An eye doctor in Warrior has a new way to check patients’ eye health in a much more precise manner.

A month ago, Warrior Eye Care started using a spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SC-OCT), which provides an iWellnessExam that Dr. Faye Andrews said is much more powerful than any other exam she can offer patients.

“This is cutting edge technology,” said Andrews. She said the SC-OCT allows her and her technicians to look at the retina in detail that is not available with any other exam.

“It gives us a more complete idea of what’s going on,” said technician Ashleigh Pressnell. “It just allows us to say 110 percent that the eyes are healthy.”

Andrews said the technology allows her to detect glaucoma up to six years earlier than she would normally have detected it with traditional exams.

“It just helps me be a better clinician,” she said. “With baby boomers coming of age, we’ve got to get better at detecting problems in the eye so we’ll have people with healthy eyes walking around.”

Andrews compares the exam to an MRI, and said the exam can detect early signs of glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other vision-threatening diseases.

“We’re trying to pick up signs of disease before permanent damage can occur,” she said.

Pressnell performs most of the exams with SC-OCT. Warrior Eye Care has the equipment for a month, and Pressnell has scanned the eyes of 120 patients so far. She said people with family histories of glaucoma or macular degeneration have been eager to receive the exams.

“We’ve had a very good response,” Pressnell said. “It gives people an assurance if they have a family history of eye diseases.”

The scan takes only about five minutes, and Andrews interprets the data the same day; patients know the results before they leave.

Andrews said she has detected several eye problems at early stages, before the patients began to have vision problems. She was then able to treat them or send them to a specialist if necessary.

Insurance does not cover the cost of the exam unless a patient has macular degeneration or other diseases, according to Pressnell. Warrior Eye Care charges $39 for the iWellnessExam, and Andrews recommends that patients receive the exam yearly along with their regular annual check-ups.

For more information, call Warrior Eye Care at 647-3937.