A new state-of-the-art scanner has been unveiled at Bradford Teaching Hospitals which will lead to faster assessments and more precise treatments for hundreds of the city’s eye patients.

The Heidelberg Retinal Spectralis scanner will be used to diagnose conditions such as wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and also to monitor a patient’s treatment. AMD is the most common reason in the UK for people to be registered blind and the Foundation Trust sees between 250 to 300 new eye referrals for this disorder every year.

Consultant eye surgeon, Mr Faruque Ghanchi said: “The Spectralis scanner will help doctors to evaluate what is going on in a patient’s eye by providing more accurate, real-time microscopic computer images of the retina in seconds, so in an instant this picture of the eye will help surgeons to plan a patient’s treatment and predict individual outcomes better than ever before.

”The addition of the scanner to the Bradford Royal Infirmary’s eye department will also help the unit’s research team to continue their work in introducing new technology and services to patients locally.

“Put simply it is one of the finest systems around today and is a significant investment by the Foundation Trust towards giving Bradford patients the latest and most advanced eye assessments available.”

Bradford has over 30,000 diabetes sufferers who receive annual screening for diabetic retinopathy in the community. A number of these patients may go on to advance stages of diabetic retinopathy – a condition which can potentially cause blindness – and need referral to hospital specialists. Such patients needing specialist care in eye clinics will also benefit from the new scanner.

Medical Director, Professor Clive Kay, said: “The introduction of Spectralis is an exciting new development for Bradford, both for our clinical and research work, and means that we have a brand new resource which is enhancing, not just our service, but our patient care.”

The eye department has been providing treatment for AMD for over 10 years.