First Spectralis Spirit installed

A south east London independent opticians has become the first practice to have the new Heidelberg Engineering Spectralis Spirit installed.

The Orpington Eye Care Centre took delivery of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) device to coincide with its relaunch.

Optometrist Nishit Patel, and his wife Jinal, opened the practice two months ago and said that OCT was high on its list of priorities when relaunching.

Mr Patel explained: “Through the practice, I am looking to work closely with the NHS to provide shared care. As there will be a strong clinical focus to the business, I was looking for a good OCT with accurate and consistent scanning.”

Speaking about selecting the OCT device, Mr Patel said that Heidelberg Engineering came highly recommended and that he opted for the Spectralis Spirit because he believes “it has all the functionality our practice needs at this stage.”

Mr Patel, who is studying to become an independent prescribing optometrist, is looking specifically at shared care in medical retina and glaucoma management.

He added: “It is a very exciting time for optometry as we have the opportunity to move more into the clinical care side. I love the Spectralis Spirit because, having used OCT so much in the hospital environment, I don’t feel that I am carrying out a thorough eye examination without it. It is so quick and easy to use, and with Heidelberg Engineering’s training, my support staff will soon be undertaking the acquisition of images.”