

What is Visual Stress?

Some individuals experience visual discomfort when attempting to read. These distortions include blurring and fading of print, movement of words and letters, appearance of patterns in text and glare effect.
Contributing factors to visual stress are any uncorrected refractive errors and binocular vision anomalies which will cause visual difficulties and reduce visual comfort.
Visual stress can be related to light sensitivity in disorders such as migraine and epilepsy.
Mears Irlen Syndrome or ‘Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome’ is characterised by eye strain and visual perception distortions when reading.

The Treatment

We will initially carry out a thorough Eye Examination. This will be followed by an in-depth evaluation of the binocular function of your eyes.
We then carry out an assessment of vision with the use of coloured, Spectral Filters. This can be with overlays (coloured transparent sheets placed over the page) or Precision Tints made up in the form of spectacles.
The colour is specific to each individual and has to be selected with care. Coloured overlays can be used for screening and initial assessment, but individuals who find overlays helpful usually derive greater benefit from Precision Tints. The best colour for overlays is unlikely to be the same as that for the spectacles. The Intuitive Colorimeter is the instrument used to specify the correct tint for spectacles and was developed by the Medical Research Council. Individuals using the appropriate tint can suddenly see more clearly and comfortably. The tint permits more fluent, efficient and comfortable reading, and is often useful not only for reading but more generally for the reduction of glare and the alleviation of visual stress symptoms.
This is currently only available at our Plymouth branch. 

Orthokeratology

This is a breakthrough therapy that fully restores your daily distance vision whilst you are fast asleep in bed.

How does it work?

Short sightedness is caused by an elongation of the eye which causes the light entering the eye to focus before it reaches the retina. The lenses of spectacles or contact lenses counter this effect by adjusting the focal distance. Batemans OK (the ‘OK’ stands for orthokeratology) is a technology where we make a computer map of your cornea. This allows us to produce tiny night-time correctors that gently reshape your cornea to provide perfect distance vision.

When you remove the correctors after the first night you will notice a huge improvement in your vision and within a week a full correction should have been achieved. You will then be able to discard your spectacles or contact lenses for as long as you continue to insert the correctors at bedtime. However, if you wish to stop using Batemans OK correctors for any reason within a week or so, you will be able to return to conventional lens wear or spectacles.

Is Batemans OK a better solution that laser surgery?

We believe so.
 
Batemans OK gives rapid results, is pain free and causes no scarring to the eye. Many ophthalmic surgeons may not recommend laser surgery because its long-term effects are not fully understood and because a patient’s eyesight can continue to change after the operation had been conducted. Batemans OK is not permanent so if your prescription changes over time, we simply adjust your night time correctors accordingly.

Is it for me?

There are certain medical conditions which preclude the use of Batemans OK and not all prescriptions are suitable for the therapy. Any Batemans branch will be able to tell you whether the therapy is suitable for your prescription. Most people find the correctors easy to use and comfortable to wear whilst they sleep – and the correctors even give perfect vision if the wearer wakes up during the night.

They will not correct Presbyopia which is caused by ageing of the eye and reading spectacles will still be needed for this.

Where can I get Batemans OK and what will it cost?

We have established several Batemans OK centres at our Guildford, Brighton, Bath and Maidstone practices and will be extending this service to a number of other practices across southern England in the future.

The mapping of your cornea and all aftercare appointments during the first month are included in a one-off initial Therapy Fee of £150. After that we simply ask you to arrange a direct debit of £35 per month for as long as you wish to continue with Batemans OK therapy. This payment includes the cost of replacement correctors every 6 months and ongoing consultation as well as insurance against loss or damage to your correctors.