Resources
Read before you buy.
Comparisons written the way I would talk them through in your practice, a guide to planning a whole lane rather than one instrument, and two calculators that use your numbers. Specifications are drawn from manufacturers’ published materials and linked on each guide so you can verify them.
Start here
One guide, if you read nothing else: how the parts of a lane constrain each other, and what to settle first.
Comparisons
Where the choice is between several instruments that all look reasonable. Pick the one that matches the decision in front of you.
Comparing the OCT platforms
Five Optovue OCT instruments side by side on scan engine, resolution and pupil requirement, and what separates them in practice.
Optovue Solix OCT/OCT-A, Optovue Solix Essential, Optovue iVue 80, Optovue iFusion 80, Optovue iScan 80 Read it ComparisonComparing the retinal cameras
The EIDON and the DRSplus compared on field of view, resolution and pupil requirement, plus where the Marco AFC-330 fits.
iCare EIDON UWF Retinal Imaging, DRSplus Fundus Camera, AFC-330 Automated Fundus Camera Read it ComparisonComparing the tonometers
The iCare IC100 and IC200 compared on range, accuracy and repeatability, plus the three Marco tonometers.
IC200 Rebound Tonometer, IC100 Rebound Tonometer Read it ComparisonComparing COMPASS and MAIA
Fundus-tracked perimetry against TrueColor microperimetry: where the two instruments overlap and where they do not.
COMPASS Perimeter, iCare MAIA TrueColor Microperimetry Read itCalculators
Built around your volume and your contracts. Where a starting figure helps, it is Medicare’s published one, labelled as an average and easy to type over.
Instrument payback
Enter the instrument cost, what a test pays in your contracts and how many you would run. It tells you the months to payback and what the room earns after.
Perimetry, OCT, retinal imaging, anterior segment Open it CalculatorRefraction time
Minutes saved per refraction, exams per day, days per week. What that adds up to over a year, in doctor hours and in exam capacity.
Digital refraction, pretest Open it- Everything is sourcedEvery specification in a comparison comes from the manufacturer’s published page, and the link is right there, so you can check it for yourself.
- I tell you what I thinkWhere the answer turns on judgement rather than a specification, I say so, and I tell you which way I lean and why.
- The numbers are yoursAny figure I start you off with is labelled and sourced. Type your own over it, because your contracts are what the decision actually turns on.
Something not here?
These are the comparisons I get asked for most. If the one you want is missing (two instruments across different lines, or a question about billing and what a payer will and will not cover) ask, and you will get the answer rather than a brochure.
Let's talk about your lane
I cover North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Tell me what you are trying to solve and I will tell you what fits, including when the answer is something I do not sell.