AT a meeting of Ross Rotary Club, Steven Scotcher, Consultant Opthalmic Surgeon at the Victoria Eye Hospital in Hereford, gave a very interesting and informative talk on the Humphrey Visual Fields Checker. This piece of equipment was recently acquired by Ross Community Hospital through funding that remained in Ross Rotary's Bottoms Up appeal after procurement of equipment for the endoscopy unit.

He described how the Visual Fields Checker was used in the detection of Glaucoma and how early detection can lead to effective treatment to prevent further loss of vision. He also discussed how the Visual Fields Checker enables the Opthalmic Surgeon to see the resultant effects of both Stroke Hemianopia and Pituitary Tumour on a patients vision.

Steven also covered the equipments use in the detection and diagnosis Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which causes blurring of the central vision. He described Dry AMD as the eye wearing out and currently there is no specific treatment for the condition but it can be exacerbated by smoking and there is a possible link to diet. However Wet AMD, which is generally caused by abnormal blood vessels leaking fluid or blood into the region of the macula, can be treated with Anti-VEGF drugs.

The equipment procured is fully automated and was described by Steven as the gold standard for ophthalmologists with some 65,000 units installed worldwide. Ross Rotary sincerely thanks everyone in the local community who gave to the Bottoms Up appeal and made the donation of this equipment to Ross Community Hospital possible.

Ross Rotary meets every Monday evening 6.30pm for 7pm at the Chase Hotel. Guests and potential members are very welcome. Please visit our website at www.rossrotary.com.