Ophthalmic imaging today: an ophthalmic photographer's viewpoint – a review

Ophthalmic imaging has changed dramatically since the 1960s with increasingly complex technologies now available. Arguably, the greatest changes have been the development of the digital camera and the speed, processing power and storage of electronic data. Already, ophthalmic practices in many major institutions overseas have paperless medium storage and electronically generated reporting from all equipment that use a computer interface. It is hard to remember the widespread use of photographic film with its attendant costs, or even to remember the days before optical coherence tomography (OCT). These latest technical improvements in ophthalmic imaging are now standard in large Australian institutions and becoming more widespread in smaller private practices. The technicians that operate and maintain this ever-increasing plethora of gadgetry have seen their work practices change from the darkroom to the complexities of data-based imaging and storage. It is a fitting time to examine the contemporary state of ophthalmic imaging and what lies on the horizon as we move towards 2020.