The Diabetes Center at Mercy offers a new high-tech digital retina camera developed by EyeTel Imaging, Inc.. Mercy is the first hospital in the downtown Baltimore area to offer this device for diabetic eye exams.

According to endocrinologist Dr. Philip A. Levin, Director of The Diabetes Center at Mercy, the retinal camera, known as the DigiScope, will help detect dangerous complications like diabetic retinopathy that can lead to blindness in diabetes patients.

The DigiScope retina camera helps physicians distinguish between normal retinas and those with abnormal diabetic changes. Information gathered may be helpful in determining a diagnosis and path of treatment in cases of diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and other diseases of the eye.

Patients receiving the test will have their eyes dilated and then scanned on the EyeTel DigiScope - a special digital camera that takes a digital photo of the back of the retina and stores the image on a computer. Images are then forwarded via the Internet to a reading center at Johns Hopkins Hospital's Wilmer Eye Clinic where trained EyeTel technicians interpret the images in conjunction with Wilmer ophthalmologists. Results are then sent back to the primary care physician, in this case, Dr. Levin at Mercy.

"Clinical trials have shown that laser treatment can slow the progression of visual loss in some cases of diabetic retinopathy. However, if a diabetes patient fails to have his or her sight checked, we cannot make a diagnosis, and treatment becomes a moot point. Having the DigiScope at Mercy offers a kind of 'one stop shop' for the patient. Should something amiss be discovered in the scan, then a referral can be made to an appropriate ophthalmologist or eye surgeon so that the patient receives the proper care," Dr. Levin said.

Dr. Levin noted that clinical trial results have shown that data collected by the DigiScope offers "excellent sensitivity and specificity and does a stellar job of detecting retinal abnormalities." Use of the DigiScope is relatively inexpensive and, including time for the patient's dilation, takes approximately 30 minutes.

In a survey of 143 patients conducted by EyeTel Imaging, 100 percent said they would have the test done again next year. "It's a very simple and painless procedure. This is not an X-ray, but a photograph, so there are no concerns about radiation. What's particularly interesting to note is that 40% of those surveyed by EyeTel reported not having had an eye exam in five years. We can't treat what we don't know about. It is our hope that the ease and accessibility of the DigiScope at Mercy will encourage our diabetes patients to have this test done," Dr. Levin said. By identifying potentially serious eye disease early on, the use of the DigiScope may eventually prove a cost-effective measure by sparing patients more intense treatments and surgical procedures should the disease go undetected and reach an advanced stage.

It is also hoped that the data collected by the DigiScope will eventually provide useful information for potential clinical study. "We may discover trends in the data that will provide insight into more innovative ways of diagnosing and treating diabetic retinopathy," Dr. Levin said. EyeTel Imaging, Inc. is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. It is a medical services company that is committed to reducing the incidence of vision loss by improving the early detection of major eye diseases.