Specsavers Thurles taking a deeper look into your eyes

Liz Bonnin – natural history, science and environmental TV presenter – has announced Specsavers Thurles’ investment in hospital-quality equipment that can help detect treatable eye conditions sooner. Specsavers Thurles has rolled out the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scanner in store - a cutting-edge piece of equipment that allows opticians to view the eye in more detail than ever before. 

An OCT scan, which only takes a few seconds, uses light to take more than 1,000 images of the back of your eye and beyond, looking right back to the optic nerve and creating a cross-section view. It gives your optician an incredibly accurate picture of your eye and its structures.

Speaking at the launch of the OCT campaign, Liz, comments: 'I am short sighted and have always relied on regular eye checks, so I was keen to help raise awareness about their importance, especially as early detection is vital in the fight against preventable sight loss. The OCT scan can detect eye health conditions before physical symptoms are presented. Specsavers Thurles is leading the way in terms of the advanced technology on offer in store. An OCT scan would have previously required a hospital visit, but now there really is no excuse to not keep on top of our eye health.'

Speaking about the state-of-the-art optical technology, store director at Specsavers Thurles, Noel O’Dwyer, comments: ‘This innovative technology gives our opticians the ability to enhance the offering for customers by identifying and helping to detect or manage conditions. OCT technology produces such a detailed picture of the structures in the eye that it allows us to identify signs of diseases years earlier than traditional methods. Given that 75% of vision impairment and blindness can be prevented, the sooner we can detect these conditions, the sooner we can help manage them or refer people for treatment.’

The scan is in addition to a thorough eye test, during which the optometrist uses a range of clinical tests and procedures to measure the quality of someone’s vision and the health of their eyes.

A customer’s OCT images are stored on file, so Specsavers optometrists can note any changes over time – a real benefit when monitoring someone’s overall eye health.

OCT is now available in Specsavers Thurles. For more information on the services available or to make an appointment, please visit www.specsavers.ie/stores/ thurles