New vision scanners help DETECT PROBLEMS EARLY

Glasses help Peighton regain sight in ‘lazy eye’

BY CONNIE WIRTA

If Peighton David had been old enough to use a standard eye chart, she would not have been able to see even the largest E with her left eye.

A routine screening test during a well-child visit detected a problem with Peighton’s left eye and led to a prompt referral to an optometrist. There, a comprehensive eye exam showed she was farsighted and has amblyopia, also known as lazy eye. The 5-year-old girl’s vision tested 20/300.

“We were completely floored because there were no signs or symptoms,” says Peighton’s mother, Allie David of Hermantown. “We feel fortunate that we caught it early because we may have never known, and she may have struggled in school before it was detected.”

Dr. Michael Fuchs, an Essentia Health optometrist, explains Peighton didn’t have the crossed or wandering eye that’s often a sign of amblyopia. “She was not seeing with her left eye,” he explains. “Her brain was fully suppressing the blurry images from her left eye and relying on her right eye, so the amblyopia was harder to detect.”

Relying on only one eye not only affects how clearly a child can see but also depth perception and reading comprehension, Dr. Fuchs says. “A child is working so hard just to see that they can’t encode things for learning,” he says, explaining impaired vision can affect a child’s development, academic performance and even social interactions.

Amblyopia is the most common eye condition in children, and early detection can make a big difference, says Dr. Fuchs and Dr. Shar Valentine, a pediatrician at the Essentia HealthDuluth Clinic. A new screening device in the Pediatrics Department is helping detect amblyopia and other vision problems in children as young as 12 months.

The vision scanner looks like a large camera. The sound of singing birds and patterns of colorful flashing light capture the attention and the gaze of children who are too young to read symbols or letters on a standard eye chart. In just a few seconds, the scanner captures data to detect nearsightedness, farsightedness, blurred vision, unequal refractive power, unequal pupil size and eye misalignment. The scanner can’t detect visual acuity. A printout identifies any problems and recommends a comprehensive eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

A grant from the Essentia Health Foundation purchased four vision scanners for the Duluth Clinic’s Pediatrics Department. Checking a child’s vision is part of every well-child visit, and the new tool is used for all children ages 1-5 and older children who have developmental delays or other issues that make it difficult for them to use a traditional eye chart.

Emersyn Uchanski had her vision screened at her 12-month appointment. Her parents had noticed her left eye was turning out when she was tired. “I also noticed it when I was taking pictures, but she always seemed to be able to correct it,’’ recalls her mother, Nicole Uchanski of Superior.

After hearing Nicole’s concerns and seeing the abnormal results from the vision screener, Dr. Valentine referred Emersyn to Dr. Thomas Shuey, an Essentia Health pediatric ophthalmologist. He diagnosed her with amblyopia and is monitoring her vision as she develops. “We feel we’re ahead of the game and can be proactive instead of reactive,” Nicole says.

“Using the scanner, we had early detection of a condition that could have caused permanent damage by age 9 or 10,” says Dr. Valentine.

Early detection made a big difference for Peighton, who was prescribed glasses. Dr. Fuchs says she has had steady improvement over the past year and now has 20/30 vision. “Peighton knows her glasses are helping her,” says her mother, Allie. “She sometimes takes them off when she reads and then puts them back on because she struggles more when they’re off.”

Allie says her 1-year-old son, Oliver, recently had his vision screened at a well-child checkup and was referred to Dr. Shuey, who prescribed glasses to correct farsightedness and another issue. Oliver is at a higher risk of developing amblyopia because of his sister’s diagnosis.

Dr. Fuchs and Dr. Valentine point out that early detection of vision problems makes it easier to correct them. “With the vision scanner, we can pick up on vision problems much earlier and prevent vision loss and discover other rare conditions for improved outcomes for our patients,” Dr. Valentine says.

Connie Wirta is an editor and writer for Essentia. She wrote this for Moms & Dads Today.

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