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Eye Spy
15 August 2013

Eye Spy

As you sit in the dark of your optician’s office while they peer intently into your eyes, have you ever wondered what they are looking for? The answer is changes to your retina, the light sensitive layer that coats the inside of your eye. People with diabetes are particularly prone to retinal damage (pictured) as the tiny capillaries (the red lines which converge on the optic nerve, right centre) are very sensitive to changes in blood sugar levels. They can weaken and leak blood causing vision problems and even blindness. Trained experts use retinal photographs to spot early warning signs like fatty deposits (yellow flecks) and swollen blood vessels (red splodges), but with millions of images to screen each year, it’s a time consuming process. A new computer programme which sorts normal retinal images from abnormal ones has been developed and may revolutionise eye screening for diabetics.

Written by Sarah McLusky

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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