New Device Measures MD Risk
New Device Measures Risk for Macular Degeneration
Renee Tessman
KARE 11 News
5-2-2007
MacuScope works by measuring how much macular protective pigment you have.
A new hi-tech tool is helping patients at a Minnesota eye clinic.
The MacuScope is on the cutting edge of catching a disease that causes blindness.
Arlis Block of Buffalo is one of the patients benefiting from the new scope. She was tested on the MacuScope at Uptown Eye Care in Monticello and found out she is at high risk for macular degeneration. She has no family history of the disease but knows someone who had it.
Block says, “I had taken care of a lady who had it and she ended up going into an assisted living facility.”
Macular degeneration takes away a person’s central vision.
Dr. Elaine Happ of Uptown Eye Care describes it this way. She says, “If I had macular degeneration and was looking at you, I could maybe see your hair but I couldn’t see your face.” The vision loss expands, eventually leading to clinical blindness.
Dr. Happ says Uptown Eye Care in Monticello is the first clinic in the state to have MacuScope. She says, “It’s really the first time that we can judge or predict somebody’s risk for developing macular degeneration.”
MacuScope works by measuring how much macular protective pigment you have. Happ says, “The less pigment you have, the more at risk you are for developing macular degeneration.”
Patients put their eye up to the MacuScope lens and look at a blue circle. They then tell the technician when that circle stops flickering. The MacuScope measures pigment and gives patients a number which shows their risk.
When Block found out she was at high risk, Dr. Happ gave her some good news.
Happ says patients can take supplements which, “. are rich in the anti-oxidants needed to re-pigment the macula.”
Block is on those supplements, happy she found out her risk before her vision could go dark. She says, “I am telling other friends about it.”
Other risk factors for macular degeneration include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, smoking, UV exposure, poor diet and family history. If you have blonde hair and/or blue eyes, Dr. Happ says you are also at higher risk.
Because the MacuScope technology is so new, Dr. Happ says insurance will not pay for it. She charges $35 for a screening.
