Transillumination imaging of intraocular tumours

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a recently described modification of a standard photo slit lamp system for ocular transillumination, with special emphasis on the light transmission through the eye wall and the photographic technique. Transillumination photography was carried out with the Haag-Streit Photo-Slit Lamp BX 900 (Haag-Streit AG, Koeniz, Switzerland). After having released the background lighting optic fibre cable from its holder, the patient was positioned at the slit lamp, and the fibre tip was gently pressed against the sclera or the cornea of the patient's eye. During about 1/1000 of a second, the eye was illuminated by the flash and the scleral shadow of the tumour was exposed to the camera sensor. The images were of good diagnostic quality, making it easy to outline the tumours and to evaluate the involvement of intraocular structures. None of the examined patients experienced discomfort or negative side effects. The method is recommended in cases where photographic transillumination documentation of intraocular pathologies is considered important.