| Show SCIENCE IN SURGERY complicated device photographs perfect camera the human eye f most people understand how the xray X ray is used by the medical profession and many have heard that photography is being used in the medical field however it is difficult for the average person to visualize ju just how photography can be used to advantage in medicine A visit to the new york eye and ear infirmary the oldest specialized hospital in the western hemisphere where people from all walks of life have been treated tor for more than a century in its numerous eye ear nose and throat clinics demonstrates the value of the technique this hospital is staffed by the great and near great in the fields ot of ophthalmology and otolaryngology surgeons with park avenue practices I 1 1 ces come dally daily to diagnose and treat the 35 people who pass ahr through ough its clinics each year here medical photography has beco become m e a recognized and established it shed service in the treatment ot of many eye diseases explains techniques B this department lepart ent was organized V and rid is run by mary R brown on one e of the few women in this country who specialize in the field ot of ophthalmic photography she is a pretty quiet woman whose own son Is just completing his medical education mrs brown explained some of the scientific techniques she uses daily in her diagnostic research and medical record work for surgeons at the new nev york eye arid and ear infirmary in addition to the sma small and delicate came cameras ras ahat hat phot photograph the outer sections of cf the eye there Is the fundus camera camen used tor for photographing the retina of the eye the area deep within the eye itself this complicated camera uses the lens of the patients eye as part of its optical s system stem and the be resulting pictures are in color they have great diagnostic value the surgeons surgeon s decision depends many times on these true to life photographs mrs brown relates that only recently a young lad iad who had his eye hurt playing basketball was brought into the hospital A growth had formed on the retina and retinal pictures were ordered these were airmailed air mailed to a famous eye specialist special in england to corroborate our ou own surgeons diagnosis with nothing thing but these colored slides magnified and thrown on a screen lie he recommended preserving the eye ye as our own men did in time the growth went away just as the specialist said it would and today this boy has his sight recalls war case back in november 1945 mrs brown recalls a young ga G I 1 bride all 00 IN f 1 1 1 HAVEN FOR AFFLICTED the new york eye and ear infirmary fir mary where mrs brown helps guide surgeons hands and seat with her photographic technique is the oldest hospital of its kind in the western hemisphere founded in 1820 it ranks as the third oldest hospital in the city of new york whose husband was still in the south pacific was brought in tor for photographs her record when she entered the hospital stated that a growth thought to be malignant li had formed in the iris of the right eye and therefore the eye should be removed the surgeon in charge at the new york eye and ear infirmary was not in full accord with this diagnosis and did not feel that this patient should lose an eye without further study he ordered photographs taken of the condition every month carefully measuring the size and comparing with the previous plates at the end of a year the growth had not expanded in any direction these measurements proved during the following year pictures were taken every two months and careful checks were made against the first plates it has been fully determined up to the pree present nt time that the growth Is not malignant and this grateful young woman still has tier her eye today movies taken in color and used tor for teaching purposes are a part of mrs browns daily work dvork these films of rare and delicate operations performed at the infirmary are being used to guide and teach a new generation of eye surgeons throughout the amerl americas c as an and d as far aw away ay as india and the phi philippines flippines lip pines in addition to routine work classes in medical photography are conducted for graduate students in ophthalmology thus the young specialists cia lists who train here can take w with ith them to the small communities throughout the country a knowledge of ophthalmic photography that will help them trace the progress of eye diseases and their treatments thus many times saving the sight of an eye otherwise lost |
